How to check a company safety rating
How to check a company safety rating before you send the load. Search by USDOT, MC, or legal name. See whether FMCSA has flagged a category and whether the carrier is out of service.
You have a USDOT. The load is ready. Before you send the tender, look the carrier up. Our free search shows whether FMCSA has flagged a category and whether the carrier is out of service. The $35 file, after that search, keeps the safety rating and the numeric measure for the public categories.
Why check before the load goes out
On May 14, 2026, the Supreme Court said a broker can face a state negligent-hiring claim. The check happens before you send the tender, not after.
What FMCSA publishes
FMCSA's SAFER site lists the safety rating when one is on file: Satisfactory, Conditional, Unsatisfactory, or none. Our search shows whether a category is flagged and whether the carrier is out of service. The $35 file shows the safety rating and the numeric measure for the public categories. We don't show a crash or hazmat score. Those records are not public for the carriers you hire, so a number there would not be FMCSA's file.
We don't show a crash or hazmat score. Those records are not public for the carriers you hire, so a number there would not be FMCSA's file.
What we do not show
We do not show a percentile. We do not say the carrier is safe. The out-of-service flag is on only when the latest order we stored has no rescind date and the order date is within 365 days. It is not a live SAFER session.
Look up the USDOT
Type the USDOT, MC number, or legal name. The search is free. If you need the safety rating and the numeric measure on file, pay $35 on that carrier's page after the search.
Or read Broker Pro details.
Questions
How can I check a company's safety score?
Search by USDOT, MC number, or legal name. Our free search shows whether FMCSA has flagged a category and whether the carrier is out of service. The $35 file, after that search, shows the safety rating and the numeric measure for the public categories.
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
Carrier vetting for freight brokers
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.
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.