How to Get Loads With New Authority: A 90-Day Plan

Your MC just went active. The insurance is paid, the truck note is due on the first, and the first three brokers you called said some version of “call us back when your authority is six months old.” It’s a common wall for new carriers, and it’s frustrating, because nothing in federal law says a broker has to wait.

This is a 90-day plan for how to get loads with new authority: what has to be in place before day one, how to get set up with the brokers who will work with you, how to turn one-off loads into repeat lanes, and how to stay clean for the new entrant safety audit that’s coming no matter how busy you are.

We dispatch for owner-operators and small fleets, and this is the order we’d work in. Not every step will fit your equipment or lanes, so treat the timings as a guide.

Why won’t brokers work with a new authority?

Short answer: It’s broker policy, not federal law. FMCSA sets no minimum authority age before a broker can use you. Brokers set their own rules because carrier fraud is common and a brand-new MC has no record they can check.

FMCSA itself describes the problem. In its April 2026 notice on the new registration system, it reported “a significant increase” in presumed fraudulent activity, including identity theft, hijacked carrier accounts, the selling of motor carrier numbers, and fake registrations. A broker that has paid a fake carrier for a load that was never delivered tends to get cautious about any MC it can’t verify.

The other problem is plain history. A new authority has no roadside inspections, no on-time record and no references. Brokers who want to see a track record have nothing to look at yet, so some simply set an age cutoff.

How long until brokers will work with a new authority?

Short answer: It depends entirely on the broker, from day one to six months or more. Some large brokers publish requirements that don’t mention authority age, while others, such as Amazon Relay, require your MC to be active for at least 180 days.

The published requirements show how wide the range is. TQL’s carrier FAQ lists a valid MC or USDOT number, at least $1 million in auto liability, at least $100,000 in cargo insurance, reefer breakdown coverage where it applies and a completed online contract, with no authority age mentioned. Amazon Relay’s insurance page says your MC “must be active for at least 180 days” before you haul with Relay.

Plan as if the first 90 days will be thin. Every clean load in that window is a reference you’ll use for the next broker.

How to get loads with new authority: the 90-day plan at a glance

Before day 1: make sure you can legally haul

Your authority isn’t active just because you applied. FMCSA publishes your application in the FMCSA Register, and 49 CFR 365.115 gives anyone 10 days from that date to file a protest. Your insurer has to file proof of coverage, and you need a BOC-3 on file, the form that names an agent in each state who can accept legal papers for you.

Insurance filings are a common reason applications stall. FMCSA says that if your insurance filing isn’t in within 20 days of publication, it will send a decision saying the application will be dismissed unless you comply within 60 days. It also warns that the name and address on every filing must match your application exactly, or the grant is delayed.

The fee is $300 for each type of authority, with no refunds for mistakes. FMCSA’s authority page has said new applications can take 20 to 25 business days, longer if the agency flags yours for review. To budget the whole start-up, including insurance and filings, run your numbers through our new authority cost calculator.

Registration itself changed in 2026. FMCSA launched Motus, its new USDOT registration system, in May 2026, and every new applicant now has to pass identity verification: you scan a QR code with a smartphone or tablet, photograph a government-issued ID and take a face scan. MC numbers haven’t gone away. FMCSA’s notice says the Phase II release of Motus does not eliminate MC numbers, though the system now shows suffixes after your USDOT number for each type of registration you hold.

The federal insurance floor for a for-hire carrier hauling general freight across state lines in a truck rated 10,001 pounds or more is $750,000 in public liability, under 49 CFR 387.9. Many brokers ask for more, as TQL’s $1 million requirement shows, so price both before you bind a policy.

Watch out: Never let another company run loads under your MC, and never “rent” someone else’s. FMCSA lists the selling of motor carrier numbers among the fraud it’s fighting, and anything that happens under your number lands on your safety record.

Days 1–30: build your packet and book the first loads

Most broker setups ask for the same handful of documents. Build them once, as clean PDFs with matching names, and you can finish a setup in minutes instead of days.

Many brokers don’t email packets anymore. They send a link to a carrier onboarding platform instead. The names you’ll see most are Highway, MyCarrierPortal, Truckstop’s RMIS and DAT’s OnBoard. Set up a profile on each one the first time a broker sends you there, and keep the documents current, since that’s what every broker on the platform will see.

Then work the load boards. The best-known are DAT, Truckstop and 123Loadboard, and our comparison of DAT, Truckstop and 123Loadboard covers which suits which operation. Call on posts instead of only clicking, say up front that you’re a new MC, and ask whether the broker works with new authorities. A quick “no” saves you a setup.

For the first month, favor short regional loads you can deliver perfectly over the best-paying lane on the board. A clean pickup, on-time delivery and signed paperwork are worth more right now than an extra 20 cents a mile.

Days 31–60: turn single loads into repeat lanes

By the second month, the goal shifts from “any load” to “the same load again.” Keep a simple broker log: broker, contact, lane, rate, how fast they paid, and any problems. It tells you who to call first and who to drop.

After every clean delivery, ask the broker for the next load on that lane or for the backhaul. Brokers who’ve seen you deliver are far easier to book with than strangers, and a few of them will become your references when a bigger broker asks.

This is also the month to price loads properly. Count deadhead, the empty miles to the pickup, in your rate per mile. Read every rate con (rate confirmation, the contract for that one load) for detention pay, TONU (truck ordered not used, a fee if the load cancels after dispatch) and lumper terms (who pays the crew that unloads).

Start a short list of direct shippers too: manufacturers, distributors and building suppliers within your normal range. Direct freight usually takes longer to land and means you’re setting the terms and checking the customer’s credit yourself. One steady direct customer can carry a new carrier through a slow broker market, though.

Days 61–90: get ready for the new entrant safety audit

Every new carrier is in FMCSA’s new entrant program for 18 months, under 49 CFR 385.307. The safety audit comes once you’ve operated long enough to have records to review, which the regulation says is generally at least three months. FMCSA’s program page says the audit will happen within 12 months after you begin operations.

Some violations mean automatic failure under 49 CFR 385.321. Among them:

• no drug and alcohol testing program, or no random testing program;
• knowingly using a driver without a valid CDL, or a disqualified or medically unqualified driver;
• operating without the required insurance;
• failing to require hours-of-service records, if 51% or more of the records checked have the problem;
• using a vehicle that hasn’t had its periodic inspection, at the same 51% threshold;
• running a vehicle that was put out of service before it’s repaired.

The audit can also come early. Under 49 CFR 385.308, FMCSA may order an expedited audit if, for example, you have a driver or vehicle out-of-service rate of 50% or more across at least three inspections in 90 days, or you operate without the required insurance.

Use this month to put the files in order: driver qualification files, logs, maintenance and annual inspection records, an accident register and your drug and alcohol program paperwork. Our new entrant safety audit checklist lists what an auditor asks for. If you fail, most new entrants get 60 days to show corrective action before registration is revoked.

How do you keep your CSA scores clean as a new carrier?

Short answer: Avoid violations at roadside. Do real pre-trip inspections, keep your logs right, fix defects before you roll and challenge inspection data that’s wrong through DataQs. FMCSA’s Safety Measurement System uses two years of inspections and crashes, updates monthly and sorts everything into seven categories called BASICs.

The seven BASICs are Unsafe Driving, Crash Indicator, Hours-of-Service Compliance, Vehicle Maintenance, Controlled Substances/Alcohol, Hazardous Materials Compliance and Driver Fitness. FMCSA notes that a violation written on a roadside inspection report counts in the system even if the officer doesn’t issue a ticket or only gives a warning.

A new carrier has only a handful of inspections, so one bad one is a large share of your record. Lights, tires, brakes and log errors are the violations a driver can prevent before leaving the yard.

Tip: Keep a copy of every inspection report, clean ones included, and check each one against your FMCSA record within a few weeks. If a violation is wrong or belongs to someone else, file a DataQs request while the details are fresh.

Do you need factoring or a dispatcher as a new authority?

Short answer: Neither is required. Factoring helps when brokers pay on 30-day terms and fuel and insurance don’t wait, and a dispatcher helps mostly with setups, rate negotiation and paperwork. Both cost money, so use them for the gap they fill.

Factoring

Factoring means selling your invoices to a factoring company that pays you most of the amount up front and collects from the broker. You’ll add its NOA to your carrier packet so brokers pay it directly. Compare the fee, the advance, whether it’s recourse (you owe it back if the broker doesn’t pay) and any minimum volume. We set up factoring through our partner, Porter Freight Funding; our freight factoring page explains how that works.

Dispatch

A good dispatcher shortens the setup grind and negotiates rates, but you’re still the carrier, and every load is your liability. Avoid any dispatcher who wants an upfront fee, books loads without your approval or asks for your FMCSA portal login. Our guide on how to choose a truck dispatch company covers the questions to ask.

Our take: If you hire a dispatcher, the fee should only come out of loads you’ve approved. Ours is a flat 5–12% of each load’s gross, with no retainer, no weekly fee and no long-term contract, and you approve every load.

What to do this week

1. Look up your MC on FMCSA’s Licensing and Insurance site and confirm the authority is active and your insurance and BOC-3 show on file.
2. Build your carrier packet as PDFs: W-9, COI, authority letter, NOA if you factor, and payment details.
3. List 30 brokers posting freight in your lanes and call ten a day, asking first whether they work with new authorities.
4. Start your broker log and set up folders for driver files, logs, maintenance and drug testing, so the audit holds no surprises.
5. Decide how you’ll cover 30 to 45 days of expenses: savings, factoring or both.

If you’d like help booking those first loads, see our new authority dispatch service.