How to Vet a Carrier Before You Hand Over the Keys

Three public records tell you almost everything about the company about to drive away with your vehicle, and all three are free to check.

Anyone moving vehicles for hire across state lines has to be registered with the federal government, and that registration is public. You can check the company about to take your car in about five minutes, and you should.

1. Active operating authority

Ask for the MC number or USDOT number and look it up in the FMCSA public database. You are checking one thing above all: that the authority status reads active. Authority can be revoked for lapsed insurance or safety violations, and a carrier operating without it is uninsured in every way that matters to you.

2. Cargo insurance actually in force

The federal record shows insurance on file, but filings can lag reality. Ask for a certificate of insurance and check three things: that the policy is current today, the cargo limit, and that the company on the certificate is the company collecting your car.

For a single sedan, look for cargo coverage of at least 100,000 dollars. Every carrier in our network carries a minimum of one million dollars, verified before each dispatch, because a full trailer can easily hold more value than a small policy covers.

3. Safety record

The same public system publishes inspection and crash history. You are not auditing a fleet, you are looking for a pattern: repeated out-of-service violations for brakes or securement suggest maintenance that will eventually meet your car.

The questions that reveal the most

• Are you the carrier, or are you brokering this to someone else? Both answers are fine. An unclear answer is not.
• Who is the actual carrier, and can I have their MC number? You are entitled to know before pickup.
• What is your cargo limit per vehicle, and what is the deductible?
• How is damage handled, and who do I call?

A company that answers all four without hesitating is a company that has answered them many times. That is what you want.