Before FMCSA registers a broker, the broker has to have $75,000 in financial security in effect. One way is a surety bond, filed on Form BMC-84. The other is a trust fund with a financial institution, filed on Form BMC-85. The bond or trust provides for payments to shippers or motor carriers if the broker fails to carry out its agreements. Since January 16, 2026, if a payout drops the security below $75,000, the surety or trustee must report it, and FMCSA then notifies the broker that its authority will be suspended within 7 business days unless the full amount is restored or the claims are satisfied another way. The bond protects the people the broker deals with. It doesn’t insure the broker.
What the bond is for
Under 49 CFR 387.307, a property broker must have a surety bond or trust fund of $75,000 in effect, and FMCSA will not register a broker until that security is in place for the full amount. Evidence of a surety bond is filed on Form BMC-84. Evidence of a trust fund with a financial institution is filed on Form BMC-85. The broker’s registration stays in effect only as long as the bond or trust fund does.
The regulation is plain about who it’s for: the bond or trust fund provides for payments to shippers or motor carriers if the broker fails to carry out its contracts, agreements or arrangements for supplying transportation. A carrier that hauled a load for a broker and never got paid is the situation that language describes.
Freight forwarders have the same requirement
Freight forwarders must also have a surety bond or trust fund in effect, and FMCSA will not issue a freight forwarder license until it is. The minimum amount is the same one set for brokers, and the broker rules in 387.307 apply to the forwarder’s bond or trust fund. In both its 2023 rule and its 2024 extension, FMCSA said that wherever those rules refer to brokers, the same requirements apply to freight forwarders.
BMC-84 bond vs. BMC-85 trust fund
- BMC-84 surety bond. A surety company issues the bond, and Form BMC-84 is filed with FMCSA for the full $75,000.
- BMC-85 trust fund. The broker sets up a trust fund with a financial institution, and Form BMC-85 is filed with FMCSA for the full $75,000. The trust must hold assets totaling $75,000 that can be turned into cash within 7 calendar days, and those assets are limited to cash, irrevocable letters of credit issued by a federally insured depository institution, and Treasury bonds.
- Who can be the trustee. Eligible financial institutions include insured banks, commercial banks and trust companies, U.S. agencies or branches of foreign banks, insured depository institutions, thrift institutions, insurance companies, and any person subject to supervision by a state or federal bank supervisory authority. Loan and finance companies were on the list under the prior version of the rule, which expired January 16, 2026, and are not on the current one.
- Cancelling either one. A bond or trust agreement can be cancelled only on 30 days’ written notice to FMCSA, on Form BMC-36 for a bond or Form BMC-85 for a trust. A replacement filing ends the old surety’s or trustee’s liability going forward, but not for arrangements the broker made before the replacement took effect.
Suspension and claims rules since January 2026
FMCSA published its broker and freight forwarder financial responsibility rule on November 16, 2023. It set January 16, 2026, as the compliance date for the trust fund asset rules and the trustee list, and January 16, 2025, for the suspension, insolvency and enforcement provisions. A December 31, 2024, rule moved those last three to January 16, 2026, because only FMCSA’s new online registration system would accept the filings and track the notifications. Since January 16, 2026, brokers, freight forwarders, sureties and financial institutions must comply with all of 387.307.
The surety or financial institution has to notify FMCSA electronically within 2 business days when it pays a claim that drops the bond or trust below $75,000 (with the broker’s consent, on a judgment, or after the broker fails to respond within 7 business days and the claim is found valid). The same notice is due when, after giving the broker 7 business days to respond, it determines the broker is in financial failure or insolvency and that claims it expects to pay will take the bond or trust below $75,000. FMCSA then gives the broker written notice that its operating authority will be suspended within 7 business days of service unless the broker shows the notice was sent in error, restores the full $75,000, or satisfies the claims without using the bond or trust. If the broker doesn’t respond, FMCSA enters the suspension, and the broker can ask to have it lifted with the same kind of evidence. These triggers don’t apply when a broker has filed to start a proceeding under Title 11 of the U.S. Code, the federal bankruptcy title.
If the shortfall isn’t cured, the rule treats it as financial failure or insolvency. The surety or trustee must start cancelling the BMC-84 or BMC-85, FMCSA posts notice in the FMCSA Register on its website, and the provider must accept claims for 60 calendar days after that notice, extended to the next business day if the last day falls on a weekend or federal holiday. A surety or financial institution that violates these rules faces a 3-year suspension from filing broker security, after written notice and 30 calendar days to contest it.
A bond isn’t insurance for the broker
The bond protects the carriers and shippers a broker works with. It is not a policy that protects the broker, and when a payout drops it below $75,000, it’s the broker’s authority that is on the line until the full amount is back.
It also isn’t designed to respond to a damaged load or a crash involving a carrier you booked. Those are separate insurance questions, handled with coverages such as contingent cargo and contingent auto liability. How freight broker insurance fits around the bond, the BOC-3 filing brokers also need, and the full sequence for getting authority.
Common questions
Is a BMC-84 bond the same as insurance?
No. It’s a surety bond that provides for payments to shippers or motor carriers if a broker fails to carry out its agreements. It isn’t designed to cover the broker’s own exposure for cargo damage or accidents.
How much does the BMC-84 bond have to be?
$75,000. FMCSA won’t register a broker until security for the full amount is in effect, and the same minimum applies to freight forwarders.
What’s the difference between a BMC-84 and a BMC-85?
A BMC-84 is a surety bond. A BMC-85 is a trust fund agreement with a financial institution, and the trust can only hold cash, irrevocable letters of credit from a federally insured depository institution, and Treasury bonds.
What happens if a claim drops my bond below $75,000?
Your surety or financial institution must notify FMCSA within 2 business days. FMCSA then sends written notice that your authority will be suspended within 7 business days of service unless you restore the $75,000, satisfy the claims without the bond, or show the notice was sent in error.
How long do carriers have to file a claim after a broker fails?
Once FMCSA posts the financial failure notice in the FMCSA Register, the surety or trustee must accept claims for 60 calendar days, extended to the next business day if the last day falls on a weekend or federal holiday.
Sources
- 49 CFR 387.307 (eCFR, current; effective January 16, 2026): property broker surety bond or trust fund
- 49 CFR 387.307T as in effect Dec. 31, 2025 (eCFR point-in-time): prior broker bond/trust rule, in effect until January 16, 2026
- 49 CFR 387.403T (eCFR): freight forwarder surety bond or trust fund
- 49 CFR 387.405 (eCFR): freight forwarder limits of liability
- Federal Register, 88 FR 78656 (Nov. 16, 2023): Broker and Freight Forwarder Financial Responsibility final rule
- Federal Register, 89 FR 107021 (Dec. 31, 2024): extension of compliance date to January 16, 2026
General information about FMCSA broker and freight forwarder financial security (Forms BMC-84 and BMC-85) as of October 2026, not legal or tax advice; 49 CFR 387.307 and FMCSA’s current procedures control. Coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued.