What Is a Carrier Packet?
A carrier packet is a set of documents that a moving company provides to a broker or agent to establish a business relationship and get approved to receive job referrals. A typical carrier packet includes the company's USDOT and MC numbers, certificate of insurance, W-9, signed broker-carrier agreement, and contact information for dispatch and claims.
Also known as: carrier setup packet, onboarding packet, vendor packet, carrier profile.
What a Carrier Packet Contains
Most carrier packets require 8–10 documents. Six are universally required; two to four are broker-specific or situational:
Print from SAFER System or FMCSA registration. Shows active authority status.
Confirms active MC number and authorized commodity (household goods).
Names broker as additional insured. Must show coverage limits and effective dates.
Separate cargo policy. Brokers typically require $100,000+ cargo coverage.
Required for 1099 tax reporting. Must match your legal business entity name and EIN.
Each broker has their own version. Read carefully — terms vary on payment, claims, and liability.
Name, phone, email, hours of operation. Brokers need this for day-of coordination.
Separate contact or procedure for filing damage and loss claims.
Some brokers request this if your FMCSA safety rating is unrated or conditional.
Optional one-pager covering fleet size, service area, years in business, and specialties.
Why Brokers Require Carrier Packets
Brokers are legally responsible for ensuring the carriers they dispatch are properly licensed, insured, and authorized to transport household goods. When a broker places a shipment with an unqualified carrier, the broker can face FMCSA enforcement action, civil liability from the customer, and damage to their reputation.
The carrier packet is how brokers verify all of this upfront. Insurance certificates confirm active coverage. USDOT and MC number verification confirms active federal authority. The W-9 enables required 1099 tax reporting. The signed agreement establishes the commercial terms of the relationship — payment, claims handling, and liability allocation.
Many brokers also use third-party carrier monitoring services (Carrier411, RMIS) that automatically flag lapses in insurance or authority status. If your certificate expires without an update, your approval can be suspended automatically — without any manual review by the broker.
How to Prepare Your Carrier Packet
Verify your FMCSA records
Log into the FMCSA SAFER System and confirm your USDOT and MC authority are Active. Check that your insurance filings are current. Any discrepancy here will flag during the broker's verification.
Get current COIs from your insurance broker
Request two certificates — one for general liability and one for cargo. Ask your insurance agent to name the specific broker as additional insured on each. Generic COIs without the broker named are often rejected.
Prepare your W-9
Complete the W-9 with your legal entity name, tax classification, and EIN exactly as they appear in your IRS records. Mismatches cause 1099 problems and will delay payment from some brokers.
Review the broker-carrier agreement
Each broker's agreement has different terms on payment timelines (net 30 vs. net 45 is common), claims liability allocation, and rate negotiation. Don't sign without reading. Flag anything that conflicts with your standard operations.
Compile and send as a single PDF or portal submission
Most brokers accept email with a single organized PDF. Larger brokers use carrier onboarding portals (Carrier411, RMIS, MyCarrierPackets). Keep a master folder with all documents so you can assemble a new packet for any broker in minutes.
Common Mistakes That Delay Approval
Sending expired insurance documents
Fix: Set calendar reminders 45 days before your insurance renewal date to get updated COIs.
COI doesn't name the broker as additional insured
Fix: Request a specific COI for each broker relationship. Generic certificates are commonly rejected.
W-9 entity name doesn't match FMCSA records
Fix: Use your exact legal entity name — the one on file with the IRS and on your MC authority certificate.
Missing dispatch hours or after-hours contact
Fix: Brokers route last-minute job inquiries outside business hours. A missing after-hours number means missed revenue.
Managing Carrier Packets Digitally
A growing moving company may maintain relationships with 10, 20, or 50 brokers simultaneously — each with their own agreement terms, COI requirements, and renewal calendars. Managing this manually creates significant administrative overhead and exposes you to approval lapses that cut off job flow.
The most efficient approach is maintaining a master document library with current versions of all core documents, tagged with expiration dates. When your insurance renews, you update one COI template and push updated certificates to all active broker relationships — rather than chasing them down one by one.
DriveSales stores all your compliance documents in one place — COIs, authority certificates, W-9, agreements — with expiration alerts built in. When a broker requests your carrier packet, you can compile and send in minutes rather than hunting through email threads and file folders.
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Carrier Packet — FAQ
Common questions about carrier packet requirements, approval timelines, and document management.
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