Freight broker setup requirements by MC authority age
Broker-published days-old gates and insurance minimums copied from public carrier-setup pages. There is no single FMCSA legal minimum — confirm with the broker before you apply.
Outsiders often cannot get loads until the company is “old enough” for broker setup —
friends with a book of freight skip that gate. Authority age is the outsider wall: a
commercial rule, not an FMCSA legal minimum. We cannot invent intros, but we can show
which brokers still publish younger MC authority-age rules, which setup URLs still open,
and how old your MC is.
Inactive setup link ≠ inactive broker.
Archive means the onboarding URL is blocked or dead — the broker can still be FMCSA-active in
the Active directory layer above.
I’m a new MC — open setup + younger gates
One search: Active (open) setup links and a published authority-age gate at or below your age.
Works whether requirements coverage is thin or thick — empty rows mean “not published yet,” not “accepts day-one.”
Some brokers publish conflicting day rules on different pages (for example C.H. Robinson);
Qualify by MC age separates those sources instead of picking one.
Directory census and enrichment coverage
FMCSA-active load-givers in the directory (target ~54k+), separate from setup-gate overlays.
Use the layer nav above for Directory, Search, Setup links, Requirements, and Load boards —
website and crawl-fact counts rise as discovery and crawls land.
Active directory
54,537
43,658 with email ·
12,461 with website ·
53,572 with phone
Setup links
446
Active (open pages) · Archive 1,692
(WAF 1,211 RMIS + DNS 400) —
inactive link ≠ inactive broker
Requirements
1,735
1,447 with auth-age days · insurance when published
What is an MC authority age requirement for broker setup?
Many freight brokers will not onboard a carrier until FMCSA operating authority has been active for a set number of days (often 30, 90, or 180). We copy that days-old gate only when a public setup page stated it. There is no single federal legal minimum for broker onboarding.
Why can’t new trucking companies get loads as easily as people with friends in the industry?
Personal intros bypass broker onboarding gates. Everyone else hits commercial rules — especially MC authority age — before the broker will accept a packet. TruckCodex cannot invent relationships; we publish which brokers still post younger age gates, which setup URLs still open, and how old your MC is so you stop wasting packets on dead portals and 180-day bars.
Does an archived or inactive setup link mean the broker is inactive?
No. Archive means the onboarding URL is not publicly usable (WAF, login wall, DNS fail, placeholder). The broker can still be FMCSA-active in Directory. Use Active setup for open pages and Directory for licensed load-givers.
Does “no age rule published” mean the broker accepts new authority?
No. That tier means we could not find a days-old rule on the setup page. A separate “no age line” slice means we read a published requirements list with no age line — still not a guarantee you qualify on day 1. Confirm with the broker.
Is every licensed freight broker listed here?
No. Licensed brokers live on TruckCodex USDOT pages. FMCSA publishes who is licensed, not their setup gates. This hub covers brokers whose setup rules we recorded, or a public setup/website link. Missing from this list does not mean unlicensed.
Are broker setup requirement numbers live?
No. Gates were recorded 27 Aug 2026 from public onboarding pages. Brokers change rules, and pages can conflict. Always confirm with the broker before you apply. Setup outbound links are dated and marked nofollow.
How do I check which brokers I may qualify for?
Look up your MC age, then use the “I’m a new MC” search preset (open setup + max auth-age days), Qualify by MC age, or filter Setup requirements by max authority-age days (≤30 / ≤60 / ≤90 / ≤180). Results are published gates only — insurance and safety screens still apply. An inactive setup link is not an inactive broker.