Guide for shippers

How freight brokers vet carriers (and what double brokering is)

Bear Shift Logistics team · Published October 14, 2026

Authority and the FMCSA record

A for-hire carrier that hauls regulated freight across state lines needs a USDOT number and operating authority from the FMCSA, usually shown with an MC number. The first check is whether that authority is active. On SAFER, the FMCSA's public lookup, a broker can confirm:

• that the company is registered as a carrier and its operating authority is active — not pending, suspended or revoked;
• that the legal name, the address and the phone number match the company the broker is actually talking to;
• the safety rating, if the carrier has one, and its record of roadside inspections and crashes;
• the number of trucks and drivers the carrier reports, which should make sense for the loads it wants to haul.

The match between the record and the person on the phone matters as much as the record itself. Identity theft — someone using a real carrier's name and MC number — is a known risk in trucking, so contact details that don't match the FMCSA record are a reason to stop and verify.

Insurance minimums

Before we book a carrier for your load, we check its insurance. Our minimum is the same for every carrier: at least $1,000,000 auto liability and $100,000 cargo insurance, checked on their certificate of insurance.

A certificate of insurance shows the insurer, the policy numbers, the coverage limits and the policy dates. A careful check looks at more than the limits: the policies have to be current, the named insured has to match the carrier's legal name, and the carrier's liability coverage should also appear on its FMCSA Licensing & Insurance record. Cargo policies have their own terms and exclusions, too, which is one reason a shipper with valuable freight should say so before booking and keep its own cargo policy.

That insurance is the carrier's and follows its policy terms. Bear Shift doesn't sell cargo insurance.

W-9 and the Broker-Carrier Agreement

We also ask each carrier for its W-9 and to sign our Broker-Carrier Agreement.

The W-9 gives the carrier's legal name and taxpayer identification number, which should match the name on its authority and its insurance; a mismatch is worth a question. A broker-carrier agreement typically sets the ground rules before any load moves: the carrier hauls under its own authority, keeps its insurance in force and is responsible for the freight in its care. Ours also sets the carrier's payment terms in writing and prohibits double brokering.

Then, for each load, the carrier receives a rate confirmation with the rate, the pickup and delivery details and any extras agreed, and signs it before loading. The agreement covers the relationship; the rate confirmation covers the specific load.

Double brokering: what it is and why it is prohibited in our carrier terms

Double brokering happens when a carrier that accepted a load hands it to another company — or re-posts it as if it were a broker — without the shipper's or the broker's knowledge. Sometimes it is a carrier that took on more than it can haul; sometimes it is fraud, where the load was booked under a stolen identity and passed to a carrier that doesn't know who it is really working for.

Either way, the risks are real:

• your freight is hauled by a company nobody checked, whose insurance may not respond for that load;
• the carrier that actually hauls it may not be paid, which can lead to disputes and delays over the freight;
• tracking, appointments and paperwork break down because an unknown company is in the middle.

Arranging interstate truck transportation for pay requires broker authority from the FMCSA, so a carrier without it that re-brokers a load is generally working outside its authority. Our carrier terms prohibit handing your load to another carrier or broker (no double brokering): the carrier we book is the carrier that hauls your freight, under its own authority.

Re-checking carriers over time

A carrier that passed every check last month can look different today. Authority can be suspended or revoked, insurance can be cancelled or not renewed, a company can be sold or change its contact details, and a safety record changes with every inspection. That is why vetting is a habit, not a single event: before we book a carrier for your load, we check its operating authority and its insurance, including carriers we have worked with before.

Over time, good signs are consistent: the same contact details, the equipment and drivers the carrier described, and paperwork that matches from load to load. Urgent freight is where shortcuts are most tempting, so the checks don't change whether it is an expedited load booked the same day or a regular full truckload.

Carriers who want to work with us can see what we ask for on our carriers page. Shippers can ask for a quote and ask us how we checked the carrier on their load.

Questions about carrier vetting

This guide is general information about freight brokerage, not legal advice. Your bill of lading, quote terms and the carrier's tariff govern each shipment.