Two questions. Real answers. No charge.

Interstate authority is a fixed sequence, and doing it out of order costs you weeks. Budget four to six weeks from filing to an active MC number. Most of that is the mandatory protest period, which nothing shortens.

The order it has to happen in

1. 01Form the LLC or corporation in your state, then get an EIN from the IRS. Same day, free.
2. 02Apply through the FMCSA Unified Registration System for your USDOT number and MC operating authority.
3. 03File a BOC-3 blanket process agent. A process agent service files it for you. You cannot file it yourself.
4. 04Have your insurer file proof of liability, Form BMC-91X. General freight interstate needs $750,000 minimum. Brokers will want $1M.
5. 05Get cargo coverage. FMCSA no longer requires it for most freight. Brokers do, and $100,000 is the usual floor.
6. 06Register for UCR, get your IFTA license and decals from your base state, and IRP apportioned plates.
7. 07File IRS Form 2290 for Heavy Vehicle Use Tax and keep the stamped Schedule 1. You cannot plate the truck without it.
8. 08Join a drug and alcohol consortium and register in the FMCSA Clearinghouse before anyone drives.
9. 09Wait out the 21-day protest period. Authority goes active after that, not before.

What every broker will ask you for

• MC and USDOT certificate, and a signed W-9
• Certificate of insurance naming them as certificate holder
• Notice of assignment if you are factoring
• Signed broker-carrier agreement and voided check

The thing people get wrong

Move fast and put everything in writing. Most cargo claims are not lost on the facts. They are lost on late notice and on something the carrier said in the first hour.

The first 24 hours, in order

1. 01Confirm it is theft, not a misdelivery. Check the receiver and the driver's last known position before you call anyone.
2. 02File a police report where the theft occurred and get the report number. Nothing else moves without it.
3. 03Notify the broker in writing inside the window in your rate confirmation, usually 24 hours. Call first, then email.
4. 04Open the cargo claim the same day. Late notice is the most common reason a claim gets reduced or denied.
5. 05Preserve everything: ELD and GPS data, seal numbers, the BOL, gate receipts, photographs, and the driver's written statement while it is fresh.

What goes in the email to the broker

• BOL and load number, pickup and intended delivery
• Last known location and the time the loss was discovered
• Police department, report number and officer
• That the cargo claim is open, and one named point of contact

Protecting the insurance side

• Read your theft clauses before you describe what happened. Unattended-vehicle and unsecured-lot exclusions are common and wording matters.
• Expect the adjuster to want the police report, BOL, rate con, ELD/GPS, driver statement and the shipper's invoice for value.
• If the load's value exceeds your cargo limit, that gap is yours. Get declared value confirmed in writing on high-value freight from now on.

Get a transportation attorney involved the moment a claim approaches your cargo limit, or if the broker starts talking about offsetting it against payment for unrelated loads.