Records
Carrier compliance & FMCSA
When a carrier may be dispatched, how FMCSA lookups and re-checks work, the vetting checklist, and where carrier documents may be sent.
Hiring an unchecked carrier is the most expensive mistake a brokerage can make: cargo theft, fraud, an uninsured accident. So Harbor treats carrier compliance as a hard gate. A new carrier cannot be dispatched, and no dispatch paperwork can be made for it, until its papers are on file and a reviewer has approved it in writing. There is no override.
- Where
- Carriers (drawer › Details), Approvals, Company profile › Carrier vetting
- Who approves
- Carriers · approve (owner, general manager and compliance manager by default)
- Who looks up / re-checks at FMCSA
- Carriers · create / Carriers · edit
- Who sets the required checks
- Company · edit
- FMCSA
- Simulated until a web key is saved on Integrations
The gate (R1)
The server checks each of these, and lists every gap in words:
| Check | Gap shown |
|---|---|
| MC docket number on file | no MC |
| USDOT number on file | no DOT |
| Insurance on file and in date | no insurance, or insurance expired. An expired certificate is the same as none. |
| W-9 on file | no W9 (the carrier cannot be paid without it) |
| A reviewer approved it | no reviewer |
| The reviewer wrote a comment | no written comment |
| Not rejected | rejected |
When all pass and the status is approved, the carrier is Cleared to haul. Otherwise it is Dispatch blocked.
What a blocked carrier cannot do
| Action | Refused |
|---|---|
| Move a load to Dispatched, At Pickup, In Transit, At Delivery or Delivered | Yes |
| Generate a rate confirmation, carrier confirmation, dispatch sheet or delivery order | Yes |
| Issue a delivery order | Yes |
| Be given a lane rate from a rate request | Yes |
| Be assigned to a load, or have its rate taken on the Rate board | No, but the load stays blocked until it is cleared |
Insurance is checked every time, against today's date. When a certificate lapses, every load that carrier holds is blocked at once. The Tasks & exceptions screen lists carriers whose insurance has lapsed or ends within 30 days.
Approve a carrier
Approval happens on Approvals. From the carrier drawer, an approver can press Review on Approvals.
Open the carrier on Approvals
New carriers wait there as pending compliance.Check the gaps and the vetting checklist
Both must be complete.Write a comment
Required (at least 3 characters). It is kept with the decision.Approve or reject
The carrier's status changes and the decision is audited.
Approval is refused while anything is missing:
Cannot approve yet: No W-9 on file, so this carrier cannot be paid. Put it on file, then approve.
Cannot approve yet: Vetting is not finished: broker–carrier agreement signed, identity confirmed on the FMCSA phone.
Going back to review
If someone later changes an approved carrier's MC, USDOT, FMCSA email, insurance dates or limits, or W-9, the carrier goes back to pending compliance and compliance is told Carrier needs a new review.
The compliance reminder (R11)
The alert reads Still pending: Carrier X — MC 123456 has waited 15 minutes for a compliance review. It cannot be dispatched until approved. It links to Approvals and is written to the audit log as a System action. It cannot be switched off on Auto pilot.
FMCSA lookup
FMCSA is the US regulator that registers carriers. Harbor can look a carrier up by MC or USDOT number to check its authority, safety rating, insurance on file and registered email.
Look up a new carrier
On the Carriers list, press Look up MC, choose MC or USDOT, and type the number (MC-123456, MC 123456 or 123456 all work). You see what FMCSA holds, the problems it found, and whether you already have the carrier. Start a new carrier from this opens the New carrier form filled in. Nothing is saved by a lookup alone.
What FMCSA problems are flagged
| Finding | Severity |
|---|---|
| Not allowed to operate | Bad |
| No for-hire authority, or authority not active | Bad |
| Safety rating Unsatisfactory | Bad |
| Liability cover on file below the required amount (at least $750,000) | Bad |
| Safety rating Conditional | Warning |
| Vehicle out-of-service rate above the national 22.26% | Warning |
| Driver out-of-service rate above the national 6.67% | Warning |
| No registered email in the answer | Warning |
Re-check a carrier
The Verification box in the carrier drawer shows when the carrier was last checked: FMCSA check is current (with days left), FMCSA check is out of date, or Never checked at FMCSA. A check is out of date after 30 days.
Open the carrier
Carriers › click it › Details.Press Re-check
In the Verification box. Needs Carriers · edit and an MC or USDOT on the record.Read the result
Findings, and any differences between FMCSA and your record (name, USDOT, MC, registered email).
The answer is kept on the carrier with the date, and audited. If FMCSA found problems or differences, compliance is notified: FMCSA check needs a look. Re-checking does not change the carrier's details for you; edit them if FMCSA is right.
The vetting checklist
On top of R1, each company chooses extra checks a carrier must pass before it can be approved. The Vetting section in the carrier drawer shows each check, whether it is required, its state (done, to do, or a problem) and a progress bar.
| Check | How it is decided | Required by default |
|---|---|---|
| Authority active at FMCSA | Automatically, from the latest FMCSA check | Yes |
| Safety rating acceptable | Automatically (Unsatisfactory is a problem) | Yes |
| Liability certificate in date | Automatically; cover below $750,000 is a problem | Yes |
| Cargo certificate in date | Automatically | Yes |
| W-9 on file | Automatically | Yes |
| FMCSA email on file | Automatically; a different email at FMCSA is a problem | Yes |
| Broker–carrier agreement signed | Ticked by hand | Yes |
| Identity confirmed on the FMCSA phone | Ticked by hand | Yes |
| References checked | Ticked by hand | No |
| Drug and alcohol clearinghouse checked | Ticked by hand | No |
The FMCSA-based checks stay to do when there is no check, when it was for other numbers, when it is more than 30 days old, or (in production) when it was simulated.
Tick a manual check
In the Vetting section, tick the check and add an optional note (up to 300 characters). Needs Carriers · edit. Your name and the time are kept, and the tick is audited. Automatic checks cannot be ticked by hand.
Choose the required checks
On Company profile › Carrier vetting, tick which checks are required for your company. At least one must be required.
Where carrier documents go (R3)
- The FMCSA registered email on the carrier record is the only address for rate confirmations, dispatch sheets, delivery orders, POD requests and rate requests.
- The correspondence email is for day-to-day contact only; documents never go there.
- An approved carrier with no FMCSA email shows Documents blocked.
- Typing another address when sending is refused. This protects you from a fraudster who supplies their own email.