Carrier vetting for freight brokers
Carrier vetting is the check you run on a motor carrier before the load goes out. You look up the USDOT, read what FMCSA has published on that carrier, and decide whether to tender. If you need a copy later — for a customer, a lawyer, or your own file — you keep the record from the day you looked.
ClearTheTender shows what FMCSA published. Nothing fabricated. The Due Diligence Dossier is $35 once, a frozen PDF with a SHA-256 hash. Broker Pro is $129 a month for up to 500 USDOTs.
What carrier vetting covers
When you search a USDOT, ClearTheTender shows whether FMCSA has flagged five categories: unsafe driving, hours of service, driver fitness, controlled substances, and vehicle maintenance. It also shows whether the carrier is out of service.
The flag means FMCSA has published a concern in that category. The safety measure — the number behind the flag — is on the $35 copy you keep. The free search shows the flag. The copy shows the measure.
Each load type has a category that usually matters most. On a flatbed load, read vehicle maintenance. On a refrigerated load, read hours of service. On a dry van load, read unsafe driving.
The safety rating is a separate field: satisfactory, conditional, unsatisfactory, or unrated. Most small carriers are unrated — they have not had a formal on-site audit. Unrated is not the same as unsatisfactory.
What FMCSA publishes — and what it hides
FMCSA publishes five of the seven BASIC categories for the carriers you hire. The other two — Crash Indicator and HM Compliance — are not public for property carriers. That is the FAST Act of 2015, section 5203.
Any tool that shows you a crash score or a hazmat score for a property carrier is showing you a number it made up. That number is not in FMCSA's file. We don't show it because it doesn't exist in the public record.
We show what FMCSA published. Crash Indicator and HM Compliance are locked because those records are not public for the carriers you hire.
The check and the file
The carrier is already on the rate confirmation. You have a USDOT, maybe an MC number and a legal name. Search it.
The result shows the flags and whether the carrier is out of service. Out of service, in our product, means the latest stored order has no rescind date and the order date is within 365 days. SAFER can drop a rescinded name after 15 days. Our flag follows the stored file, not that window.
If you need the rest of the record — the safety measure, the safety rating, power units, driver count — the Due Diligence Dossier is $35 once on that carrier's file. You search first, then pay on that carrier. There is no buy button that skips the search.
The dossier is a frozen PDF with a SHA-256 hash. You can check that the file still matches the day you saved it. The hash does not win a lawsuit. It proves the desk looked.
One-time check vs. daily watch
If you check one or two carriers a month, stay on the $35 file. Three dossiers cost $105 — less than a month of Broker Pro.
If you check four or more, Broker Pro is $129 a month. Upload a CSV of up to 500 USDOTs. The files on those carriers are open without paying $35 again. You get a daily email when a watched carrier is out of service or FMCSA's alert flag is on. The email can send again the next day if the condition is still true.
Broker Pro is not a live alert. It is not an email that something changed. It checks once a day.
How this compares
Carrier411 core is $99 a month. That is less than Broker Pro. Add the CSV export ($49), the Broker Locator ($49), and the API ($99, approved TMS only), and the published total is $296 a month. Carrier411 shows BASIC scores and FreightGuard reports. It monitors insurance and authority. We don't.
RMIS Lite starts at $340 a month. MyCarrierPortal Standard starts at $515 a month. Highway does not publish a price.
Those tools do things we don't: insurance monitoring, authority monitoring, onboarding automation, predictive scoring. If you need those, you need one of those.
What we do that they don't: a frozen, dated copy of exactly what FMCSA published — nothing more — with a hash you can check. No fabricated scores. $35 once if you only need one carrier.
What we don't do — and why
We don't monitor insurance, bonds, or authority. We don't show a percentile. We don't say the carrier is safe.
We don't show a crash or hazmat score because those records are not public for the carriers you hire. A number there would not be FMCSA's file.
The PDF is hashed so you can verify it matches the day the desk saved it. That is a record, not a legal shield.
Look up the USDOT
Search a USDOT, MC number, or legal name. The Due Diligence Dossier is $35 once — a frozen PDF with a SHA-256 hash. Broker Pro is $129 a month for up to 500 USDOTs, with a daily email when one is out of service or FMCSA has flagged them.
Or read Broker Pro details.
Questions
What steps are involved in the carrier vetting process?
Look up the carrier's USDOT. Read whether FMCSA has flagged any of the five public categories and whether the carrier is out of service. If you need the safety measure and a dated copy, the Due Diligence Dossier is $35 once on that carrier's file. If you check four or more carriers a month, Broker Pro is $129 a month for up to 500 USDOTs with a daily email.
How do brokers check carrier compliance status?
FMCSA's SAFER system shows a free company snapshot. ClearTheTender adds a frozen copy of what FMCSA published on the day you looked, with a SHA-256 hash of the PDF. The free search shows whether FMCSA has flagged a category. The $35 file shows the safety measure.
What is the difference between a one-time carrier check and ongoing monitoring?
A one-time check is a snapshot from the day you looked. ClearTheTender's $35 Due Diligence Dossier is that snapshot — frozen, hashed, and yours. Ongoing monitoring means watching a list of carriers over time. Broker Pro is $129 a month for up to 500 USDOTs, with a daily email when a watched carrier is out of service or FMCSA's alert flag is on.
What does carrier vetting mean?
Carrier vetting is the process a freight broker uses to check a motor carrier's safety record before tendering a load. It typically includes looking up the carrier's USDOT, reading what FMCSA has published, and keeping a dated copy of that record.
Are CSA scores the same as an FMCSA safety rating?
No. A safety rating is a formal assessment: satisfactory, conditional, unsatisfactory, or unrated. Most small carriers are unrated. The BASIC safety measures are separate — they track unsafe driving, hours of service, driver fitness, controlled substances, and vehicle maintenance. Crash Indicator and HM Compliance are not public for property carriers.
What carrier vetting software do freight brokers use?
ClearTheTender shows what FMCSA published and keeps a $35 dated copy with a SHA-256 hash. Carrier411 ($99 a month) tracks BASIC scores and FreightGuard reports. MyCarrierPortal Standard starts at $515 a month for onboarding and risk assessments. Highway focuses on identity verification and does not publish a price.
Need a Due Diligence Dossier?
Search the national active-carrier directory. A single-carrier Due Diligence Dossier is $35.
Look up a USDOTRunning a broker desk?
Broker Pro watches a CSV of up to 500 USDOTs and sends a daily email when one is out of service or FMCSA’s alert flag is on. The dossier keeps the measure, the alert, and the out-of-service status from that day, not a ranking we invented.
Get Broker Access — $129/moCheck a USDOT
Look up any active carrier. Official measure and alert, the stored out-of-service flag, and FAST Act padlocks. Nothing fabricated.
Look up a carrierWant more guides like this?
Get an occasional note when we publish a new guide. No spam. Unsubscribe any time.
More guides
Before a flatbed load
Securement, brakes, and tires are where flatbed problems usually show up. Look up the USDOT on the load.
Before a refrigerated load
Look up the USDOT on the load. Hours of service is the category that usually matters here.
Before a dry van load
Look up the USDOT on the rate confirmation. Unsafe driving is the category that usually matters here.