Verify a freight broker’s authority.

What a property broker must have on file

The rule is in 49 CFR 387.307, Property broker surety bond or trust fund, which the current edition says is effective January 16, 2025. Paragraph (a), headed Security, provides that a broker must have a surety bond or trust fund of $75,000 in effect, that FMCSA will not register a broker until a surety bond or trust fund for the full limits of liability prescribed is in effect, and that the broker registration shall remain in effect only as long as a surety bond or trust fund remains in effect. The purpose is spelled out too: the bond or trust fund ensures the financial responsibility of the broker by providing for payments to shippers or motor carriers if the broker fails to carry out its contracts, agreements or arrangements for the supplying of transportation by authorized motor carriers. Evidence of a surety bond is filed on FMCSA’s Form BMC-84; evidence of a trust fund with a financial institution on Form BMC-85.

What happens when a claim is paid

The same section sets out when a surety or financial institution must notify FMCSA, and the notice rules explain why an active record can go inactive quickly. Paragraph (e), Immediate suspension, requires a surety company issuing a Form BMC-84 or a financial institution issuing a Form BMC-85 to notify FMCSA in writing when it makes a payment, with the broker’s consent, that causes the bond or trust fund to fall below $75,000; when it pays a claim the broker did not respond to within 7 business days and the surety found valid, with the same effect; or when it pays a judgment against the broker that takes the security below $75,000. Paragraph (d) adds that bonds and trust fund agreements shall specify that coverage will remain in effect continuously until terminated as the section provides. A record that shows the bond at less than $75,000, or shows it cancelled, is therefore a record of a broker FMCSA is in the process of suspending.

How to verify, step by step

Open the FMCSA Licensing & Insurance Carrier Search and enter the broker’s docket number with the MC prefix, or its USDOT number; the search page says either one is all that needs to be entered. Name searches match from the beginning of the name, and the page recommends adding the state. From the result, open the detail pages and read three things: the type of authority and its status, the financial responsibility filing and its amount, and the BOC-3 designation. Then set the five fields above to what you saw and press Check. The checker flags carrier-only authority, pending or inactive status, a missing BMC-84 or BMC-85, an amount under $75,000 and a missing BOC-3, and explains each against the rule. Remember the 24-hour lag the search page notes for new applications.

Worked examples

A record showing broker of property authority, status active, a BMC-84 for $75,000 and a BOC-3 on file returns Checks out on the fields entered: every element the rule and the filings describe is present. A record showing motor carrier authority only, no bond and no BOC-3 returns Not verified with 3 problems: a carrier that holds only carrier authority is not registered as a broker, and without the $75,000 security FMCSA would not register one. A broker of property with active authority but a BMC-85 showing $50,000 is also not verified, because the full limits of liability are $75,000.

Method

The bond amount, the forms, the continuous-coverage and immediate-suspension provisions and the effective date were read from 49 CFR 387.307 in the govinfo copy of the 10-1-24 edition of Title 49 on November 11, 2026; the search fields, the filing functions and the 24-hour note from the FMCSA Licensing & Insurance pages the same day. The checker is a set of rules applied to the five values you choose; it does not query the FMCSA and it cannot see the record for you.

What this does not cover

• Freight forwarders, which hold FF dockets and are covered by other sections of Part 387.
• Household goods brokers’ additional consumer-protection duties.
• Whether a broker pays carriers on time or is solvent; the bond is a backstop, not a credit report.
• State-level requirements for brokers arranging intrastate moves.

Figures read from the sources below on November 11, 2026. Last updated November 11, 2026.

Sources

• Government Publishing Office: 49 CFR 387.307, Property broker surety bond or trust fund (10-1-24 edition; $75,000, Forms BMC-84 and BMC-85, immediate suspension) (retrieved November 11, 2026)
• FMCSA Licensing & Insurance: Carrier Search (fields and 24-hour note) (retrieved November 11, 2026)
• FMCSA Licensing & Insurance: home page (financial responsibility and BOC-3 filings) (retrieved November 11, 2026)