Soon, brokers will have to comply with a final rule issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration all the way back in 2023.
Beginning Jan. 16, 2026, brokers, freight forwarders, and financial responsibility providers will need to comply with new broker security regulations, including the suspension of operating authority if the available financial security falls below $75,000.
The original compliance date was set for 2025, but FMCSA delayed it for a year because its new registration system would not be ready.
What will the broker rule do?
FMCSA’s final rule aims to protect motor carriers and shippers by ensuring that adequate funds are available to satisfy unpaid freight charges.
The rule contains five major provisions.
- Assets Readily Available. The rule specifies that the only acceptable assets include cash, irrevocable letters of credit issued by federally insured depository institutions and U.S. Treasury bonds.
- Immediate Suspension of Operating Authority. FMCSA will suspend the operating authority of a broker or freight forwarder if the available financial security falls below $75,000 and is not replenished in seven calendar days.
- Surety and Trust Provider Duties in Financial Failure or Insolvency. This rule requires that if the surety/trustee becomes aware that a broker or freight forwarder is experiencing financial failure or insolvency, it must notify FMCSA and initiate cancellation of the financial responsibility. FMCSA will then publish a notice of failure in the Federal Register. Filing bankruptcy under Title 11 of the U.S. Code does not constitute insolvency under the rule.
- Enforcement Authority. A surety company or financial institution found in violation of 49 U.S.C. 13906 or § 387.307 faces a monetary penalty and a mandatory three-year ineligibility period to provide broker/freight forwarder financial security.
- Entities Eligible to Provide Trust Funds for BMC-85 Filings. Loan and finance companies are no longer eligible to serve as BMC-85 trustees.
OOIDA’s take
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, which has also urged FMCSA to enforce broker transparency regulations, has been supportive of the rule change.
“This is a step in the right direction to enhance oversight of broker financial responsibilities as we continue to work with partners to fight for increased broker transparency and the elimination of broker fraud,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer said in 2023.
The Association says the rule is much needed and criticized the FMCSA after it announced the compliance date would be delayed by a year.
“Delaying this aspect of the rulemaking will allow brokers to continue stealing transportation services in excess of the bond amount,” OOIDA wrote in November 2024. “This is simply unacceptable, as freight fraud remains commonplace within the industry.” LL
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