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Broker guide
How to vet a carrier before tendering a load
A five-minute public-record check: authority, insurance, safety, identifiers, history.
What the public record shows
- Confirm the operating authority status is Active in FMCSA Licensing & Insurance (L&I), and that the docket (MC/FF/MX) matches the USDOT number you were given.
- Check the BMC-91/91X liability filing on record and its insurer; brokers and forwarders post a $75,000 bond or trust (BMC-84/85) instead.
- Read the SMS out-of-service rates and crash counts for the last 24 months and compare them to the national averages.
- Look at how many other DOT records share the carrier's phone, address, email or officer names, and how many of those carry a revocation or cancellation.
- Note any contact or name change recorded within 90 days of the authority grant or reinstatement.
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 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 Contact changes after authority approval
Hubs
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Questions
How long does a public-record carrier check take?
Under a minute with the free DOT lookup: it renders the Trust Receipt from the L&I, Census and SMS files CarrierDaily compares daily.
Is a Green badge a guarantee?
No. It means no change signal is on the public record today. It is a reading of FMCSA facts, not a prediction or a judgment.
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.