How to vet a motor carrier using FMCSA data
A practical, FMCSA-grounded checklist for shippers and brokers: read Safety Ratings, interpret SMS BASIC percentiles, confirm Operating Authority and insurance, and catch chameleon carriers before tender.
Read three FMCSA data layers together: the Safety Rating (a compliance review verdict), SMS BASIC percentiles (continuous roadside-inspection scoring), and Operating Authority plus insurance filings.
The page also summarizes how the 2026 Supreme Court decision in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II ties a broker's reasonable care to the FMCSA data available at the time of each tender. It is a summary for planning, not legal advice.
FMCSA Safety Ratings
- Satisfactory: met the safety fitness standard in a compliance review.
- Conditional: failed at least one safety factor; allowed to operate at elevated risk.
- Unsatisfactory: unfit; do not tender freight.
- None / Not Rated: most active carriers; lean on SMS BASICs, insurance, and authority age instead.
SMS BASIC percentiles
SMS scores carriers on seven BASICs, each a 0–100 percentile against similar carriers, where higher is worse. Crossing the intervention threshold (65% for Unsafe Driving, Crash Indicator, and Hours-of-Service; 60% for hazmat carriers) is what triggers FMCSA attention.
Look up any carrier by DOT or MC number at https://freightfa.com/carrier-lookup.
Open the live page for current data and tools.