How to Check if an Auto Transport Broker Is Licensed Before You Book

Anyone can build a website with photos of trucks and a quote form. Not everyone has an FMCSA broker license. Before you pay a deposit to any auto transport company, a 90-second search can tell you whether they're legally allowed to operate — and what their regulatory track record looks like.

What an FMCSA broker license means

Auto transport brokers are regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). To legally operate, a broker must:

• Register with the FMCSA and obtain a Motor Carrier (MC) number with "broker" authority
• Maintain a $75,000 surety bond (BMC-84) or trust fund to protect customers
• Designate a registered process agent in every state where they do business
• Keep their authority "active" — not revoked or suspended

An unlicensed broker has none of these protections in place. If they take your deposit and disappear, there's no bond to file against, no regulatory record, and no FMCSA complaint mechanism available to you.

How to verify in 90 seconds

Go to safer.fmcsa.dot.gov and use the Company Search. You can search by:

• Company name (use partial name if unsure of exact spelling)
• MC number (if the broker has provided one)
• DOT number

What to look for in the results:

• Authority Status: Should say "ACTIVE" for the relevant authority type. "Revoked" or "Inactive" means they are not legally operating.
• Insurance on file: Check that a valid BMC-84 bond is listed and active.
• Authority type: Should show "BROKER" authority, not just carrier authority — carriers who haven't registered as brokers aren't legally permitted to arrange transport for others.

Red flags in the FMCSA record

• No record found: If a company can't be found in SAFER, either their name is significantly different from their website or they're operating without a license. Call them and ask for their MC number directly — if they won't give it, walk away.
• Revoked or inactive authority: Means they previously had a license that was removed, often for regulatory violations, failure to maintain the bond, or safety violations. This is a serious disqualifier.
• Very new authority: An MC number that was issued in the last 6–12 months combined with an elaborate website and aggressive discounting is a pattern associated with fly-by-night brokers who set up, take deposits, and shut down before complaints accumulate.
• Carrier authority only, no broker authority: Means they're a trucking company, not a licensed broker. If they're acting as a broker without the license, they're operating illegally.

The complaint database: NCCDB

FMCSA also maintains the National Consumer Complaint Database (NCCDB) at nccdb.fmcsa.dot.gov. Search for the broker's company name and MC number. Complaints are public and categorized — look for:

• Deposit and refund disputes
• Failure to deliver
• Misrepresentation
• Cargo damage complaints

One complaint in five years isn't alarming — it may be a resolved dispute. Multiple complaints in the same category over a short period is a pattern. A broker with 15 deposit dispute complaints in 18 months is running a systematic scam.

Beyond FMCSA: secondary verification

• BBB (bbb.org): Look for the broker's BBB rating and complaint history. Note: some brokers operate under different names on BBB than their trading name.
• State Secretary of State: Verify the business entity is registered in their home state and is in good standing.
• VerifyCarCarrier.com broker directory: FMCSA data and multi-source reviews combined with a 0–100 audit score for 175 brokers — use it before booking.

A legitimate broker's response to "can you give me your MC number?"

A licensed broker answers this question immediately and without hesitation. They may give you their DOT number, MC number, or both. A broker who becomes defensive, evasive, or claims "we don't give that out for privacy reasons" is operating without a license. There is no legitimate reason to withhold a public regulatory license number.