Car shipping broker versus carrier
A broker sells the arrangement and a carrier moves the car. You can pay a broker and still meet a different company at the curb. Federal law requires the broker to say that it is a broker, to use an authorized carrier, and to keep a 75,000 dollar bond or trust. The bond is not insurance on your car.
Key facts
- Broker, in the statute
- A broker is a person, other than a motor carrier or its employee or agent, that for compensation sells, offers, negotiates, or holds itself out as arranging transportation by motor carrier.
- Source: 49 USC 13102(2), 2023 U.S. Code edition
- Broker, in the regulation
- A broker, for compensation, arranges or offers to arrange transportation of property by an authorized motor carrier. A carrier arranging freight it is authorized to haul, and that it has accepted, is not a broker for that shipment.
- Source: 49 CFR 371.2
- What the broker may not say
- A broker may not represent its operations as those of a carrier. Advertising has to show the broker status, and the broker may not operate in a name other than the one on its registration.
- Source: 49 CFR 371.7
- The bond
- A property broker must have a 75,000 dollar surety bond (BMC-84) or trust fund (BMC-85). It pays shippers or motor carriers if the broker fails to carry out its transportation contracts. It does not insure the car.
- Source: 49 CFR 387.307, effective January 16, 2026 as stated on the eCFR page
- Who is not a broker by that guidance
- FMCSA's June 16, 2023 guidance says that merely publishing information about potential shippers, even for a fee, does not require broker authority if the publisher is not otherwise in the transaction. The guidance is not a binding rule.
- Source: 88 FR 39368
The sources are listed on this page.
A car shipping broker arranges a truck. A carrier is the company whose truck moves the car. You may pay the broker and never meet that company. The driver at your curb works for the carrier, or for a carrier the broker booked. Knowing which name is which, before you pay, is the whole difference.
RideShipper is neither. It is a comparison and quote-request service. It does not arrange the load, negotiate the rate, hold the freight charge, or sign the bill of lading. Companies may pay RideShipper when a quote request is sent to them. That payment does not make RideShipper the broker on your shipment.
The legal line
In the statute, a broker is a person, other than a motor carrier or an employee or agent of a motor carrier, that as a principal or agent sells, offers for sale, negotiates for, or holds itself out as selling, providing, or arranging transportation by motor carrier for compensation (49 USC 13102(2), 2023 edition on GovInfo).
The regulation uses a shorter test. A broker is a person who, for compensation, arranges or offers to arrange the transportation of property by an authorized motor carrier. Motor carriers, and their employees and bona fide agents, are not brokers when they arrange shipments they are authorized to transport and which they have accepted and legally bound themselves to transport (49 CFR 371.2, opened November 10, 2026).
A bona fide agent, in that same section, is part of the carrier's organization, works under the carrier's direction under a preexisting agreement, and does not have discretion to allocate traffic among carriers.
Two duties follow for anyone who is a broker. The broker may not perform brokerage, including advertising, in a name other than the name on its registration. The broker may not, directly or indirectly, represent its operations to be those of a carrier. Any advertising shall show the broker status of the operation (49 CFR 371.7). FMCSA's automobile-transporter advisory, updated February 10, 2015, tells consumers the practical version: be suspicious of a website that does not make it clear whether the company is a broker or a transporter.
Who you pay, and who arrives
| Question | Broker | Carrier |
|---|---|---|
| What you are buying | An arrangement with an authorized motor carrier | Transportation on that company's truck |
| Who you usually pay first | The broker, often a deposit or a booking fee | The carrier, on its own contract |
| Who comes to the house | A carrier the broker books, not the broker's own truck | That carrier, or a truck it operates |
| What the federal file shows | Broker authority, plus a bond or trust | Carrier authority, plus public-liability insurance |
| What the advertising must say | That the company is a broker, in its registered name | It may not need a broker label, because it is the carrier |
| What does not come with the filing | Insurance that pays the value of your car | A promise that the cargo limit equals the car's value |
The bond is the piece people mix up with insurance. 49 CFR 387.307, effective January 16, 2026 as the eCFR page states, says a broker must have a surety bond or trust fund of 75,000 dollars. Evidence of the bond is filed on form BMC-84. Evidence of a trust is filed on form BMC-85. The bond or trust "shall ensure the financial responsibility of the broker by providing for payments to shippers or motor carriers if the broker fails to carry out its contracts, agreements, or arrangements for the supplying of transportation by authorized motor carriers." 49 USC 13906(b)(3), in the 2023 Code edition, sets the same 75,000 dollar minimum, regardless of branch offices or sales agents.
Read that sentence narrowly. The bond is about the broker failing to carry out the arrangement. It is a shared 75,000 dollar pot, not a policy written for your car. A claim on a bond has its own rules in the statute, including the surety's review, and it is not a shortcut around the carrier's cargo terms. The broker bond glossary points at the form names. Do not treat the bond amount as the amount you would be paid for a dent.
What FMCSA said about websites that only pass a name
On June 16, 2023, FMCSA published guidance on the definitions of broker and bona fide agent (88 FR 39368, docket FMCSA-2022-0134). The document says it does not have the force of law and is not meant to bind the public. It is the agency's explanation of the rules it already has.
In that guidance, FMCSA says handling money exchanged between shippers and motor carriers strongly suggests the need for broker authority, but it is not an essential requirement for someone to be considered a broker. On load boards and similar services, FMCSA says that merely making information about potential shippers publicly available, whether or not a fee is charged, does not require broker authority, as long as the entity making the leads available is not otherwise involved in any transaction between the shipper and a motor carrier.
That is the line RideShipper stays on. A visitor asks for quotes. Named companies contact the visitor. The contract is between the visitor and that company. RideShipper does not negotiate the rate, pick the truck, take a percent of the freight charge, or appear on the bill of lading. If a site says "we ship your car" or "our carriers," it is using the words FMCSA treats as a drift into brokerage. RideShipper does not say that.
How to tell which hat is on this load
- Ask the person on the phone: "Are you the carrier that will load the car, or are you arranging a carrier?" Write down the answer and the name of the person.
- Look up both names, the one you are paying and the one that will load the car, on the SAFER Company Snapshot and the Licensing and Insurance search. Authority for a broker and authority for a carrier are different grants. A company can hold both. The contract has to say which one applies today.
- Read the ad against 371.7. If the site shows photos of trucks and never says "broker," that is the gap the 2015 advisory tells you to notice. It is not, by itself, proof of a violation. It is a reason to ask.
- Find the carrier's name, MC or USDOT, and the cargo limit in the contract before pickup, not on the driveway. The guide to a named carrier is the timing. The authority check is the click path.
Company licence check
What people get wrong after a bad trip
A bad pickup does not prove that brokers are unlawful or that carriers are safer. It proves that the person who took the money was not on the hook for the thing that failed, or that the contract let the price move. Customers often discover the split only after the salesperson stops answering. Ask while you still have the deposit in your account.
If you want the company that owns the truck, say so, and then check that the USDOT on the door matches the USDOT on the contract. If you are fine with a broker, say so, and then require the carrier's name before the car is released to a driver. Both choices are ordinary. An unnamed truck is the choice to refuse.
The side-by-side page at broker versus carrier is the short comparison. This page is the rule behind it. Glossary entries for broker and carrier are the definitions without the table.
Questions
If I pay a broker, who is responsible for damage?
The contract has to say who you are hiring. A carrier that receives the car is the company that issues the bill of lading and is the starting point for a cargo claim. A broker that only arranged the load is not the truck. Read who the contract names, and do not assume the company that took the deposit is the company that insures the car.
Can one company be both?
Yes. A firm can hold carrier authority and broker authority. 49 CFR 371.2 says a carrier is not a broker when it arranges a shipment it is authorized to transport and has accepted. On this load, the contract should say which role the company is using. If the truck that arrives belongs to a different USDOT number, you are in the broker path even if the website shows trucks.
Is a comparison site a broker?
Not by itself. FMCSA's June 16, 2023 guidance says that making information about potential shippers public, whether or not a fee is charged, does not require broker authority if that business is not otherwise involved in the deal between shipper and carrier. Handling the money is a strong sign of brokerage, but the guidance says it is not required before something counts as brokerage. RideShipper does not take the freight charge, does not assign a truck, and does not appear on the bill of lading.
Why do people say they will only hire a carrier next time?
Because the person they paid was not the person who had to answer when the pickup slipped or the price changed. Hiring a carrier directly can remove one layer. It does not remove the need to read authority, cargo limits, and the price clause. A carrier can raise a price the contract allows, the same as a broker can.
Sources
- 49 USC 13102 definitions (2023 U.S. Code edition on GovInfo)
- 49 CFR 371.2 Definitions
- 49 CFR 371.7 Misrepresentation
- 49 CFR 387.307 Property broker surety bond or trust fund
- 49 USC 13906 (2023 U.S. Code edition on GovInfo)
- FMCSA final guidance, Definitions of Broker and Bona Fide Agents, 88 FR 39368, June 16, 2023
- FMCSA consumer advisory about automobile transporters