Every freight broker will tell you they’re reliable. The way to find out if that’s true is to check a short list of concrete facts before you ever book a load — not after.

Verify their authority and insurance

Every legitimate freight broker in the U.S. is required to hold active FMCSA broker authority (an MC number) and carry a surety bond — currently $75,000 under BMC-84. You can verify both directly through the FMCSA’s public SAFER system in under a minute. If a broker won’t readily share their MC number, that’s a red flag on its own.

Ask how they vet their carriers

A broker is only as reliable as the carrier network behind them. Ask specifically whether carriers are checked for active authority, current insurance, and safety rating before being assigned a load — and how often that gets re-verified.

Questions worth asking directly

  • What is your MC number and surety bond amount?
  • Do you carry contingent cargo and auto liability coverage?
  • How do you vet carriers before assigning them a load?
  • Who do I actually talk to if something goes wrong mid-transit?

A broker with nothing to hide will answer all of these without hesitation — often before you even ask.