Car hauler carrier packet: what brokers ask for before the first load.
Before a broker gives you a car, it wants proof that you are who you say, insured for what you haul and paid to the right account. That bundle is the carrier packet. Here is what auto transport brokers publish as their requirements, and a checklist to keep ready.
Updated 6 October 2026·5 minute read·Requirements from brokers' published pages
The checklist
- Operating authority and USDOT number: a copy of your MC certificate, and the DOT number brokers will look up on FMCSA's record.
- Certificate of insurance, from your agent, with liability and cargo limits shown and the broker named as certificate holder.
- W-9 for the company you invoice from.
- ACH or banking form so payment goes to the right account.
- Signed broker-carrier agreement, or acceptance of the broker's carrier terms.
- References: two or three brokers or shippers you have delivered for.
- Equipment photos: the truck and trailer.
- Notice of assignment, if you factor, so the broker pays your factoring company. How factoring works.
A packet that is ready the same hour gets the load. One that takes two days gets the next one.
What brokers publish
Insurance
- ACV asks carriers for $1 million liability and $100,000 cargo.
- Sherpa Auto Transport asks for $1,000,000 liability and $100,000 cargo, with Sherpa added as certificate holder. Its carrier terms add a cargo deductible of no more than $10,000, general liability of at least $1 million, employer's liability of $500,000 and an insurer rated A by A.M. Best or better.
- An auto transport broker's own guide says most brokers require closer to $1,000,000 in liability, above the $750,000 federal minimum.
Everything else
- ACV lists an MC certificate, state permit, DOT number, equipment photos, a vendor ACH enrollment form and at least two business references.
- Sherpa's terms require that your USDOT safety rating never be "unsatisfactory", forbid re-brokering its loads, and are accepted load by load.
Some brokers also look at how long your authority has been active. Ask before you apply rather than finding out after the paperwork.
Keeping it ready
- One folder, current versions. An expired insurance certificate stops a packet until a new one arrives.
- Ask your agent for certificates by email the same day, naming each new broker as holder.
- Watch your FMCSA record. Brokers can see your authority, the insurance on file and your safety rating there. Car hauler insurance.
On loadez, your company's and drivers' compliance files are kept with the account on every plan, including the free one, so the packet is in one place. On the loadez board, the broker's rating and payment terms move each load's score on Growth. Pricing.
Common questions
What is in a carrier packet for car haulers?
Your MC authority and USDOT number, a certificate of insurance naming the broker as certificate holder, a W-9, an ACH or banking form, the signed broker-carrier agreement, two or three references, photos of the truck and trailer, and a notice of assignment if you factor.
How much insurance do auto transport brokers require?
Published requirements commonly ask for $1 million of liability and $100,000 of cargo coverage: ACV and Sherpa Auto Transport both list those figures, and Sherpa's carrier terms also ask for $1 million of general liability, a cargo deductible of no more than $10,000 and an insurer rated A or better. The federal minimum liability is $750,000.
What is a certificate holder on a car hauler's insurance?
The company named on your certificate of insurance as entitled to proof of your coverage, usually the broker or shipper you haul for. Brokers such as Sherpa Auto Transport require being added as certificate holder before you haul for them; your insurance agent issues the certificate.
Keep your packet ready and your next load scored.
Free for one truck, forever. Compliance files on every plan.