Plain-English legal guides for freight
Know Your Rights
The law that actually governs your loads — what you are owed, what to do when a broker doesn’t pay, and how to protect your authority. We break it into three places: your rights as a carrier, your obligations as a broker, and the compliance basics everyone in trucking needs to get right.
01 · For Carriers
For Carriers
You did the work — this is how you make sure you get paid and keep your cargo liability in check. The most important one: when a broker won’t pay, you can file a claim against their $75,000 bond, and we walk you through it step by step.
Open For Carriers →- Broker Didn't Pay? Claim the $75,000 BondStep-by-step: how to file a claim against a broker's BMC-84 surety bond — who to contact, what you need, and the deadlines.
- Double-Brokering ExplainedWhat it is, why it's illegal, the warning signs it's happening to you, and how to protect yourself and report it.
- Carmack Amendment & Cargo ClaimsWho pays for damaged or lost freight, how to file a cargo claim, and the 9-month / 2-year deadlines that matter.
- Rate Confirmation Is a ContractWhat you're really signing — the dangerous clauses on chargebacks, quick-pay, and non-payment to watch for.
- Detention & Accessorial PayWhat you're owed for detention, layover, TONU and lumper fees — and how to document and collect it.
- Carrier's Lien on FreightWhen you can legally hold cargo until you're paid — and the limits you must respect.
- Factoring: Recourse vs Non-RecourseHow factoring works, what a chargeback is, and how recourse bites you when the broker never pays.
- Collecting Unpaid Freight ChargesSuing the broker vs. the shipper — who actually owes you, and how to pursue the money.
- When a Broker Goes BankruptWhere you stand in line to get paid, and how the surety bond fits in.
- Truth-in-Leasing & Owner-Operator RightsWhat the lease must say, the chargebacks they can take, and getting your escrow back (49 CFR Part 376).
- Independent Contractor vs EmployeeMisclassification, the ABC test and AB5, and what calling a driver a 1099 contractor really risks.
- Cargo Theft & Fictitious PickupsStrategic theft and impostor carriers — the red flags, how to protect a load, and where insurance stands.
- The Bill of Lading, ExplainedReceipt, contract and title in one document — prepaid vs collect, straight vs order, and the traps.
- The Coercion Rule: You Can Say NoWhen a broker or dispatcher pressures you to break the rules — and how to report it (49 CFR 390.6).
- Cargo Insurance Gaps & ExclusionsWhat your cargo policy does not cover — reefer breakdown, theft, sub-limits — and the Carmack gap.
- Quick Pay vs Net-30What quick pay really costs as an annual rate, and when it is worth it.
02 · For Brokers
For Brokers
The rules that keep your authority alive and keep you out of court — your bond, what you must disclose to carriers, and the liability that comes with choosing who hauls the freight.
Open For Brokers →- The Mandatory $75,000 Surety BondBMC-84 / BMC-85 and the financial-responsibility rule (49 CFR 387.307) — what you must carry and why.
- Broker Transparency Rule (49 CFR 371.3)A carrier's right to see the records of a transaction — what you have to disclose on request.
- Negligent Selection LiabilityWhen a broker gets sued for picking an unsafe carrier — and how to reduce your exposure.
- Broker vs Forwarder vs DispatcherThe legal differences, who needs authority, and why a dispatcher acting as a broker is a problem.
- Co-Brokering vs Double-BrokeringWhere legal co-brokering ends and illegal double-brokering begins.
- The Broker–Carrier AgreementThe master contract behind every load — indemnification, insurance, anti-double-broker and no-solicitation clauses.
- The New Broker Bond RulesAvailable financial security, faster suspension, and the BMC-85 trust changes every broker must know.
- Carrier Vetting & Freight-Fraud PreventionHow to verify a carrier, the red flags of a cloned identity, and the call-back that stops a theft.
- Broker Liability to the ShipperWhen a broker is — and is not — on the hook for cargo, breach and negligent selection.
- Withholding Payment & SetoffWhen a broker can deduct from a carrier’s pay — and the factoring trap that causes double payment.
- Contingent Cargo & Broker Liability InsuranceWhat it covers, why it is not the bond, and the vetting condition that can void it.
- Selling or Transferring a BrokerageAuthority transfer, entity vs asset deals, and the successor liability that follows the MC number.
03 · For Everyone
For Everyone
The authority, registration and compliance basics every carrier and broker has to handle — from getting your numbers right to surviving an audit.
Open For Everyone →- MC Number vs USDOT NumberWhat each one is, the difference between them, and who is required to have which.
- Types of Operating AuthorityMotor Carrier of Property, Broker, Freight Forwarder — which authority you actually need.
- New Entrant Safety AuditWhat happens in your first 12 months, what the auditor checks, and how to pass.
- MCS-150 Biennial UpdateThe update schedule, why it matters, and the penalties for missing it.
- Unified Carrier Registration (UCR)Who has to pay, how fees are set, and the annual deadline.
- IFTA & IRP BasicsHow fuel-tax and apportioned-plate reporting work — paired with our IFTA calculator.
- Insurance MinimumsThe $750k–$1M auto-liability rule, cargo coverage, and who must carry what.
- BOC-3 Process Agent FilingWhat a process agent is and why you can't get authority without a BOC-3 on file.
- Hours of Service & ELD BasicsThe legal side — what the rules require, and the penalties an audit can bring.
- Fixing FMCSA Errors with DataQsHow to challenge and correct a bad record that's dragging down your CSA score.
- CSA / SMS Scores ExplainedWhat the score is, how it affects you, and how to defend it.
- FMCSA Drug & Alcohol ClearinghouseRegistration, queries and what “prohibited” status means — the database that can downgrade a CDL (49 CFR Part 382).
- Heavy Vehicle Use Tax (Form 2290)The $550 federal truck tax, the deadlines, and the stamped Schedule 1 you need before you can plate.
- CDL & DOT Medical CertificationThe right CDL class, the DOT med card, self-certification, and what a lapse does to your license.
- Hauling Hazmat: Registration & EndorsementsThe H endorsement and TSA check, training, placarding and the higher insurance hazmat demands.
- Cargo Securement RulesTiedown counts, the 50% working-load-limit rule, and the inspections that keep a load legal (49 CFR Part 393).
- The Driver Qualification FileEvery document Part 391 says you must keep on a driver — and the gaps auditors and lawyers find.
- DOT Audits & InterventionsWarning letters, focused investigations, compliance reviews and safety ratings — how FMCSA escalates.
- Weight Limits, Permits & the Bridge FormulaThe 80,000-lb limit, the Bridge Formula, oversize/overweight permits and state weight-distance taxes.
- Intrastate vs Interstate AuthorityWhen an in-state haul is actually interstate commerce — and why it changes which rules apply.
Check the other side before you sign
Knowing your rights is half the battle — the other half is knowing exactly who you’re dealing with. Look up any broker or carrier’s authority, bond and reviews, free.
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