How to Build a Reliable Carrier Network in 2025: A Practical Guide for Freight Brokers

Carrier fraud, insurance lapses, and service inconsistencies are on the rise. For small to mid-size freight brokerages, vetting carriers is no longer just about checking a DOT number and moving on. It is a core operational function that directly impacts service levels, customer trust, and margin protection.

Whether you are a solo broker or running a 60-person shop, your ability to consistently source and manage safe, reliable carriers is one of the most important capabilities for scaling in a sustainable way. Technology can make this process faster and more accurate, but the underlying principles are universal regardless of the TMS you use.
 

Why Carrier Vetting Needs a Modern Approach

According to recent reporting from industry sources like FreightWaves and Truckstop, identity theft, double brokering, and fictitious carrier schemes have all increased significantly in the last two years. These risks are most common in high-demand lanes and tend to spike during tight capacity markets.

At the same time, customer expectations have gone up, and insurance providers are requiring stronger risk controls. Many brokers know they need to vet carriers, but the actual process is often inconsistent, rushed, or incomplete. That creates exposure.

It is time to rethink carrier vetting as a scalable system, not a one-time task.
 

The Fundamentals of a Modern Carrier Vetting Process

Here’s the You do not need a full tech stack to put better vetting practices in place. You need a repeatable structure, clearly defined rules, and consistency across your team. The following five steps form the backbone of a modern and defensible carrier management process.

1. Verify Operating Authority and Insurance

• Confirm that the carrier has active FMCSA operating authority that matches the type of freight you are moving.
• Check for up-to-date insurance certificates that meet your brokerage’s minimums and any specific shipper requirements.
• Record all documentation in a centralized system or shared folder with naming conventions and timestamps.

Do not rely on email threads or casual notes. Create a checklist for what needs to be verified before booking a load with any new carrier.

2. Review Safety History and Inspection Records

• Use public tools like SAFER Web or private carrier databases to assess the carrier’s out-of-service rates, violations, and crash history.
• Look at ISS scores and BASIC scores, paying attention to areas like vehicle maintenance and driver fitness.
• Flag carriers with recent patterns of violations, especially those tied to behavior or safety systems.

This helps identify risks that may not show up in standard insurance or authority checks.

3. Track Performance Metrics Over Time

• Start collecting on-time pickup and delivery rates, claims data, and anecdotal feedback after just a few loads.
• Use these data points to develop internal carrier scorecards. Focus on consistent, high-quality performance across core lanes.
• Identify carriers you can trust with last-minute freight, premium shippers, or specialized equipment needs.

Carrier vetting does not stop after onboarding. Performance management is ongoing.
 

4. Establish a “Do Not Use” and “Watchlist” Policy

• Create clear rules for what puts a carrier on the Do Not Use list, such as double brokering, fraud, no-shows, or repeated service failures.
• Maintain a Watchlist for carriers that are borderline. These should require management review or extra verification before assigning loads.

Communicate this policy clearly to your team and make it visible within your workflows.
 

5. Automate What You Can, Review What You Must

• Use FMCSA APIs, carrier onboarding portals, and insurance monitoring tools to reduce manual steps where possible.
• But always keep a person responsible for reviewing exceptions and confirming approvals.

Automation helps scale the process, but oversight is what makes it trustworthy.

What a Good Vetting Workflow Looks Like

Here is how a well-run vetting process should work in practice:

• A new carrier submits documents through an onboarding form.
• Their DOT authority is validated, insurance is verified, and safety history is checked automatically.
• An ops rep reviews the results and assigns them a provisional rating.
• After five successful loads with strong feedback, they are promoted to your preferred tier.

This is what enables consistent service and helps brokers avoid costly mistakes. You do not need a massive operation to run a tight process. You just need a system.

How MVMNT Streamlines Carrier Vetting

If you are managing this all manually or across multiple disconnected tools, it is only a matter of time before something gets missed. That is where MVMNT makes a difference.

MVMNT is built to help brokerages operationalize high-quality vetting without adding complexity. Here is how it works.

Real-Time Compliance Checks
MVMNT integrates directly with FMCSA and insurance databases to validate carrier authority and coverage live within the platform. No copy-pasting or outside lookups required.

Structured Carrier Onboarding
Configure custom onboarding workflows with required documents and vetting criteria. Everything is stored and searchable in a single system of record.

Integrated Carrier Performance Data
Track on-time rates, service quality, and claims inside your workflow. Turn performance data into decisions about who gets loads and who does not.

Do Not Use and Watchlist Controls
Flag problematic carriers with shared tags and internal notes. Ensure no one on the team accidentally books a load with a carrier that has been removed from your network.

Built-In Audit Trails
Every document, decision, and policy action is logged. If you ever need to demonstrate your carrier selection process for compliance or legal defense, the records are already there.
 

Final Thoughts

Carrier vetting is not just about avoiding fraud. It is about creating a reliable, repeatable operation that your customers can trust. Whether you are using manual tools or enterprise systems, the fundamentals remain the same: verify, monitor, track, and enforce.

If you are ready to eliminate manual checks and run a more disciplined carrier network, MVMNT offers an end-to-end solution that aligns with the way freight brokers work today.

See how MVMNT can help you simplify your carrier operations and protect your business. Request a demo today.