Short answer
To start a freight brokerage, form a business, apply for broker authority in FMCSA’s Motus system ($300 per authority), file a BOC-3, post a $75,000 BMC-84 bond or BMC-85 trust, and register for UCR ($46 for 2026). FMCSA quotes about 4 to 6 weeks. Then buy contingent cargo and liability coverage, build carrier setup, and sign customers.
What changed at FMCSA in 2025 and 2026
If you read a broker license guide from 2024, three things are out of date.
- Registration moved to Motus. FMCSA opened Motus to supporting companies on December 8, 2025, and the legacy registration systems gave way to it on May 14, 2026, per the April 29, 2026 Federal Register notice and FMCSA’s registration resources hub.
- New applicants prove who they are. Motus requires identity proofing (a government ID and a face scan on your phone) and a business verification check on legal name, address and ownership. FMCSA says it added this after “a significant increase in presumed fraudulent activity.”
- The bond rules got stricter. Since January 16, 2026, if your available financial security drops below $75,000 and isn’t restored within 7 calendar days, FMCSA suspends your authority (FMCSA rule overview).
Two things did not change. MC numbers are still issued, since FMCSA left their elimination out of the Motus release. And FMCSA says there are no planned changes to registration fees with the new system.
Step 1: Form the business and get an EIN
Set up an LLC or corporation in your home state. Filing fees and annual report rules are set by the state, so check your Secretary of State’s site.
Get an Employer Identification Number from the IRS. It’s free and takes minutes online, and the IRS warns that you never have to pay anyone for one.
Then open a business bank account, buy a domain, and set up email on that domain. Carriers and shippers get fraud warnings every week. A Gmail address and a phone number that doesn’t match your FMCSA record will cost you loads.
Make sure the legal name, address and owners you use here match what you enter in Motus. The business verification check compares them.
Step 2: Apply for broker authority in Motus
Apply at motus.dot.gov for property broker operating authority. Have your government ID, a smartphone or tablet for the face scan, your EIN, and your entity details ready.
The fee is $300 per authority, non-refundable (49 CFR 360.3). If you also want motor carrier authority, that’s a second $300.
After FMCSA accepts the application, you get a USDOT number and an MC number, and the application is published in the FMCSA Register. Anyone can protest within 10 days of publication (49 CFR 365.115). Your authority doesn’t go active until the protest period passes and your BOC-3 and bond or trust are on file.
Don’t sit on those filings. FMCSA dismisses applications when the financial security and BOC-3 never show up, and reapplying means paying the fee again.
Step 3: File your BOC-3
The BOC-3 names a process agent: someone in each state who can accept legal papers on your behalf. Brokers designate agents for the states where they have offices or write contracts (49 CFR Part 366). Only one BOC-3 can be on file at a time.
Most new brokers hire a blanket process agent company that covers every state and files the form electronically. FMCSA charges nothing for the designation. The agent company sets its own price. FMCSA’s broker registration page notes that brokers may act as their own process agent in their home state, but you still need coverage everywhere you write contracts.
Step 4: Post the $75,000 bond or trust
Every property broker needs $75,000 in financial security on file (49 CFR 387.307). You pick one of two forms.
BMC-84 surety bond
A surety company issues the bond and files the BMC-84 with FMCSA. You pay an annual premium, not $75,000. The surety prices it from your credit, financial statements and industry experience. If the surety pays a valid claim from an unpaid carrier or shipper, you owe the surety that money back.
BMC-85 trust fund
A trust holds the full $75,000. Since the 2026 rule, the only assets allowed are cash, irrevocable letters of credit from federally insured banks, and U.S. Treasury bonds, and they must be convertible to cash within 7 calendar days.
Both forms carry the new 7-day replenishment rule. A claim that dips your security below $75,000 starts the clock.
Step 5: Register for UCR every year
The Unified Carrier Registration program covers brokers and freight forwarders as well as trucking companies. A broker that doesn’t operate trucks pays the lowest bracket.
For registration years 2025 and 2026, that fee is $46. In April 2026 the UCR fee notice proposed raising it to $55 for 2027 and later years (Federal Register, April 7, 2026). That proposal was not final when this guide was updated, so confirm the 2027 fee before you pay.
Step 6: Buy the insurance your customers will ask for
FMCSA requires $0 in cargo insurance and $0 in liability insurance from property brokers. The $75,000 bond or trust is the only federal requirement (FMCSA insurance filing requirements).
Your shippers and their contracts will ask for more. The usual set:
- Contingent cargo. Pays when a carrier’s cargo policy denies or can’t cover a claim on a load you brokered. See our cargo insurance glossary entry.
- Contingent auto liability. Responds when a lawsuit after a crash names the broker along with the carrier.
- General liability. Covers your office and business operations. Many shipper credit applications ask for a certificate.
- Errors and omissions. Covers claims that you made a mistake arranging a load.
Premiums depend on your experience, commodities, lanes and limits. Get quotes from an agent who writes freight broker policies and ask exactly what triggers each contingent policy.
Don't book a load until your authority is active
Arranging freight for pay without active broker registration and the $75,000 security is illegal. FMCSA’s penalty schedule allows up to $13,676 per violation for knowingly brokering without them (49 CFR Part 386, Appendix B). Under 49 U.S.C. 14916, the company and its officers can also be liable to injured parties for all valid claims, with no dollar cap.
What it costs to open a freight brokerage
Fixed government fees are exact. Insurance and bond costs depend on your credit and history, so we list who sets them instead of guessing.
| Item | Cost | Who sets it |
|---|---|---|
| EIN | $0 | IRS |
| LLC or corporation filing | Varies by state | Your Secretary of State |
| Broker operating authority | $300 per authority, non-refundable | FMCSA (49 CFR 360.3) |
| BOC-3 designation | $0 FMCSA fee, plus the process agent’s price | Process agent company |
| BMC-84 surety bond | Annual premium on $75,000 of coverage | Surety underwriter |
| BMC-85 trust fund | $75,000 in cash, letters of credit or Treasuries | FMCSA (49 CFR 387.307) |
| UCR registration, 2026 | $46 for brokers | UCR Plan |
| Contingent cargo, contingent auto, general liability | Quoted by insurer | Insurance carrier |
| Load board | DAT broker plans from $159/mo | DAT |
| Broker TMS | FreightVero Starter $349/mo (5 users, 250 loads/mo) | TMS vendor |
Fees and prices checked September 10, 2026, including DAT’s published broker plans as of that date. Sources below.
Step 7: Build your carrier setup process before the first load
Your first carrier will likely come off a load board with a truck you’ve never heard of. Decide your rules before that call, not during it.
A basic carrier setup packet includes a signed broker-carrier agreement, a W-9, a certificate of insurance naming you as certificate holder, proof of active authority, and payment details or a factoring notice of assignment. Check the carrier’s authority and insurance against FMCSA’s SAFER company snapshot, and call the phone number on the FMCSA record instead of the one in the email.
Keep a record of every load. FMCSA requires brokers to keep the shipper, carrier, bill of lading number, compensation and payment date for each shipment for three years (49 CFR 371.3).
Our carrier onboarding checklist lists each document and what to verify, and the freight fraud prevention playbook covers the scams that target new brokers.
Step 8: Pick software you can run on day one
A one-person brokerage needs fewer tools than vendors suggest. The minimum stack:
- A broker TMS for loads, carrier and customer records, rate confirmations, documents and billing.
- A load board to post loads and find trucks. DAT’s broker plans start at $159/mo (DAT pricing, as of September 10, 2026). Truckstop and others publish their own plans.
- Carrier onboarding and monitoring, either a vendor service or a documented manual process.
- Accounting, usually QuickBooks, plus a factoring or quick pay plan for cash flow.
- Tracking from a visibility app the driver accepts on their phone.
Pick a TMS that stops the expensive mistakes a tired new broker makes, like dispatching on an old rate con. In the FreightVero broker TMS, rules live in the database: dispatch requires the latest rate con version signed (signed copy uploaded), and a load can’t move forward with a carrier until the carrier record shows an approved compliance status. Plans start at $349/mo with no per-load fees (see pricing). If you’re comparing vendors, our TMS pricing guide lays out published prices.
Step 9: Sign the first customers and plan for cash
Most new brokerages don’t fail on licensing. They fail on cash. You often pay carriers within days while shippers pay in 30 days or more.
- Run a credit check on every new shipper before the first load.
- Decide now how you’ll pay carriers fast: your own capital, a line of credit, or a factoring company. A factoring company buys your customer invoices at a discount, so read the recourse terms before you sign.
- Start in a lane, commodity or equipment type you already understand. A narrow niche gives you something specific to say on a cold call.
- Follow up every quote. New brokers win on response time and communication before they win on price.
The full prospecting playbook is in how freight brokers find shippers.
Related terms and tools
See the TMS before you book your first load
We’ll walk through load entry, rate con versions and the four checkpoints on a live screen.