Carrier & Broker Lookup for Owner Operators
Verify MC/DOT authority, check credit scores, and spot red flags before hauling.
Live FMCSA Search
Red Flags — Walk Away
- ✗ Double brokering loads
- ✗ Requesting upfront fees
- ✗ No broker bond on file
- ✗ Pressure to dispatch immediately
- ✗ Rate changes after loading
- ✗ Unverifiable contact information
- ✗ No FMCSA registration
Verification Checklist
Verify each item before you accept a load from a new broker or carrier.
- Active MC/DOT authority
- Cargo coverage meets the broker's requirement (often $100,000, a contract term, not a federal minimum)
- Broker bond minimum $75,000
- No recent complaints or payment issues
- DAT/Carrier411 credit score reviewed
- Days-to-pay history under 30 days
- Registered with FMCSA
Minimum Requirements
• Broker bond: $75,000 minimum
• Cargo insurance: $100,000 minimum
• Days to pay: Under 30 days
• Authority status: Active
Numbers tight? Let a dispatcher find better loads.
This tool is free. If it shows you are leaving money on the road, Grow Trucking finds loads, negotiates rates and does the paperwork for owner-operators and small fleets.
Also: About Grow Trucking · Refer a carrier · Trucking blog
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Have questions about using our carrier & broker lookup? All our tools are free to use with no registration required. Save your inputs locally and come back anytime.
How do I look up a carrier or broker's FMCSA record?
FMCSA's SAFER Company Snapshot is the free, authoritative record for any carrier or broker: search by USDOT number, MC number or company name for authority status, safety rating, insurance filings and inspection history. A USDOT-number search is the most reliable, since names and MC numbers can be shared, misspelled or reused. SAFER updates from FMCSA's own registration and inspection systems, not from a private database.
- Search by USDOT number first if you have it. It is the most reliable match.
- If you only have an MC number, search that next. It is tied to operating authority and is more reliable than a name search.
- Search by company name only as a last resort, and check every close match, since names repeat.
- Check the authority status (active, revoked, or pending), the safety rating, and whether insurance is on file.
- For a broker, confirm a BMC-84 bond or BMC-85 trust fund is on file, since that is required to hold broker authority.
| What you search by | Reliability |
|---|---|
| USDOT number | Most reliable; one number per company |
| MC or MX number | Reliable; tied to a specific grant of authority |
| Company name | Least reliable; names can repeat, change or be misspelled |
SAFER shows current status, not a full history of every past authority action. A record showing 'active' with no flags is a reasonable baseline, but it does not replace reading the broker's or carrier's actual contract terms.
Last reviewed September 2026. Sources: FMCSA: SAFER Company Snapshot.
Frequently Asked Questions - Carrier & Broker Lookup
How do I verify a carrier or broker before doing business with them?
What is an MC number?
How can I check a broker's payment history before hauling for them?
What's the legal difference between a carrier and a broker?
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Go Further With Carrier & Broker Lookup
Guides, services and reference pages that go with this tool.
- Brokers we work withSee the brokers Grow Trucking books freight from.
- Authorized for hire, explainedWhat the operation classification on a carrier snapshot means.
- Safety ratings and DataQsA safety rating is different from a CSA score. See how each works and how to fix wrong data.
- USDOT number and biennial updateWhat a USDOT number is for, and how the update schedule works.
- Operating authority, explainedWhy a carrier needs authority and how to tell whether it is active.
- Shipper credit check serviceGet a deeper credit review than authority data alone.
- Freight fraud prevention guideWhat carrier identity theft and cloning look like, and how to catch them.
- California Clean Truck CheckBrokers may arrange California freight only with trucks that pass Clean Truck Check. See what they must keep on file.
- SCAC code, explainedMany shippers ask for a SCAC. See what it is and what it costs.
- Trip lease, explainedA carrier that uses a leased truck still needs its own authority and insurance. See the lease rules.
- USDOT number, explainedThe lookup starts from a USDOT number. See what the number is and what it tracks.
- BMC-84 bond, explainedA broker must keep a $75,000 bond to hold authority. See what it covers and what changed in 2026.
- Freight forwarder, explainedA forwarder is not the same as a broker. See how the roles differ.
- Carmack Amendment, explainedKnow the federal rule on carrier liability for loss and damage before you book a load.
- FMCSA safety rating, explainedA lookup can show a carrier's rating. See what satisfactory, conditional and unsatisfactory mean.