Does a power-only carrier need different FMCSA authority?

No — the same active motor carrier (property) authority applies. The trap runs the other direction: entities holding only broker authority accepting power-only loads to re-broker them. Match the authority type to the work before anything else.

What insurance should I confirm before a power-only tender?

Beyond the federally filed liability coverage: trailer interchange coverage (if you have a written interchange agreement) or non-owned trailer physical damage (if you don't), at a limit that covers the trailer's replacement value, plus cargo coverage for the freight inside it. None of those appear in FMCSA filings — verify them with the issuing insurer or agent.

Why is power-only considered higher fraud risk?

Because accepting a power-only load requires producing nothing physical — no trailer, no special equipment — it's cheap for a fraudulent or re-brokering entity to win the tender and hand it off. Combine that with a high-value asset (your trailer) leaving with them, and the segment rewards tighter identity and authority checks than standard van freight.

Do I need a written trailer interchange agreement?

If you expect the carrier's trailer interchange coverage to respond, usually yes — the coverage is commonly conditioned on one. If there's no agreement, the carrier needs non-owned trailer physical damage coverage instead. An unpapered handshake plus neither coverage is how trailers become uninsured losses.

Commodity-specific vetting

Power-only carrier vetting: the checks that change when it's your trailer

Power-only flips one assumption that the rest of carrier vetting quietly relies on: in a standard tender, the carrier's equipment hauls your freight; in power-only, the carrier's tractor hauls your trailer — or your customer's. That one change adds a second asset to protect, a second insurance question the federal record can't answer, and a segment that freight fraudsters have learned to exploit. The federal checks still come first. Here's what has to come after.

Check a carrier now

Run the carrier's MC or DOT number first — operating authority, insurance on file, safety rating, and out-of-service status in seconds. Free, no account.

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.

Demo:— click to see a sample result + PDF

The standard layer still comes first

Active authority, liability insurance on file, safety rating, out-of-service status, and a sane inspection history — power-only exempts a carrier from none of it. If anything the driver out-of-service rate deserves extra attention, because in power-only you are effectively renting a driver and a tractor; the trailer's condition is on you, but the person pulling it is entirely their contribution.

The insurance question the FMCSA filing can't answer

The BIPD filing you can verify federally covers liability to the public. It does not tell you what happens when the carrier drops, damages, or disappears with your trailer. That protection lives in two private coverages:

Trailer interchange coverage. applies when a written interchange agreement is in place — it covers physical damage to a non-owned trailer in the carrier's possession. Confirm it exists, confirm the limit covers your trailer's replacement cost, and confirm your arrangement is actually papered as an interchange agreement, because the coverage typically requires one.
Non-owned trailer physical damage. is the fallback form some carriers buy instead — it covers a trailer in their care without an interchange agreement. Either form can be fine; carrying neither means your trailer rides bare, and you find out after it's crunched at a dock.
Verify with the insurer, not the certificate.. Trailer coverage is exactly the kind of line item that appears on an edited certificate and not on the actual policy. The issuing agent's number is on the certificate — call it, and note who confirmed what.

Why power-only attracts double-brokering

Power-only postings are a known hunting ground for unlawful re-brokering. The economics explain it: a power-only load is easy to accept with nothing but a signed rate con — no trailer to produce, no specialized equipment to prove — and easy to hand to someone else. A party with broker authority but thin or absent carrier authority accepting power-only work is the classic pattern; your trailer then travels with a driver nobody vetted, under insurance nobody confirmed.

Match the authority to the job.. Active carrier (motor) authority, not just broker authority — and if the MC is weeks old or freshly reactivated, treat the account setup as a fraud check, not paperwork.
Verify the identity, not just the number.. Confirm the phone and address you're dispatching to match the carrier's federal record, and be suspicious of a dispatcher who can't receive a call at the listed number.
Know whose tractor shows up.. Get the truck and driver details on the rate con and check them at pickup. In power-only, equipment substitution is the visible symptom of a re-brokered load.

Where CarrierClear fits

CarrierClear covers the record layer: a free check returns authority status, insurance on file, safety rating, and out-of-service status; paid lookups add the risk dossier with its reasons, OFAC screening, phone and address fraud signals, and an identity-reuse flag — the same signals that surface chameleon setups and re-brokering fronts. Saved carriers are monitored daily, so an authority revocation between your first power-only load and your tenth doesn't pass silently. The interchange-agreement and trailer-coverage questions stay with you and the carrier's insurer — run them once per carrier, and keep the answers with the dated check so the whole vetting file lives in one place.

Common questions

Does a power-only carrier need different FMCSA authority?: No — the same active motor carrier (property) authority applies. The trap runs the other direction: entities holding only broker authority accepting power-only loads to re-broker them. Match the authority type to the work before anything else.
What insurance should I confirm before a power-only tender?: Beyond the federally filed liability coverage: trailer interchange coverage (if you have a written interchange agreement) or non-owned trailer physical damage (if you don't), at a limit that covers the trailer's replacement value, plus cargo coverage for the freight inside it. None of those appear in FMCSA filings — verify them with the issuing insurer or agent.
Why is power-only considered higher fraud risk?: Because accepting a power-only load requires producing nothing physical — no trailer, no special equipment — it's cheap for a fraudulent or re-brokering entity to win the tender and hand it off. Combine that with a high-value asset (your trailer) leaving with them, and the segment rewards tighter identity and authority checks than standard van freight.
Do I need a written trailer interchange agreement?: If you expect the carrier's trailer interchange coverage to respond, usually yes — the coverage is commonly conditioned on one. If there's no agreement, the carrier needs non-owned trailer physical damage coverage instead. An unpapered handshake plus neither coverage is how trailers become uninsured losses.

How double-brokering works →How to check carrier authority →New-authority carrier risk →The full carrier-vetting checklist →

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. Verify independently before relying on any record. Comparisons reflect our understanding of publicly available information as of the date shown and may change; CarrierClear is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any other company named here, and all trademarks belong to their respective owners.