Carrier Vetting Guide for Freight Brokers and Shippers

By CarrierLens Compliance Team • Last updated: 2026-05-19

Every freight broker and shipper who selects a motor carrier has a legal duty to perform reasonable due diligence on that carrier's safety record before tendering a load. Failure to do so — and to document that you did — can expose your brokerage or logistics team to significant liability when a carrier you selected causes an accident or cargo loss.

This guide walks through the complete carrier vetting process: what FMCSA data to check, how to interpret it, what documentation to create, and how often to repeat the process.

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Step 1: Verify Operating Authority

The first and most critical check is whether the carrier has active, authorized FMCSA operating authority in the category matching your freight:

• Common Carrier (Property) — Required for hauling general freight for the public
• Contract Carrier (Property) — Required for hauling under specific contracts
• Hazardous Materials — Required for regulated hazmat commodities
• Household Goods — Required for residential moves

Operating authority status is verified at FMCSA SAFER (safer.fmcsa.dot.gov) or through the CarrierLens free carrier check. Status must be "Authorized" — "Not Authorized" or "Revoked" means the carrier cannot legally haul your freight. Booking a carrier without active authority creates direct regulatory and civil liability.

Step 2: Check the FMCSA Safety Rating

FMCSA assigns safety ratings following on-site compliance reviews. The three possible ratings:

• Satisfactory — Passed a compliance review. Safe to book.
• Conditional — Has identified safety management deficiencies. Use with caution and document your decision rationale.
• Unsatisfactory — Required to cease operations. Do not book.

Most carriers are "Not Rated," meaning they have never undergone an FMCSA compliance review. This is not a red flag on its own — continue checking CSA BASIC scores and crash history.

Step 3: Review CSA BASIC Scores

CSA BASIC percentile scores are a carrier's real-time safety health indicators, updated monthly from roadside inspection data. FMCSA alert thresholds are:

• 65th percentile: Unsafe Driving, Crash Indicator, HOS Compliance, Vehicle Maintenance, Driver Fitness
• 50th percentile: Controlled Substances/Alcohol

A carrier above one of these thresholds is not automatically disqualified from your loads — but you should note the exceedance, understand which violations are driving it, and document your decision to proceed. Multiple BASICs above threshold simultaneously is a strong caution signal. The Controlled Substances BASIC above 50th percentile is treated as a more serious red flag given the lower threshold FMCSA sets.

Step 4: Review Crash and Inspection History

The FMCSA SAFER system shows 24 months of crash and inspection data. Key metrics to evaluate:

• Driver OOS rate — Above 5.5% (the national average) indicates a pattern of driver qualification or HOS violations
• Vehicle OOS rate — Above 20% (the national average) indicates a pattern of maintenance failures
• Fatal and injury crashes — Any recent fatal crash warrants careful review of context
• Crash rate per inspection — Context matters; a carrier with 500 inspections and 3 crashes is very different from one with 10 inspections and 3 crashes

Step 5: Verify Insurance Coverage

FMCSA requires carriers to maintain minimum insurance levels:

• General freight — $750,000 BIPD (Bodily Injury and Property Damage)
• Hazardous materials (certain classes) — $1 million to $5 million BIPD
• Household goods — $300,000 BIPD
• Cargo insurance — Minimums vary; most shippers require $100,000+

Verify insurance through FMCSA SAFER (which shows current insurance filings) and request a certificate of insurance directly from the carrier for every new carrier relationship. Verify that the certificate names your brokerage as an additional insured.

Step 6: Check the FMCSA Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse

If you manage carriers rather than simply broker their loads, 49 CFR §391.23 requires pre-employment Clearinghouse full queries for CDL drivers who will drive under your authority. For brokers who do not employ drivers directly, Clearinghouse verification is not a federal requirement — but knowing whether a carrier's drivers are enrolled in a compliant drug testing program is reasonable due diligence.

Step 7: Document Everything

The most important — and most neglected — step in carrier vetting is documentation. After the Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II ruling, freight brokers and shippers must be able to produce, in litigation, contemporaneous records showing what FMCSA data was reviewed, what the results were, and who made the decision to proceed. Key documentation elements:

• Timestamp of the safety check (date and time)
• FMCSA data snapshot (operating status, safety rating, BASIC scores at time of check)
• Pass/caution/fail determination and rationale
• Identity of the person who performed the check
• Load or shipment reference number

CarrierLens BrokerShield generates timestamped vetting certificates capturing all of these elements automatically, and stores them in a permanent searchable log.

How Often to Re-Vet Carriers

Carrier safety status changes continuously — operating authority can be revoked, safety ratings can be downgraded after a compliance review, and CSA scores update monthly. Best practices for re-vetting frequency:

• First use: Always run a full vetting check before the first load with any carrier
• Ongoing approved carriers: Re-vet at minimum every 90 days
• High-CSA carriers: Re-vet before every load or monthly at minimum
• After any FMCSA compliance review announcement: Immediate re-vet

Red Flags That Should Stop a Booking

• ✗Operating authority status is "Not Authorized" or "Revoked"
• ✗Unsatisfactory FMCSA safety rating
• ✗Controlled Substances BASIC above 50th percentile
• ✗Three or more BASICs above 65th percentile simultaneously
• ✗Fatal crash within the past 12 months without explanation
• ✗Insurance not on file with FMCSA or certificate expired
• ✗Driver OOS rate above 15% or Vehicle OOS rate above 35%