How to check a freight broker before you haul

To check a freight broker, look it up by MC or USDOT number on FMCSA's SAFER site. Then follow the snapshot's Licensing & Insurance link to check its bond. Call back on a number you found yourself, not the one that called you. It takes a few minutes and works on any broker.

Start every lookup from a site you opened yourself, not a link in the email or text that brought you the load. FMCSA has warned about fake SAFER sites.

Look the broker up on SAFER

Ask the broker for its MC or USDOT number. Type safer.fmcsa.dot.gov into your browser and search the number, not the name. Company names repeat, but each number belongs to one company.

On the company snapshot, read these lines:

• Entity type: BROKER, alone or alongside CARRIER.
• USDOT status: ACTIVE.
• Operating authority status: AUTHORIZED FOR, then Broker of Property. NOT AUTHORIZED means no active authority to broker interstate freight, so stop there.
• Out of service date: None.
• Legal name, address and phone: write them down. You'll compare everything else with them.

The snapshot also says how current its data is. Records change, so check on the day you book.

Check the bond and the BOC-3

A broker's registration stays in effect only while its surety bond or trust fund does. It also files a BOC-3, which names the agents who can accept legal papers for it.

On the broker's SAFER snapshot, click Licensing & Insurance. It opens the broker's record in Motus, FMCSA's new registration system, where you can see its bond and BOC-3. You want both on file. If the bond shows as cancelled or pending cancellation, ask the broker why before you haul.

Skip the older L&I site, li-public.fmcsa.dot.gov. FMCSA stopped taking filings there on May 14, 2026.

Call back on a number you looked up

FMCSA's advice is to call the number posted on SAFER, not the one in an email or text. If SAFER shows no phone at all, wait until you can confirm the load.

Some brokers also list a second number on their website, for carriers or recruiting. That can be normal. Call the SAFER number and ask about it.

Searching online for a broker's number? FMCSA warns that scammers set up fake profiles that can show up first.

Match the website and the paperwork

• The website. Find it yourself. The name, MC, USDOT and address it prints should match SAFER.
• The paperwork. Look at the carrier packet, the rate confirmation and any setup emails. Check that the name, MC number and phone match SAFER. If anything doesn't, call the number on SAFER.
• Pay changes. An email asking you to change where you get paid isn't enough. Call the broker on a number you looked up before you change anything.

Checking Bainbridge Brokerage

Here's what you'll find when you check us. Look us up on SAFER yourself too.

1. SAFER. Search USDOT 3832071 or MC 1390499. You'll see BAINBRIDGE BROKERAGE LLC at 1515 Wazee St, Suite 300, Denver, CO 80202. The entity type is BROKER, the USDOT status is ACTIVE, and it's authorized for Broker of Property (Except Household Goods).
2. Power units. SAFER shows 0 power units. We broker freight to motor carriers.
3. Website. Ours is www.bainbridge.ai, and our email is info@bainbridge.ai. The site footer prints MC 1390499 and USDOT 3832071.
4. Paperwork. After you apply, we send your carrier packet through MyCarrierPackets. Check that the name and MC number on it match our SAFER record.

Our phone is (303) 276-2378, the number on our FMCSA record. Hours: Mon-Fri, 8 AM-5 PM Mountain.

Carriers book days with us, and we broker loads to them.

Our verify page keeps all of this in one place, with a link to our SAFER record. If something in your check doesn't match, call us and ask.

Our carrier payments page explains how we pay carriers. If you get a pay or banking request from us that you didn't expect, call the number above before you act on it.

Think a load was double brokered? Here's how those scams work and where to report one.

New to us? Carrier setup lists the steps, and the application takes about two minutes.