# Your freight brokerage authority rests on a bond, a filing and records you have to hand over on request.

![A broker of record checking surety bond status and transaction records on an office screen, used to show where operating authority is actually protected.](https://neurobird.com/freightbrokerage/freightbrokerage-hero.webp)
*Authority does not lapse loudly. It lapses on a notice nobody opened.*

> Freight brokerage is the business of arranging transportation between shippers and motor carriers without moving the goods yourself. It is federally licensed work. A broker needs operating authority, financial security in the form of a surety bond or trust fund filed on the correct form, and a record of each brokered transaction that the parties are entitled to inspect. The licence is the easy part. Keeping the evidence current is where brokerages come unstuck.

- URL: https://neurobird.com/freightbrokerage/
- Product: Neurobird Freight Brokerage Operations Platform
- Niche: freight brokerage
- Buyer: freight brokers and household goods brokers
- Status: in development, open for early access
- Updated: 2026-08-25

## What Neurobird Freight Brokerage does

- Track bond and trust fund status against the authority they support, including cancellation notice dates.
- Keep the record of each brokered transaction where it can be produced on request rather than reconstructed.
- Record which form evidences your financial security, because the form differs between a bond and a trust fund.
- Flag household goods advertising duties separately, since they attach to the website rather than the load.

## How it works

1. **Establish** Operating authority is recorded with the financial security supporting it, whether that is a surety bond on a BMC-84 or a trust fund on a BMC-85.
2. **Broker** Each transaction keeps its own record of the parties, the rate and the terms, held in the form the rules expect it to be available in.
3. **Defend** When a bond is cancelled or a record is requested, the file already contains the dates and documents, so the response is a lookup rather than a scramble.

## From the source material

> If you are a household goods broker, then you must have a surety bond or trust fund in effect for $25,000, as required by the regulation at 49 CFR §387.307(a)(2).

Source: FMCSA, small entity compliance guide for broker operations, https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/docs/small-entity-comp-guide-broker-operations-508.pdf

## Industry context

- **$10,000** A property or freight broker must have a surety bond or trust fund in effect for $10,000 under 49 CFR 387.307(a)(1). (source: FMCSA broker operations compliance guide, https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/docs/small-entity-comp-guide-broker-operations-508.pdf)
- **BMC-84** Form BMC-84 is the evidence that a brokerage is covered by a surety bond, at a level that depends on whether it brokers property or household goods. (source: FMCSA broker operations compliance guide, https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/docs/small-entity-comp-guide-broker-operations-508.pdf)
- **BMC-85** Form BMC-85 is the required evidence where financial security is provided by a trust fund rather than a surety bond, and it must be in place before authority is granted. (source: FMCSA broker operations compliance guide, https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/docs/small-entity-comp-guide-broker-operations-508.pdf)
- **371.107** Household goods brokers must prominently display required information in all advertisements and on their website home page under 49 CFR 371.107. (source: FMCSA broker operations compliance guide, https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/docs/small-entity-comp-guide-broker-operations-508.pdf)
- **50-mile** Household goods brokers are advised to use a carrier within a 50 mile radius of the shipper's origin to avoid grossly inaccurate estimates. (source: FMCSA broker operations compliance guide, https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/docs/small-entity-comp-guide-broker-operations-508.pdf)

## Pricing

- Single authority: $140 per month
- Brokerage: $380 per month
- Multi entity: $760 per month

## Questions

### What is a freight brokerage?

A freight brokerage arranges transportation between a shipper and a motor carrier without taking possession of the goods. It is federally licensed activity, requiring operating authority from FMCSA and financial security in the form of a surety bond or a trust fund. Beyond the licence, a broker carries record obligations on the transactions it arranges, and household goods brokers carry additional duties about how they advertise and what they must display publicly.

### How much financial security does a broker need?

The compliance guide is explicit that a property or freight broker must have a surety bond or trust fund in effect for $10,000 under 49 CFR 387.307(a)(1), with the guide also describing bond levels of $10,000 or $25,000 depending on whether the brokerage handles property or household goods. Because a surety can cancel a bond on notice, the practical requirement is not obtaining security once but keeping it in force continuously.

### What is the difference between a BMC-84 and a BMC-85?

They evidence different things. Form BMC-84 is the evidence that a brokerage is covered by a surety bond. Form BMC-85 is the evidence that it is covered by a trust fund instead, and it must be in place before authority may be granted. Which form applies depends on how a brokerage chose to satisfy its financial security obligation, so recording the mechanism matters as much as recording the amount.

### What extra rules apply to household goods brokers?

Several, and they attach to places most brokerages do not treat as compliance surfaces. Under 49 CFR 371.107 a household goods broker must prominently display required information in all advertisements and on the home page of its website. The guide also recommends using a carrier within a 50 mile radius of the shipper's origin to avoid grossly inaccurate estimates, and requires the written agreement with a household goods carrier to be available for public inspection on reasonable request.

### Can we use this today?

No. It is in development and open for early access. We are building the authority and records model with brokers who have been through an authority lapse and would rather not repeat it.

## Sources

- [FMCSA, small entity compliance guide for broker operations](https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/docs/small-entity-comp-guide-broker-operations-508.pdf)
- [FMCSA, transparency in property broker transactions rulemaking](https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/docket-no-fmcsa-2023-0257-rin-2126-ac63-transparency-property-broker-transactions)
- [FMCSA regulations, 49 CFR Parts 300 to 399](https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations)

## Contact

- office@neurobird.com
- https://neurobird.com/