The company that quotes your price might never touch your car. A broker arranges vehicle transport and hands your shipment to a motor carrier, who does the actual driving.
49 U.S.C. 13901(a) says a person may act as a broker only if registered to do it, and that is a separate registration from the one a motor carrier needs. The booking company and the trucking company are two different businesses, unless one of them holds both registrations.
Also called
auto transport broker, car shipping broker, licensed transportation broker, property broker
Sources
9
Last updated
Why a broker matters when you ship a car
A broker matters because you're trusting them with your price and your carrier choice, while someone else does the driving. 49 CFR 371.7(b) says a broker "shall not, directly or indirectly, represent its operations to be that of a carrier," and that "Any advertising shall show the broker status of the operation."
A broker sells a plan, not a truck. If someone quotes you a pickup date before a carrier has actually agreed to take the load, that date is a forecast, and no driver has committed to it.
When a broker is involved in a car shipment
A broker stays involved from your first quote until a carrier accepts the load, then steps back. 49 CFR 371.2 defines a broker as a person who, for compensation, arranges or offers to arrange transportation of property by an authorized motor carrier. Before a carrier is assigned, your load sits on a load board that any qualified carrier can take or leave. After assignment, one named company owns the move.
Who is responsible when a broker arranges a shipment
If your car gets damaged in transit, you go after the carrier, not the broker who arranged the shipment. 49 U.S.C. 14706, "Liability of carriers under receipts and bills of lading," puts liability for lost or damaged property on the receiving and delivering carrier, and the word "broker" doesn't appear in that section. So even when a broker booked your move, answered every question and took your payment, a damage claim runs against the assigned carrier and that carrier's insurance.
What a broker's bond and records show
A broker's bond doesn't insure your car. It's a fixed regulatory minimum, not coverage. 49 CFR 387.307(a) requires every property broker to carry a $75,000 surety bond or trust fund, a figure that took effect January 16, 2026 after repeated delays.(49 CFR 387.307(a) — Checked ) Every property broker in the country carries the same number, so it tells you the company is registered, but not that your specific vehicle is covered.
The records tell you more. 49 CFR 371.3 requires a broker to keep a record of each brokered transaction for three years, naming the originating motor carrier and its registration number, and 371.3(c) gives each party the right to review it. Ask for that record by section number, and you'll find out which company actually hauled the car.
Broker vs carrier
A broker arranges the transportation and a carrier performs it, and federal law registers the two roles separately. 49 U.S.C. 13102 defines a motor carrier as "a person providing motor vehicle transportation for compensation," and defines a broker as a person other than a motor carrier that arranges transportation by motor carrier for compensation. Comparing two companies means comparing two different products: a broker sells access to many trucks, and a carrier sells its own truck.
Broker
Motor carrier
Federal definition
49 U.S.C. 13102(2) and 49 CFR 371.2
49 U.S.C. 13102(14)
Core function
arranges, or offers to arrange, transportation for compensation
provides motor vehicle transportation for compensation
Operates the truck
no
yes
Registration
required to provide broker service under 49 U.S.C. 13901(a)
required to provide motor carrier service under 49 U.S.C. 13901(a)
Doing the other role's job
"A broker for transportation may not provide transportation as a motor carrier unless the broker has registered separately under this chapter to provide transportation as a motor carrier" (49 U.S.C. 13904(d)(1))
49 U.S.C. 13901(a) requires registration for each service a person is registered to provide
Financial security in 49 CFR 387.307
surety bond or trust fund named for property brokers
not the subject of that section
Named in the cargo liability section, 49 U.S.C. 14706
not named
named as receiving and delivering carrier
Where the definition of broker varies
Published definitions of broker differ on how far a motor carrier may go arranging another company's haul before that motor carrier counts as a broker too.
Definition in use
What it means in practice
Where it appears
Source
Checked
"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 by solicitation, advertisement, or otherwise as selling, providing, or arranging for, transportation by motor carrier for compensation"
A motor carrier is written out of the term by the definition itself
49 U.S.C. 13102(2)
law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/49/13102
September 2026
"a person who, for compensation, arranges, or offers to arrange, the transportation of property by an authorized motor carrier"
No exclusion appears in the main clause; the section separately provides that motor carriers, and their employees and bona fide agents, are not brokers when they arrange shipments they are authorized to transport and have bound themselves to transport
49 CFR 371.2
law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/371.2
September 2026
Carriers operate the trucks that ship your vehicle, and brokers coordinate shipments using a network of carriers
Registration forms no part of this everyday definition, and a company that does both jobs is treated as an ordinary hybrid
Everyday industry usage
—
—
The federal definition decides, because it determines who has to register. A company's own website copy doesn't change which authority it holds. There is no legal in-between either: 49 U.S.C. 13901(a) registers only three roles (motor carrier, freight forwarder or broker), and no federal definition exists for a label like "auto transport management company." Ask any company which operating authority it holds, and for the number. 49 CFR 371.7(b) requires a broker's advertising to show its broker status.
Frequently asked questions about brokers
Can one company be both a broker and a carrier?
Yes, but only with two separate registrations. 49 U.S.C. 13904(d)(1) bars a broker from providing transportation as a motor carrier unless it has registered separately to do so.
How can I find out which carrier my broker assigned?
Ask for the transaction record. 49 CFR 371.3 requires it to name the originating motor carrier and its registration number, and 371.3(c) gives you the right to review it.
Is booking through a broker worse than booking direct with a carrier?
No federal rule says one beats the other. A broker reaches trucks you couldn't find alone; a carrier controls the truck it sells directly. You're trading reach for direct control, not choosing a worse option.
Sources and last checked
Supports
Statutory definition of broker, which excludes a motor carrier and a motor carrier's employee or agent, and the definition of motor carrier.
A property broker must have a surety bond or trust fund of 75,000 dollars in effect. Effective date note read on both hosts on September 2026: the version of the section printed on Cornell LII and on govinfo carries the credit 88 FR 78672, November 16 2023, was stayed and delayed more than once, and took effect January 16, 2026. The section is operative as of the date of this entry, and the 75,000 dollar figure is the same in the pre-2023 text.
