What is a carrier packet?
A carrier packet is the onboarding paperwork a broker requires before booking you the first time: signed broker-carrier agreement, W-9, certificate of insurance, authority letter, and payment details — increasingly handled through digital onboarding platforms.
Every new broker relationship starts with the carrier packet (also called a broker setup or carrier setup). The standard contents: the signed broker-carrier agreement (read the offset and back-solicitation clauses before signing), your W-9, a certificate of insurance naming the broker as certificate holder (your insurance agent issues these on request — brokers typically require $1M auto liability and $100K cargo), a copy of your operating authority letter, and your payment information — either direct-deposit details or, if you factor, your factoring company's notice of assignment. Some brokers add references, a safety questionnaire, or California/ELD attestations. Two practical realities: first, much of this moved to digital onboarding platforms (MyCarrierPackets, RMIS, Highway), where you maintain one profile that pre-fills each new broker's setup — keeping that profile current is genuinely worth an hour, because a stale insurance certificate stalls a load you wanted to book today. Second, the packet is also where brokers run their fraud screen: they check that the email domain and phone you provide match what's on your FMCSA record and the rest of your public footprint. Carriers whose contact details are consistent everywhere — FMCSA record, web page, packet — onboard in minutes; mismatches trigger manual review or a silent pass to the next carrier on the load.
- How fast can I get set up with a new broker?With a current profile on the digital onboarding platforms, often under 30 minutes — many brokers can book you the same day a load is on the table. Manual packets with emailed PDFs can stretch into days, mostly waiting on the insurance certificate.
- What's a notice of assignment?If you factor your invoices, the factoring company sends brokers a notice of assignment directing payments to the factor instead of you. Brokers honor the NOA on every invoice until the factor releases it — it's standard and doesn't hurt your standing.
- Why did a broker reject my packet?Common reasons: insurance below their minimums or expiring within 30 days, authority too new for their rules, safety scores over their thresholds, or mismatched contact details that tripped a fraud screen. Ask — most brokers will tell you which gate you hit, and several of them are fixable the same week.