Broker Authority is FMCSA's license for a company to arrange for the transportation of property by a motor carrier in exchange for compensation, without itself taking possession of the freight or operating the trucks. A broker is the middleman between a shipper who needs freight moved and a carrier that will physically move it — legally and financially a distinct role from being a carrier, even though many companies in the industry perform both functions, sometimes requiring both broker authority and carrier operating authority held separately. To obtain broker authority, a company must satisfy FMCSA's fitness requirements and post a $75,000 financial security instrument — either a BMC-84 surety bond or a BMC-85 trust fund — which guarantees the broker can pay carriers if it fails to do so. Broker authority status is one of the first things a carrier should check before working with an unfamiliar broker, since brokers with lapsed or revoked authority, often due to an expired bond, may not be legally operating, creating payment and liability risk for any carrier that hauls a load for them.
Before agreeing to haul a load, a carrier checks that the broker's authority status shows 'Active' and that its BMC-84 bond is current — an expired bond is a common reason brokers get flagged.
Shown as the primary status badge and in the Broker Authority & Bond section of every broker profile.