Freight Brokerage carrier vetting checklist

Freight Brokerage | PublicProof Academy working document

Run the same identity, authority, insurance and fraud checks on every carrier before tendering a load.

Business

State or jurisdiction

Prepared on

Owner

Official source saved

Next review

Identity and authority

Legal name and DBA match the rate confirmation and W-9
Operating authority shows active on FMCSA records today
Authority age noted; new authority flagged for extra review
Called back on the phone number listed on the official record, not the email
Email domain matches the company; no free-mail lookalikes

Insurance

Auto liability and cargo confirmed directly with insurer or agent
Cargo policy has no exclusion for this commodity or trailer type
Certificate lists your company as certificate holder
Policy expiration date entered in carrier record

Fraud and double-brokering signals

Carrier confirms it will haul with its own trucks and drivers
No request to change payment details without phone verification
Truck and trailer numbers and driver name captured before pickup
Broker-carrier agreement with no re-brokering clause signed

Use rule: Education and organization only. Record the agency, official source, checked date, cost, proof saved and responsible person for every consequential requirement. Unknown means stop and confirm. Example rows are labeled EXAMPLE and are not your data.