How to start an auto transport brokerage in 2026

An auto transport broker sells the move and hires a licensed carrier to haul the car. Federal rules define a broker as a person who, for compensation, arranges transportation by an authorized motor carrier, and they bar a broker from presenting itself as a carrier, so your ads have to show that you are a broker.

The work goes in this order:

1. Form the company and get an EIN.
2. Apply to FMCSA for a USDOT number and property broker authority.
3. File a BOC-3 and a $75,000 BMC-84 bond or BMC-85 trust within the deadline.
4. Register for UCR.
5. Decide on contingent cargo insurance.
6. Open a Central Dispatch account.
7. Line up lead sources, a quoting method, a contract and a way to take payments.
8. Set up a CRM, phones and a registered texting line.

Form the business and get an EIN

Register a company, such as an LLC or a corporation, with your state, which sets the filing fee. Then get a federal employer identification number (EIN). You will need it to open a bank account, and texting providers ask for it too. RingCentral, for one, won't register a business for text messaging without an EIN or another federal business ID.

Do you need a license to be an auto transport broker?

Yes. FMCSA says companies that arrange interstate transportation of regulated goods for pay need interstate operating authority in addition to a USDOT number. People call it a broker license or an MC number. FMCSA's authority page says operating authority is often identified by an "MC" number.

How to get FMCSA broker authority (MC number)

New applicants used to file through the Unified Registration System. FMCSA's registration page says its legacy systems gave way to Motus, the new USDOT Registration System, starting May 14, 2026. Under the Motus notice, a first-time registrant applies for the USDOT number and operating authority there, and every new applicant has to pass identity verification with a smartphone or tablet and a valid government-issued ID.

The fee is $300 for each type of authority, and FMCSA does not refund it. Its authority page says new applications may take 20 to 25 business days, or 8 weeks or longer if the agency reviews them further.

FMCSA publishes a notice of your application in the FMCSA Register. Under 49 CFR part 365, anyone has 10 days from that notice to protest, and you have 20 days from it to get your bond or trust and your BOC-3 on file. Line up the surety and the process agent before you apply.

What is a BOC-3, and who files it?

A BOC-3 names process agents, the people who can accept court papers for your company. Under 49 CFR part 366, a broker designates an agent for each state where it has an office or writes contracts. Only one current BOC-3 can be on file, and you keep a copy at your main office. You can hire a process agent company, called a blanket company, to file it for you. The Motus notice lists blanket companies among the filers that use the system, and each one sets its own price.

Auto transport broker bond: BMC-84 or BMC-85

Under 49 CFR 387.307, a broker must have a $75,000 surety bond or trust fund in effect, and FMCSA will not register a broker until it is. A surety bond is filed on Form BMC-84 and a trust fund on Form BMC-85. The money pays shippers or motor carriers if the broker fails to carry out its contracts.

• BMC-84 bond. You pay a surety company a yearly premium for the $75,000 bond. The surety sets the premium, and it varies with your credit. FMCSA does not publish premiums.
• BMC-85 trust. You put up the full $75,000. Since January 16, 2026, the trust may hold only cash, irrevocable letters of credit from a federally insured institution, or Treasury bonds, and the assets must turn into cash within 7 calendar days.

The same rule tells the surety to report payments or expected claims that take the bond or trust below $75,000. FMCSA then gives you 7 business days to restore it, show the report was a mistake or answer in another way the rule allows, and suspends your authority if you don't.

Do auto transport brokers need cargo insurance?

The federal financial requirement for a property broker is the bond or trust above. In the part 365 application rules, FMCSA asks property brokers for a BMC-84 or BMC-85, and the cargo liability forms in the same rule apply to household goods carriers and forwarders. Contingent cargo insurance is a policy a broker can choose to buy for claims a carrier's own cargo insurance does not pay. If you want it, get quotes from an insurance agent who writes transportation policies.

Register for UCR

Brokers pay into the Unified Carrier Registration plan too. Under 49 CFR part 367, the fee for a broker is $46 for the 2026 registration year and $55 for 2027 and later years.

Setting up Central Dispatch as a new broker

Central Dispatch is the load board where brokers post cars and carriers pick the loads they want. Its plans page lists the Core plan for shippers from $139.95 a month and Premium from $214.95 a month, plus tax. Core includes Price Check, which shows market data from similar moves so you can price a load. Central Dispatch ties company accounts to MC authority numbers, so open yours once your authority is granted. For a closer look, read what Central Dispatch is and what each plan costs.

Where do new auto transport brokers get leads?

Quote requests come from three places: lead sellers, your own website and ads, and repeat and referred customers. Lead sellers are the fastest to switch on, and some turn leads on as soon as the first payment clears. On the seller price pages we read on October 28, 2026, prices ran from 40 cents for a lead shared with ten brokers to $29 for an exclusive lead. How buying car shipping leads works covers shared and exclusive leads, return policies and how to measure cost per booked car.

Quoting, contracts and payments

Customers compare several quotes, and your price has to be low enough to win the car and high enough that a carrier will take the load. Price from what carriers were paid on the lane recently, and write down your rule so every salesperson quotes the same way.

Have a lawyer write your shipping contract, and send it for signature before you post the load. Decide what you charge when the customer books and what the carrier collects at delivery, and record both on the order.

Keep a record of every load. Under 49 CFR 371.3, a broker keeps for three years a record that includes the shipper's name and address, the carrier's name, address and registration number, the bill of lading number, what you were paid and by whom, and any freight charges you collected with the date you paid the carrier.

Phone, texting and a CRM for a new brokerage

Most of your sales happen by phone and text, so set up the phone line before your first lead arrives. Register your business and a texting campaign for A2P 10DLC through your texting provider, or the mobile carriers may not deliver your texts. Read TCPA and 10DLC texting rules for car shipping brokers before you send anything automated.

A CRM keeps every lead, quote, follow-up and order in one place, so a quote does not sit unanswered because it lived in someone's notes, and it shows you each salesperson's work once you hire one. How to choose a car shipping CRM has the checklist.

How much does it cost to start an auto transport brokerage?

These are the costs with a published number. Where nobody publishes one, the table says who sets it.

Your first step this week

Get a bond quote and a BOC-3 quote first, then open your FMCSA application, so both filings are ready inside the 20-day window. While the application is pending, book a live demo of Leader CRM and have your quoting, contracts and follow-ups set up before your authority is granted.