Help & FAQ

What is CarrierClear?

CarrierClear checks a motor carrier against public FMCSA records and gives you a clear read — operating authority, insurance, safety, and out-of-service status — in seconds, plus a dated record you can keep on file. It's built for freight brokers who need to vet a carrier before tendering a load.

What's free, and what's paid?

The free tool needs no account: an instant check of a carrier's operating authority, insurance on file, safety rating, and out-of-service status, plus a dated PDF record. There's a daily limit.

Paid plans add the full carrier dossier on every lookup, plus ongoing monitoring:

• At-a-glance risk rating, with the exact reasons shown — never a black-box score
• The full insurance picture — on-file vs. required for liability, cargo, and bond
• Out-of-service rates vs. the national average, plus crash and inspection history
• OFAC sanctions screening, phone and address fraud screening, and an identity-reuse (chameleon) flag
• Carrier history and trend from our own monitoring
• Ongoing monitoring with email alerts and a dated change-history log, unbranded records, and multiple seats

What do the four basic checks mean?

• Operating authority — whether FMCSA shows active authority to operate. Inactive or none means don't book until it's active.
• Insurance — whether insurance is on file and whether a cancellation is pending. "On file" is not the same as confirmed active coverage — request a current certificate of insurance (COI).
• Safety rating — Satisfactory, Conditional, Unsatisfactory, or Unrated. Most carriers are Unrated, which is common and not a red flag by itself.
• Out-of-service — whether the carrier is under an out-of-service order. Operating with an out-of-service carrier is unlawful.

What do the risk bands mean? (paid)

The risk rating is an informational synthesis of public FMCSA signals — not a certification of a carrier's fitness.

• "No flags found" is shown only when there's positive evidence of good standing.
• "Limited FMCSA data" means the record is too thin to say either way — it is never shown as a clean bill of health.
• "Review recommended" and "Serious flags" mark signals worth a closer look, with the exact reasons shown — never a black-box score.

How does monitoring work? (paid)

Save a carrier to your roster and CarrierClear re-checks it against FMCSA on a recurring basis. When something worsens — authority goes inactive, insurance coverage drops below the required amount, the safety picture changes, or out-of-service rates spike — we email your team and record it.

Every change is kept in a dated change-history log on the carrier's record, so you have a timeline of what changed and when.

Where does the data come from?

The core checks and the dossier are built from public FMCSA records. Paid phone and address screening use third-party line-type and address-validation data. CarrierClear displays and organizes this data — it does not certify a carrier and is not a substitute for your own verification.

Is CarrierClear legal advice, or a consumer report?

No. CarrierClear is an information tool. It is not legal advice, not a certification of any carrier's fitness or insurance, and not a consumer report under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) — don't use it for any FCRA-governed purpose. Always verify independently before you book.

How do I read the insurance figures? (paid)

The dossier shows coverage on file against the amount required, for liability (BIPD), cargo, and bond. A filed amount is not proof of active coverage on your load — request a current COI and confirm with the insurer. We flag when on-file coverage is missing or below the required amount.

How do I cancel?

Manage billing from your account and cancel anytime. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. Your subscription renews automatically each month until you cancel.