To check a freight broker’s credit score, pull a report from a transportation-specific credit agency such as TransCredit or Ansonia Credit Data, which compile payment data reported by carriers and factoring companies. The report tells you how many days the broker typically takes to pay and assigns a score on a 0–100 scale. Pair that with a free check of the broker’s operating authority and $75,000 bond on the FMCSA’s SAFER and Licensing and Insurance websites. Together, the two checks take minutes and tell you both whether the broker is legally authorized and whether they actually pay.
What You Need Before Searching
Every federally registered freight broker has two identifiers: a USDOT number and an MC number, sometimes called a docket number. The MC number is the operating authority identifier specific to brokers; the USDOT number is a broader business registration.1FMCSA. Get Operating Authority (Docket Number) Both appear on the load confirmation, the broker’s website, and the rate agreement. Grab them before searching. Similar company names are common in freight, and searching by name alone can pull the wrong entity.
Where to Pull a Broker’s Credit Report
The two dominant platforms in freight are TransCredit and Ansonia Credit Data. Both build broker credit profiles from payment data reported by carriers and factoring companies.2TransCredit. Business, Transportation, Freight Broker Credit Reports Some shippers and larger carriers also pull Dun & Bradstreet reports for a broader read on overall business financial health.
Most major load boards already integrate credit data from these agencies into broker listings, so check your existing subscription first. For standalone reports, Ansonia charges $18 per report on brokers scoring 85 or higher.3Ansonia Credit Data. DAT Members – Business Credit Reports TransCredit offers 24/7 access through a web portal or API, with pricing by subscription tier and volume.2TransCredit. Business, Transportation, Freight Broker Credit Reports
What the Numbers in the Report Mean
A freight broker credit report comes down to a few numbers.
Days to Pay
Days to Pay (DTP) is the average number of calendar days between delivery and payment hitting your account. TransCredit tracks DTP trends over the previous eighteen months, which tells you more than a single snapshot does.2TransCredit. Business, Transportation, Freight Broker Credit Reports A broker paying in 25 days is a different business than one averaging 55. A broker whose DTP has climbed from 30 to 50 over six months may be running into cash flow trouble before the score catches up.
Credit Score
Transportation credit scores typically run 0–100. The general risk tiers:
- 87–100 is low risk. Payment history is strong and consistent.
- 70–86 is medium risk. Payment is generally reliable with occasional delays.
- 69 or below is high risk. Many factoring companies will decline to purchase invoices from brokers in this range.
Recommended Credit Limit
Reports suggest a maximum dollar amount you should have outstanding with the broker at any given time. It isn’t a hard rule, but it reflects the data. If the recommendation is $10,000 and you’re already owed $8,000, think twice before taking another $5,000 load from the same broker.
Why the Score Matters for Factoring
If you factor your invoices, the broker’s credit score decides whether the factor will buy yours. Factoring companies run their own credit checks before advancing you money, because they’re the ones waiting 30 to 60 days to collect. When a broker’s score falls into the high-risk range, most factors decline the invoice or require recourse terms, meaning you repay the advance if the broker never pays the factor. Running the credit check yourself before accepting the load avoids the problem instead of discovering it after delivery.
Verifying Authority and Bond on FMCSA
A credit report tells you about payment behavior. It doesn’t tell you whether the broker is currently authorized to operate or whether their federally required financial security is still in place. Those are two separate free checks on FMCSA sites.
SAFER Company Snapshot
Go to safer.fmcsa.dot.gov and enter the USDOT number, MC number, or company name.4SAFER Web. Company Snapshot You’re looking for active authority. If the status reads “OUT-OF-SERVICE,” the broker isn’t authorized to operate, and the credit score is beside the point. The snapshot also lists any out-of-service date, which flags past suspensions. A broker whose authority was recently reinstated after a lapse deserves extra scrutiny.
Licensing and Insurance Bond Check
Federal law requires every registered freight broker to maintain at least $75,000 in financial security through a BMC-84 surety bond or BMC-85 trust fund.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 13906 – Security of Motor Carriers, Motor Private Carriers, Brokers, and Freight Forwarders Verify it at li-public.fmcsa.dot.gov.6FMCSA. Licensing and Insurance Carrier Search Enter the MC or USDOT number, complete the CAPTCHA, and open the record. Scroll to “Active/Pending Insurance.” That section names the surety company and shows whether the bond is active or pending cancellation. A pending cancellation is as good as no bond. FMCSA is required to post cancellation notices as soon as they’re received.
Write down the surety company’s name and contact information while you’re on this page. If the broker later fails to pay you, that’s who you file against.
Warning Signs a Credit Score Will Not Catch
A decent score doesn’t rule out fraud. Broker identity theft is a real problem in freight, and FMCSA maintains a guidance page on warning signs.7Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Broker and Carrier Fraud and Identity Theft Watch for:
- Contact information that doesn’t match SAFER. Call the number posted in SAFER to verify the load before agreeing to anything.
- No phone number listed in SAFER at all. Walk away until you can confirm the transaction through another channel.
- Rates that run well above market, or a quick offer to bump the rate without negotiation.
- Requests to have your driver claim they work for a different company, or a “blind” load description when you ask about the destination.
- Insurance certificates and other documents that don’t match what’s in FMCSA systems. Even certificates can be forged.
None of this shows up in a credit report. It requires calling the SAFER-listed number and cross-checking documents against public records.
If the Broker Does Not Pay
When collection efforts fail, filing against the surety bond is the fallback. Pull the surety company’s name from the FMCSA Licensing and Insurance page and submit a written claim with your rate confirmation, bill of lading, proof of delivery, and unpaid invoices. The statute allows the surety bond or trust fund to pay claims arising from a broker’s failure to pay freight charges, and the surety has 30 days to respond.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 13906 – Security of Motor Carriers, Motor Private Carriers, Brokers, and Freight Forwarders
Timing matters. If the broker becomes insolvent and the surety notifies FMCSA, you have 60 calendar days after FMCSA publishes the insolvency notice to file. A deadline landing on a weekend or federal holiday extends to the next business day.8eCFR. 49 CFR 387.307 – Property Broker Surety Bond or Trust Fund Miss that window and the claim is gone.
One more thing carriers often learn too late: the $75,000 bond is the total available to all claimants combined, not $75,000 per carrier. When a broker goes under owing dozens of carriers, the surety files an interpleader action and a court divides whatever’s left pro rata among valid claims. Recovering $3,000 on a $15,000 invoice months after delivery is not a business plan. That’s the whole case for checking credit before you haul.
Loads the Bond Does Not Cover
The bond does not back every load. Two categories fall outside the requirement: intrastate loads moving entirely within a single state, and loads of exempt commodities. FMCSA’s rule is that if the underlying transportation doesn’t require motor carrier operating authority, broker authority isn’t required to arrange it, and the bonding requirement doesn’t apply.9Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Am I Required to Have Broker Authority if I Am Brokering Loads of a Non-Regulated Exempt Commodity Fresh produce is the most common exempt commodity carriers encounter. If a broker stiffs you on a produce haul, the bond likely won’t help, and you’ll need to pursue collection through other channels.