Brokerage
Freight broker resources worth bookmarking
The short list of official filings, lookups, and tools a working broker touches, in the order you will need them.
Most resource lists are padded with links you will open once. This is the short version, grouped by when you actually need it.
Getting legal
FMCSA Unified Registration System. Where the OP-1 broker authority application lives, along with your MC number and your operating status. This is the government's system of record for your business existing.
FMCSA public lookup, SAFER and the licensing search. How you verify a carrier's authority, insurance on file, and safety record before you hand them a load. Free, and non-negotiable on every new carrier.
BMC-84 surety bond. The $75,000 bond required for broker authority. Priced off personal credit, so pull your credit before you shop it. Read the guide on this one, it is the step people mishandle most.
BOC-3 process agent filing. A designated agent in every state you operate in. Filing services handle this for a flat fee and it takes minutes.
Finding freight and carriers
Load boards. Useful for finding carriers on a lane and for gauging what a lane is paying. Almost useless as a customer source, because everybody on the board is looking at the same thing you are.
Carrier monitoring and vetting services. Continuous authority, insurance, and safety monitoring beats a one time check, because authority can lapse mid-load.
Shipper prospecting sources. Local manufacturer and distributor directories, chamber of commerce member lists, industrial park tenant lists, and trade association rosters. Small to mid-size shippers doing $5M to $100M in revenue is the target. Skip Fortune 500 procurement portals, beginners get shredded there.
Getting paid and staying solvent
Shipper credit reports. Check credit before you haul, not after. A load you never get paid for costs you the carrier payment too.
A TMS or at minimum a disciplined spreadsheet. Loads, rates, margins, carrier payments, invoices out. If you cannot see margin per load and per customer, you cannot fix it.
Factoring or a line of credit. Not day one, but know how it works before you need it.
The documents you will use every day
- Carrier packet, which is your agreement, W-9 request, insurance certificate request, and authority verification
- Rate confirmation, the binding document for every single load, no exceptions and no verbal deals
- Bill of lading, which you do not create but you do need to read
- Shipper agreement, your terms with the customer
- Claims process, written down before you need it, because you will need it
What is missing from this list
Notice there is no magic shipper database and no lead list. That is deliberate. Every broker who is still in business a year in got their customers by calling companies that ship freight, 30 to 50 touches a day, and being useful on the phone. The tools above make that work efficient. They do not replace it.
Common questions
What tools does a freight broker need to start?
Broker authority and a bond, carrier vetting through the FMCSA lookup, a load board for finding capacity, shipper credit checking, and a way to track loads and margins. Everything else is optional at the start.
Where do freight brokers find shippers?
Local manufacturer and distributor directories, chamber of commerce lists, industrial park tenants, and trade association rosters, worked by phone. Load boards are for finding carriers and reading lane rates, not for finding customers.
How do I verify a carrier before booking a load?
Check active operating authority and insurance on file through the FMCSA public lookup, confirm the insurance certificate comes from the insurer, and match the truck and driver to what the carrier told you. Continuous monitoring is better than a one time check.
Do freight brokers need a TMS?
Not on day one, but you do need to see margin per load and per customer. A disciplined spreadsheet works until volume makes it error prone, which usually happens faster than people expect.
Start with the free training
No cost, no call required. Watch how the business actually works before you spend a dollar on it.
This page is one piece of the full freight broker training, built the same order you would actually do it.