Operating authority
Active USDOT number and MC authority, confirmed current. Authority that has lapsed or been revoked disqualifies a carrier immediately.
Why Clutch
How a carrier earns the right to move your vehicle
The carrier is the actual service. Everything else is coordination. So the standard applied to who gets assigned is the most important thing a transport provider does.
Clutch reviews every carrier before assignment and monitors them afterward. Vetting covers active USDOT and MC operating authority, current cargo and liability insurance verified directly rather than taken on the carrier's word, FMCSA safety and inspection history, third-party ratings and reputation, and Clutch's own internal record of how that carrier has performed on previous Clutch loads.
The checks
What gets verified, every time
Insurance, verified at source
Active cargo and liability coverage, confirmed with the insurer rather than accepted as a certificate the carrier emailed over.
FMCSA safety data
Inspection and violation history, out-of-service rates, and crash record. Public data that most shippers never actually look at.
Ratings and reputation
Third-party ratings and standing in the industry, which surfaces patterns before they reach your shipment. We can see a carrier's reviews from other providers, much like Google reviews, including their star rating and how many reviews sit behind it, before we ever assign them.
Our own performance record
How this carrier has actually done on Clutch loads: on-time rate, condition at delivery, and how they handled it when something went wrong.
Ongoing monitoring
Vetting is not a one-time gate. Authority lapses, insurance expires, and safety scores move. A carrier approved last year is re-checked.
The tradeoff
Why we sometimes quote higher than the other guy
There is a version of this business where you take the lowest bid on a load board and hope. It quotes better than we do.
The problem is what it costs when it fails. A carrier without adequate cargo coverage is not a saving, it is an uninsured vehicle. A carrier with a poor safety record is a higher probability of the phone call nobody wants. And a rate set too low to attract a real carrier is not a price at all, it is a vehicle sitting on a board while the clock runs.
We would rather quote a number that reflects what it actually costs to move the vehicle with someone we have checked.
Frequently asked
Does Clutch own its own trucks?
No. Clutch is a licensed property broker, USDOT 2227267 and MC-398927. Transport runs on vetted motor carriers' equipment. That model covers far more lanes than any single fleet could, and it makes the carrier selection standard on this page the thing that actually matters.
What insurance is required of a carrier?
Active cargo and liability coverage, verified before assignment rather than taken on trust.
What happens if a vehicle is damaged in transit?
The condition reports signed at pickup and at delivery establish what changed during transport, which is why both inspections matter and why signing without looking is a mistake.
Can I find out which carrier is assigned to my shipment?
Yes. Carrier information is available once assignment is made, and business accounts can see it in the portal.
Work with Clutch
See whether we are the right fit
Bring your lanes and your requirements. We will tell you plainly what we can do and what we cannot.