Carrier Packet Checklist

When a broker or shipper sets you up in their system, they usually ask for a standard bundle of documents — the "carrier packet." The list is predictable, the requests are routine, and the way you send them matters as much as what is in them.

What a carrier packet is

A carrier packet is the set of documents a broker or shipper collects before the first load. They use it to verify who you are, confirm your operating record, and set up payment. None of the requests are unusual on their own; the risk lives in how the documents travel.

Commonly requested documents

• W-9. The taxpayer identification form for payment setup. It carries your legal name, business name, federal tax classification, and taxpayer ID — enough to open doors in the wrong hands.
• Certificate of insurance (COI). Proof of your coverage. The clean practice is to have your insurance agent or insurer email it directly to the requester, so the document reflects current, accurate policy data rather than a stale PDF from your files.
• Operating authority documentation. The MC docket grant showing for-hire operating authority.
• USDOT registration. Your USDOT number and registration record.
• Notice of Assignment (NOA). Required only if you factor your receivables — it tells brokers where payment must be sent. If you do not factor, nobody needs your NOA.
• Signed broker-carrier agreement. The contract governing the relationship, which should be read fully before signing — including the parts about payment terms, liability, and how either side exits.

Some brokers ask for a signed rate confirmation, a signed W-9 with a voided check, or driver information for specific loads. Those are load-level or payment-level documents, and they follow the same care rules.

How to share documents safely

The documents in a carrier packet are exactly the kind of information that should never travel loosely:

• Use secure channels. A document upload portal, or email with encryption where both ends support it. If a broker sends a portal link, confirm it belongs to their real domain — look it up rather than trusting the link text.
• Do not send sensitive documents through unsecured web forms. A form that emails your attachments to a plain inbox is not a secure channel, whatever the page calls itself.
• Verify the requester first. A common pattern in freight fraud is a "new broker" requesting a full packet urgently. Check the company in the SAFER Company Snapshot and the Licensing & Insurance system before sending anything, and confirm the email address matches the company's record.
• Send only what is asked for. Nobody setting up your carrier file needs your driver's license, your bank login, or card numbers. If a request overshoots the standard list, ask why in writing.

Keep documents current

A packet is not a one-time event. Certificates of insurance expire and renew; authority records change. When your COI renews, tell the brokers on file so their copy is not a year out of date. An out-of-date packet can hold up payment, cause a broker to pause a load, or misrepresent your current coverage at exactly the wrong moment.

Keep a master copy of your own: current W-9, latest COI, and authority documentation in a folder you control, so you can assemble a packet in minutes instead of hunting through old emails.

A note from us

Our public inquiry form deliberately does not collect any of these documents. Carrier documents are handled later, in onboarding, through authenticated, secure channels — never through a public web form. Any company that collects your W-9 or insurance certificates through an open form on their website is asking you to hand sensitive files to an inbox you know nothing about.

The short version

Assemble the standard packet once, keep it current, share it only over secure channels with verified requesters, and read what you sign. Routine paperwork handled with routine care is what keeps it routine.