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Broker guide
How to check a carrier's cargo insurance
What FMCSA requires, what it does not, and how to read a BMC-34.
What the public record shows
- FMCSA requires cargo insurance filings (BMC-34, $5,000 per vehicle / $10,000 per occurrence) only for household goods carriers and freight forwarders.
- General freight carriers carry cargo coverage as a commercial matter; it is not in the FMCSA record, so verify the certificate with the insurer.
- Cargo cancellations that are filed appear in L&I history as 'Cargo insurance cancelled'.
Today's numbers
Live from the public record (2026-10-25T17:58:34+00:00): 125,716 active authorities, 5,609 brokers of property, 6,312 authority grants in the last 30 days, 865 insurance cancellations and 2,003 revocations or suspensions in the last 30 days.
Sources
FMCSA Licensing & Insurance · SAFER · SMS · FMCSA insurance filing requirements · data.transportation.gov
More guides
How to vet a carrier before tendering a load How to check if an MC number is active How to verify a carrier's insurance with FMCSA What is a BMC-91 filing What 'authority revoked' means What is an involuntary revocation Vetting a carrier with a new MC number What is double-brokering
Hubs
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Questions
Why does the lookup show no cargo filing?
Because most property carriers have no FMCSA cargo filing requirement; that is not a gap in their coverage.
Data reflects official public records published by the U.S. Department of Transportation (FMCSA) as of Oct 25, 2026 11:58 MDT. CarrierDaily provides factual public-record change monitoring and is not a consumer reporting agency under the FCRA.