A BMC-85 Trust Fund is the alternative way — besides a BMC-84 surety bond — a broker can satisfy FMCSA's $75,000 financial responsibility requirement. Instead of paying a surety company for a bond, the broker deposits the full $75,000 into a dedicated trust account held by an approved financial institution, which can be drawn on to pay valid claims from unpaid carriers or shippers. Because a trust fund requires locking up the full amount as the broker's own capital rather than paying an ongoing bond premium to a third party, it's the less common of the two options — most brokers, especially smaller and newer ones, prefer a surety bond's lower upfront cost. A trust fund can make more sense for a well-capitalized broker that would rather earn a return on funds it controls directly than pay recurring premiums indefinitely. Functionally, from a carrier's perspective, a BMC-85 trust fund provides the same basic protection as a BMC-84 bond — a pool of money reserved to cover the broker's payment failures — just structured and funded differently.
A well-established broker with strong cash reserves might choose a BMC-85 trust fund over a bond to avoid ongoing premium payments.
Shown as 'Bond type' in the Broker Authority & Bond section on the smaller number of broker profiles that use a trust fund instead of a surety bond.