Carrier vetting guide
How to verify a carrier’s insurance before you tender
A certificate of insurance from the carrier isn’t insurance verification — it’s a snapshot of what was in force when the certificate was printed. The authoritative source is the FMCSA record. Here’s what to look for, what the minimums are, and why it matters before you hand over a load.
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MC or DOT number — free, no account. We pull insurance filing status directly from the FMCSA record, including insurer name where available.
Just the number works — with or without the MC/DOT prefix, and spaces are fine. Tip: prefix an MC number with “MC” (e.g. MC123456) so it isn't read as a DOT number.
BIPD: the baseline liability requirement
Bodily injury and property damage (BIPD) insurance is the federal floor for for-hire motor carriers in interstate commerce. The current minimum is $750,000 for most general freight carriers. Carriers transporting hazardous materials face higher minimums: $1 million for certain petroleum products and $5 million for the most dangerous commodities.
BIPD covers injury or property damage to third parties — not the cargo itself. A carrier can be BIPD-compliant and still have no cargo coverage. These are separate coverage lines.
Where to actually verify insurance
- FMCSA record (authoritative). The carrier's insurer is required to file the policy with FMCSA and to notify FMCSA if the policy lapses. When you look up a carrier and see active insurance on file with the insurer name and policy date, that's the ground truth. CarrierClear pulls this data directly.
- Certificate of insurance (not sufficient on its own). A COI shows the coverage that existed when it was issued. It does not update if the carrier cancels or lets the policy lapse. Treat a COI as context, not verification — the FMCSA filing is the check.
- Call the insurer directly. For high-value or high-risk loads, call the insurer listed in the FMCSA record to confirm the policy is active and the carrier is the named insured. This adds 10 minutes and removes any ambiguity.
Cargo insurance: what FMCSA does and doesn't track
FMCSA requires cargo insurance filings only for household goods (HHG) carriers. For dry van, reefer, flatbed, and most specialty loads, there is no federal cargo filing requirement — the carrier’s cargo policy won’t appear in FMCSA records even if they carry it.
For non-HHG loads: ask the carrier directly for their cargo policy limits, deductible, and exclusions. Request a COI naming your company as an additional insured, then verify with the insurer that the policy is current. Many broker-carrier agreements require a minimum cargo limit — confirm the carrier meets it before the load is booked.
What a lapsed insurance filing means
When a carrier’s insurer notifies FMCSA that coverage has been cancelled or lapsed, FMCSA can revoke the carrier’s operating authority within 35 days. A carrier whose authority was recently revoked for insurance failure may try to get you to book based on an old certificate while the new policy processes. Check the FMCSA record at the time you actually tender — not when you onboarded the carrier.
Paid CarrierClear plans re-check authority and insurance status dailyand alert you the moment something changes — so a carrier whose coverage lapses after you onboard them doesn’t slip past.
The broker liability dimension
After Montgomery v. Caribe, freight brokers face real exposure for negligent carrier selection. A broker who tendered to a carrier with lapsed insurance — and can’t document what it verified — is in a weak position when litigation follows an accident or cargo claim. Every free CarrierClear lookup produces a dated vetting record showing the insurance status on the federal record at the time you checked.
Full carrier vetting checklist → or spot double-brokering red flags →
Common questions
- What insurance must a carrier have on file with FMCSA?
- For-hire motor carriers in interstate commerce must maintain at minimum $750,000 in bodily injury and property damage (BIPD) liability insurance. Carriers of household goods must also carry cargo insurance. Hazardous materials carriers face higher minimums — up to $5 million depending on the commodity. These amounts are filed with FMCSA; if a carrier's policy lapses, the insurer must notify FMCSA, which can trigger authority revocation.
- Why isn't a certificate of insurance from the carrier enough?
- A certificate of insurance (COI) shows what was in force when the certificate was issued — not what's on file with FMCSA right now. Carriers can provide stale or even altered certificates. The authoritative source is the FMCSA record: if active insurance isn't showing there, the carrier may not be covered even if they hand you a certificate.
- What is cargo insurance and does FMCSA track it?
- Cargo insurance covers loss or damage to the freight itself. FMCSA requires cargo insurance filings from household goods carriers, but not most dry-van or refrigerated carriers — those commodities have no federal cargo filing requirement. For non-HHG loads, ask the carrier directly for their cargo policy and verify with the insurer, not just a COI.
- What does 'insurance on file' mean in a CarrierClear lookup?
- CarrierClear pulls the FMCSA record and surfaces the insurance filing status — whether active insurance is on file, the insurer name where available, and the policy effective dates. A missing or inactive insurance filing is a hard stop before tendering any load.
CarrierClear displays public FMCSA records and records your own verification. It is not legal advice and not a certification of any carrier’s fitness, legitimacy, or insurance status. Verify independently before relying on any record.