The Post-Montgomery Carrier Vetting Checklist: 15 Items Every Broker Must Check

The Supreme Court's Montgomery v. Caribe Transport decision establishes that brokers must exercise "ordinary care" in carrier selection. But what does that mean in practice? Here's the checklist, organized by priority.

Tier 1: Non-Negotiable (Failure = Near-Automatic Liability)

1. Active Operating Authority

Verify the carrier's USDOT number is active and their MC authority (common or contract) is in "Authorized" status. A carrier without active authority cannot legally operate.

Where to check: FMCSA SAFER System or QCMobile API.

2. Insurance Meets Federal Minimums

Confirm BIPD liability insurance is on file at minimum $750,000 for general freight, $1,000,000 for hazmat. Check the FMCSA L&I filing for insurer name, policy number, and effective date.

Where to check: FMCSA Licensing & Insurance database (data.transportation.gov).

3. No Unsatisfactory Safety Rating

An "Unsatisfactory" FMCSA safety rating means the carrier has been found unfit. Tendering to an Unsatisfactory-rated carrier is indefensible.

Where to check: FMCSA SAFER System.

4. No Active Out-of-Service Orders

An OOS order means FMCSA has ordered the carrier to stop operating. Check before every load.

Where to check: FMCSA SAFER System, operating status field.

5. Not on Your Do Not Use List

If you've previously excluded a carrier for documented safety reasons and then tender to them anyway, a plaintiff attorney will have a field day.

Tier 2: Standard Due Diligence (What Courts Now Expect)

6. SMS BASIC Alert Status

Review all available BASIC categories. Flag any in Alert status. Multiple alerts should trigger escalation or rejection.

7. Crash History (24 Months)

Check total crashes, fatal crashes, injury crashes, and towaway crashes. Any fatal crash in 24 months requires documented justification for selection.

8. Out-of-Service Rates vs. National Average

Compare the carrier's driver OOS rate and vehicle OOS rate against the national averages. Rates significantly above average (2x or more) are red flags.

9. Inspection History

A carrier with zero inspections in 24 months has no safety data to evaluate. That's a gap you need to acknowledge and document.

10. Authority Age

New carriers (under 18 months) have higher crash rates statistically. Not a disqualifier, but worth noting and documenting.

11. MCS-150 Currency

If the carrier's MCS-150 filing is outdated (more than 24 months), their fleet size, mileage, and operational data may be stale.

12. Entity Type Verification

Confirm the carrier holds motor carrier authority, not just broker authority. Tendering to a broker-only entity is double-brokering.

Tier 3: Gold Standard (Strongest Defense)

13. Carrier Safety Attestation

Require the carrier to attest in writing to: pre-trip inspection completed, driver qualified and fit for duty, CDL valid, HOS compliant, drug testing program current, insurance in force, no undisclosed safety events.

14. Certificate of Insurance on File

Get the actual ACORD 25 certificate, not just the FMCSA filing. Confirm the policy is current and covers this specific operation.

15. Broker Sign-Off

Have the broker rep who made the selection decision sign off on the review, confirming they personally reviewed the FMCSA data and made a documented selection decision.

How to Document It

The documentation must be contemporaneous — created at the time of selection, not after an incident. It should include:

• What data was reviewed (FMCSA source, date/time of pull)
• What the data showed (snapshot of carrier's safety record)
• What the selection decision was and why
• Any red flags identified and how they were addressed
• Carrier attestation (if obtained)
• Broker sign-off

This is exactly what carrier screening tools like DOTScreener automate. The entire checklist is run against live FMCSA data, documented with a timestamped audit trail, and stored permanently.