Freight broker bond, explained in plain words

The requirement

Federal law says a freight broker cannot operate without financial security of $75,000. It is one of the freight broker requirements every broker meets before its authority is granted, alongside its MC number (every broker has one — that is the number on your rate confirmation) and its USDOT registration. The security is filed with the federal regulator and recorded in the Licensing & Insurance files, which is why the record of who holds any broker's bond — and who held it on any past date — is public information you can look up free.

Bond or trust fund: BMC-84 and BMC-85

• BMC-84 — a surety bond. A surety company promises: if this broker owes carriers money it does not pay, we stand behind it up to $75,000. Most brokers carry this form.
• BMC-85 — a trust fund. The broker deposits the $75,000 with a bank or trustee instead. Claims go to the trustee.

For a carrier filing a claim the difference is small: the papers are the same, the clocks are the same; only the address the claim goes to changes. Your delivery-date lookup names whichever one covered your load.

Who the surety is (and is not)

The surety is an insurance-side company that issued the bond and answers claims against it. Some bonds are handled by claims administrators — firms that run the intake and the investigation for the surety or trustee. The surety is not the broker's bank, not the broker's insurer for cargo, and not a government office. When you file, you are making a claim on an insurance product, with paperwork, an investigation and a written decision — expect it to behave like one: complete files move, thin files wait.

What the bond pays for

Money a broker owes for transportation it arranged — in plain terms, carrier freight charges for loads that were hauled and not paid. That is the bond's job, and it is the claim this whole site is about: rate confirmation, delivery proof, invoice, and in it goes.

What the bond never covers

• More than $75,000 in total. One pot per broker, shared by every valid claim — when claims pass $75,000 explains the split.
• Loads the bond did not cover in time. A claim belongs to the bond in force on the delivery date. Before or after that bond's life, it answers nothing.
• Claims filed after the windows close — above all the 60 days after a cancellation notice.
• Anything that is not an unpaid freight charge — disputes about a broker's manners, margins or promises are real grievances, but they are not bond claims.

Questions people ask

Does a freight broker need a DOT number?

A broker holds federal operating authority under its own USDOT registration and is known in the trade by its MC (docket) number — the MC is the number you will use for lookups and claims. Shippers and carriers check both in the federal files.

Is the $75,000 per load or per carrier?

Neither. It is per broker — one pot that every valid claim against that broker shares.

How do I know a broker's bond is real?

It is recorded in the federal Licensing & Insurance files or it is not a bond at all. Any broker's page in the broker record shows its current bond and full bond history from those files.