How to Check a Broker Before You Haul a Load

A load from a broker who doesn't pay, or from someone pretending to be a broker, costs you the fuel, the time and the rate.

Cargo theft losses reached about $725 million in the US and Canada in 2025, up 60% from the year before, according to CargoNet. Five minutes of checking before you accept a load is the cheapest insurance you'll ever buy.

How to check a broker in 6 steps

1. Look up the authority. Search the broker's MC or USDOT number on FMCSA's company snapshot. Broker authority should show as active, and the legal name should match the company on the rate confirmation.
2. Check the bond or trust. Brokers must keep $75,000 in a surety bond or trust fund. Since January 16, 2026, FMCSA can suspend authority when that security drops and isn't replenished quickly, as FMCSA's rule explains.
3. Check credit and days to pay. A credit and days-to-pay service shows how fast the broker pays carriers. Many factoring companies offer broker credit checks to their clients.
4. Match the identity. Call the phone number listed in public records, not the number in the email. Make sure the email domain matches the broker's real website.
5. Read the rate confirmation. Your MC, the right pickup and delivery addresses, the rate, and every accessorial you agreed to. If it's not on the rate con, it's not agreed.
6. Ask other carriers. Reviews and word of mouth from carriers who've hauled for the broker recently.

Broker lookup: reading the FMCSA record

On the company snapshot, look at these fields:

Where to check the bond

The company snapshot tells you a broker is authorized. It doesn't always show you the money behind it. For that, look at the broker's insurance and bond filings in FMCSA's Licensing and Insurance (L&I) records:

• BMC-84 means a surety bond. BMC-85 means a trust fund. Either one covers the $75,000 requirement.
• The filing should be active, with no pending cancellation date. A bond with a cancellation notice on file is a broker that may not be around next month.
• Note who provides it. The surety or trust company named on the filing is who you'd file a claim with if the broker never pays.

Reading a broker's credit and days to pay

Broker credit services and most factoring companies give each broker a score and an average days-to-pay figure, built from payment data reported by carriers and factors. Every provider uses its own scale, so compare a broker against that provider's own cutoffs, not another service's.

Two things matter most: a score that's dropping, and days to pay that are much longer than the broker's stated terms. Either one is a reason to ask for quick pay, factor the load, or pass.

Red flags of double brokering and fraud

• An email from a free webmail account or a lookalike domain (one letter off from the real broker)
• A rate well above what the lane pays, with pressure to accept right now
• The pickup paperwork shows a different carrier or broker name than your rate confirmation
• Instructions to change the delivery address after pickup, or to drop the load somewhere "temporary"
• Requests to change where you get paid, or for your login details to any portal
• A broker that's brand new, with authority just weeks old, offering lots of freight

Double brokering happens when a load gets re-brokered to another carrier without the shipper's knowledge, often by someone using a stolen or cloned identity. The carrier who hauls it often never gets paid. If paperwork names don't match, stop and call the original broker on its public number before you load.

What a solid rate confirmation includes

• The broker's legal name, MC number and contact details
• Your company name and MC number
• Pickup and delivery addresses, dates and appointment times
• Commodity, weight and any temperature or securement requirements
• The linehaul rate and fuel surcharge, if separate
• Detention, layover and TONU terms
• Payment terms and where to send the invoice

Don't move a truck on a verbal promise. If something you agreed on the phone isn't on the rate confirmation, ask for a revised one before pickup. Here's every line on a rate con explained.

Build a short list of brokers you trust

Once a broker pays on time, communicates well and treats you fairly, keep a note of the rep's name and direct number. Repeat business with good brokers is faster, safer and often pays better than chasing new ones. Recheck them now and then anyway: authority and bond status can change.

Protect your own identity too

Fraudsters also clone carriers: they use a real carrier's MC and insurance to book loads. Watch for brokers calling about loads you never booked, unexpected setup packets in your name, or changes to your FMCSA contact information. Keep your FMCSA login secure and check your record regularly. Here's what to do if your MC is cloned.

If a broker doesn't pay

1. Follow up in writing. Resend the invoice, rate confirmation, BOL and proof of delivery, and ask for a payment date.
2. Check their status. Look at the authority and bond again. A suspended authority or a bond cancellation changes your next step.
3. File a claim against the bond or trust. Contact the surety or trust provider named on the broker's BMC-84 or BMC-85 filing and follow its claim process. Do it promptly, since claim windows are limited.
4. Report it. File a complaint with FMCSA's National Consumer Complaint Database, and talk to a lawyer or small claims court for larger amounts.

Your factoring company, if you use one, may handle some of this for you, depending on your agreement.

What to do if something feels off

• Don't load. A delayed pickup costs far less than a stolen load.
• Call the broker on the number from public records and confirm the load is real.
• Save every email, text and document.
• If you've been defrauded, report it to FMCSA's National Consumer Complaint Database and to local law enforcement.

Let your dispatcher do it on every load

Checking every broker takes time you'd rather spend driving. Our dispatchers run these checks before every booking, even on brokers we've worked with before. Here's how we vet brokers for our carriers. And if you're worried about the dispatcher side too, read our guide to avoiding truck dispatcher scams.