Carrier packet: what brokers ask for and how to prepare one

What is in a carrier packet

The exact list differs from broker to broker, but the same documents come up again and again. Keep a current copy of each one in a single folder.

• Carrier profile: legal company name, address, contacts for dispatch and for billing, equipment types and the lanes you run.
• Proof of operating authority, so the broker can look your company up.
• Certificate of insurance (COI) listing your auto liability and cargo coverage (and general liability if the broker asks), with the broker named as certificate holder.
• IRS Form W-9 with your business name and taxpayer identification number.
• Payment details for ACH, or a notice of assignment if you work with a factoring company.
• The broker–carrier agreement, signed by you.

Carrier packet vs rate confirmation

The carrier packet is signed once per broker and sets up the relationship. The rate confirmation is signed for every load: it lists the route, dates, rate and accessorials for that one shipment.

Read the broker–carrier agreement in the packet before you sign it. It sets payment terms, how claims are handled, whether you may re-broker a load (double brokering is never allowed), and every later rate confirmation sits on top of it.

• Rate confirmation: what to check

How to prepare your own carrier packet

1. Scan each document to a clear PDF and name the files the same way every time, for example company name plus document name.
2. Ask your insurance agent how to request certificates quickly, because each broker asks to be named as certificate holder.
3. Write a one-page carrier profile with your contacts, equipment, lanes and preferred payment method.
4. Put the documents in one shared folder you can send as a link or as attachments.
5. Check the dates each month and replace anything that has expired before a broker asks.

If you factor your invoices

A factoring company pays your invoices and collects from the broker. It sends a notice of assignment (NOA) that tells the broker to pay the factor instead of you. Include it in every new packet, otherwise payment can go to the wrong account.

• Freight factoring explained

For brokers: what to check in a packet

• The company name is the same on the authority record, the COI and the W-9.
• The COI is current and the coverage fits the freight you will tender.
• The payment details match the company, or a notice of assignment explains why they do not.
• The dispatch contact is reachable before you give the first load.

• How to find carriers

Where GigFreight fits

Load boards can be browsed without an account. Visitors see the route, dates, equipment and price of each load, but not the poster’s contact details. The carrier packet and the rate confirmation are exchanged directly between the broker and the carrier, not through GigFreight.

Rates are agreed between the poster and the carrier for each load; GigFreight publishes no rate index and no recommended rates. No commission per load. Broker and shipper contact details on a load are shown only to members with a fully paid, active subscription. A trial gives access to the platform but not to load contact details.

• Open the US load board

Frequently asked questions