How to Check Carrier Insurance Before You Book a Load

Start with the identifier you were given

Compare the MC or USDOT number on the rate confirmation with the legal name you were given. Look the number up, then open the official FMCSA pages when you need the source of record. A familiar logo is not an identifier.

Read the three filing flags

The public census answers a narrow question: does FMCSA show a filing, not a filing, or no requirement? Read each flag on its own.

• Liability (BIPD) is the bodily-injury and property-damage filing. FMCSA often stores the amount in thousands of dollars, so 750 means $750,000.
• Cargo tells you whether a cargo filing is on file. Many operations have no federal cargo-filing requirement.
• Bond or trust is usually a broker or freight-forwarder financial-responsibility filing, not a motor carrier's cargo policy.

On file is not a certificate of insurance

A positive flag means the census shows a filing. It does not list commodities, exclusions, additional insureds, or the limit your shipper requires. If the amount on file is below the amount FMCSA lists as required, resolve that before you book.

Zero, or "not on file," means that filing is absent from the census. It is not proof the company is uninsured for every operation, and it is not permission to skip the check your customer requires.

Confirm the policy when the load depends on it

• Match the named insured to the legal entity on the FMCSA record.
• Call the insurer or authorized agent at a phone number you found yourself, not only the number on a certificate the carrier sent.
• Check effective dates and any pending cancellation on FMCSA's Licensing and Insurance page.
• Save the date, the source, and the name of the person who checked.

Recheck before the next load

A filing can be replaced or cancelled between loads. The free lookup is a point-in-time public snapshot and can be up to 24 hours old. Decide who on your team watches for a cancellation and who may book while a required filing is unresolved.