Most shippers have a carrier qualification process. Most of those processes haven't been updated since cargo theft was a minor line item and CSA scores were a novelty. Here's what a thorough vetting process looks like today.

This isn't a regulatory requirement checklist — it's a practical one. The minimum legal standard under 49 CFR 371.3 is low. This is the standard you should hold yourself to if you want your freight to arrive safely, on time, and with the right carrier behind the wheel.

Step 1: Verify Operating Authority

Before anything else, confirm the carrier is legally authorized to operate.

DOT number is active. Check the FMCSA SAFER database. The carrier's DOT number should show an active registration with a current MCS-150 filing.
MC authority is active (if applicable). For-hire carriers operating interstate need active MC authority. Check that it hasn't been revoked, suspended, or voluntarily surrendered.
Entity type matches. A carrier should be registered as a CARRIER. If they're registered as a BROKER or FREIGHT FORWARDER only, they shouldn't be operating trucks.
No out-of-service order. Check for active federal OOS orders. A carrier under an OOS order is legally prohibited from operating.

Red flag: Authority granted less than 90 days ago. New authorities aren't automatically risky, but they warrant extra scrutiny — especially for high-value loads. Strategic theft operations frequently use newly created authorities.

Step 2: Verify Insurance

Insurance verification isn't optional. If a carrier's insurance has lapsed and something goes wrong, you're exposed.

BIPD insurance on file. Bodily Injury and Property Damage liability insurance must be on file with the FMCSA. The minimum required amount depends on cargo type — $750,000 for general freight, $5,000,000 for hazmat.
Cargo insurance. Not technically required by FMCSA for all carriers, but most shippers should require it contractually. Verify the coverage amount matches or exceeds your shipment value.
Effective date is current. Insurance can lapse between FMCSA updates. If the effective date is more than a year old, call the insurance carrier directly to verify active coverage.

Red flag: Insurance filing that shows the minimum required amount with no excess coverage. Carriers that carry only the bare minimum may be undercapitalized.

Step 3: Review CSA Safety Scores

Pull the carrier's CSA BASIC percentile scores across all seven categories.

Check each BASIC individually. Don't just look at one score. A carrier with clean Unsafe Driving but 85th percentile Vehicle Maintenance has trucks falling apart.
Compare against intervention thresholds. Any score above the FMCSA intervention threshold (65th or 80th percentile depending on category) is a yellow flag. Multiple categories above threshold is a red flag.
Look at trends. Are scores rising or falling over the past 12 months? Rising scores indicate deteriorating safety culture.

Red flag: Any carrier above the intervention threshold in Unsafe Driving, Crash Indicator, or Controlled Substances. These categories are directly predictive of serious incidents.

Step 4: Check Out-of-Service Rates

OOS rates tell you what happened when an inspector actually examined the truck and driver.

Vehicle OOS rate vs. national average (20.7%). Anything significantly above the average indicates maintenance problems.
Driver OOS rate vs. national average (5.5%). High driver OOS rates suggest driver qualification or compliance issues.
Sufficient inspection volume. OOS rates based on 3 inspections aren't meaningful. Look for carriers with enough inspection history to draw conclusions.

Red flag: Vehicle OOS rate above 30%. At that rate, nearly one in three trucks is being pulled from service at inspection. That's not a few bad days — it's a broken maintenance program.

Step 5: Review Crash History

Pull the carrier's crash data for the past 24 months.

Total crashes relative to fleet size. 10 crashes for a 10,000-truck fleet is very different from 10 crashes for a 50-truck fleet. Normalize for size.
Fatal and injury crashes. Any fatal crashes in the past 24 months warrant a conversation about what happened and what changed.
Crash trend. Is the count rising or falling? A rising crash count in a carrier with stable fleet size is concerning.

Note: FMCSA crash data includes all reportable crashes regardless of fault. A carrier can have crash records for incidents they didn't cause. Don't reject a carrier solely on crash count without context.

Step 6: Verify Identity (Anti-Theft)

This step is specifically designed to prevent strategic cargo theft.

Callback verification. Call the carrier at the phone number listed in the FMCSA database — not the number the driver or dispatcher gave you. Confirm they accepted the load and dispatched a truck to your facility.
Address verification. Does the carrier's physical address in the FMCSA database match what you've been given? A mismatch is a red flag.
Fleet size sanity check. If the FMCSA database shows 2 power units but the carrier is offering capacity on a high-volume lane 500 miles from their home base, something doesn't add up.
Check for chameleon carriers. Carriers that shut down and reopen under new DOT numbers to shed bad safety records. Look for the same address, phone number, or principals associated with previously deactivated authorities.

Red flag: Any mismatch between the carrier's FMCSA records and the information provided by the broker or the carrier themselves.

Step 7: Document and Monitor

Qualification isn't a one-time event. Carrier safety status changes continuously.

Document your vetting. Save a timestamped record of every carrier you qualify — what you checked, when you checked it, and what you found. This protects you in the event of a claim.
Set up monitoring. A carrier you qualified last quarter might have had three crashes this quarter. Continuous monitoring catches changes that periodic reviews miss.
Requalify periodically. At minimum, requalify carriers annually. For high-volume or high-value lanes, quarterly is better.

The Bottom Line

Every step in this checklist uses publicly available data. The FMCSA maintains it. CarrierWatch makes it searchable. There's no excuse for shipping blind.

Your broker handles capacity sourcing. Your job is to make sure the carrier they found can actually move your freight without incident. This checklist is how you do that.