If freight you hauled across state lines arrives damaged, short or not at all, the Carmack Amendment is the law that decides who pays. It makes the carrier that received the shipment and the carrier that delivered it liable for the actual loss, and the shipper does not have to prove you did anything wrong. You can cut that exposure only in the ways the statute allows: a value the shipper declares in writing or a written agreement, with stricter rules for household goods. Carmack is a liability regime, not an insurance policy. Motor truck cargo insurance is what you buy to fund the liability, and a policy can carry exclusions the statute does not recognize. That gap is the first thing I look at when I quote a carrier.
What the law does
The Carmack Amendment is the common name for 49 U.S.C. 14706, “Liability of carriers under receipts and bills of lading.” A carrier taking property for interstate transportation has to issue a receipt or bill of lading, and the receiving carrier and the delivering carrier are both liable to the person entitled to recover under it for the actual loss or injury to the property, whether one of them or another carrier along the route caused it.
The measure is actual loss, not a flat amount per pound, unless you limited it the way the statute allows. The carrier that pays can recover from the carrier over whose line the loss occurred, and the shipper can sue in federal or state court.
The shipper’s case and the five defenses
The Supreme Court laid out how a Carmack claim works in Missouri Pacific Railroad Co. v. Elmore & Stahl (1964). The shipper makes its case by showing the goods were delivered to the carrier in good condition, arrived in damaged condition, and the amount of the damage. It does not have to show what you did wrong.
The burden then shifts to the carrier, which has to prove both that it was free from negligence and that the damage came from one of five excepted causes:
- An act of God.
- The public enemy.
- An act of the shipper itself.
- Public authority.
- The inherent vice or nature of the goods.
The Court called the carrier “not an absolute insurer,” but the carrier has to prove its way onto that short list.
Limiting liability: declared value and released rates
Section 14706(c)(1)(A) lets a motor carrier or freight forwarder establish rates under which its liability is limited to a value established by a written or electronic declaration of the shipper or by a written agreement, if that value is reasonable under the circumstances of the shipment. That is the legal basis for released-value and declared-value language in tariffs, rate confirmations and bills of lading.
A carrier not required to file its tariff has to give the shipper, on request, a written or electronic copy of the rate, classification, rules and practices the rate is based on. The carriers I see get hurt have a limitation that lives only in a tariff nobody sent the shipper, or sign a broker contract that sets a higher liability and assume their own rule still applies.
Claim deadlines and how claims must be handled
The statute sets floors. Under 14706(e)(1), a carrier may not give a shipper less than 9 months to file a claim or less than 2 years to sue, and the 2 years run from the carrier’s written notice disallowing any part of the claim.
FMCSA’s claims rules in 49 CFR Part 370 cover loss, damage, injury and delay claims against motor carriers and freight forwarders in interstate or foreign commerce:
- A claim has to be in writing, identify the shipment, assert liability, and claim a specified or determinable amount. Bad order reports, appraisal reports and damage notations do not count on their own.
- Acknowledge it in writing within 30 days unless you have already paid or declined it in writing, and keep a separate numbered claim file.
- Pay, decline or make a firm written compromise offer within 120 days, or tell the claimant in writing at 120 days and every 60 days after that where the claim stands and why.
Carmack vs. motor truck cargo insurance
Carmack says what you owe the shipper. Motor truck cargo insurance is a contract with an insurer designed to pay some of what you owe. FMCSA made the point when it ended the cargo insurance requirement for most for-hire motor common carriers of property and freight forwarders, effective March 21, 2011: the insurance rules do not affect a carrier’s statutory liability, and a carrier has to compensate the shipper for the actual loss regardless of policy deductibles or exclusions unless the shipper agreed to limit or waive that liability.
That is the gap to watch. A cargo policy can exclude certain commodities, restrict theft from an unattended vehicle, leave reefer breakdown off unless endorsed, or carry a per-load limit below what you haul. None of that reduces what the shipper can recover from you; it only decides whether the insurer pays or you do. When I quote a carrier I ask what the loads are worth, what your broker contracts require, whether you interline, and whether you need cargo insurance at all.
Brokers, freight forwarders and household goods
A freight forwarder is both the receiving and delivering carrier under 14706(a)(2), so it carries Carmack liability like the trucking company it hires. A broker, under 49 U.S.C. 13102, is a person other than a motor carrier that sells or arranges transportation by motor carrier for compensation, and Part 370’s claim rules apply to carriers and freight forwarders, not brokers. Whether a broker pays for a cargo loss depends on its contracts, and that varies. Freight broker insurance is built around that exposure.
Household goods moves differ. Under 14706(f) and 49 CFR 375.201, a mover’s default liability is the replacement value of the goods, up to the declared value of the shipment (Full Value Protection). Released rates apply only if the shipper waives full value in writing on the bill of lading, and FMCSA puts that released value at 60 cents per pound per article. Household goods motor carriers and household goods freight forwarders also remain subject to FMCSA’s cargo insurance requirement. Moves that stay inside one state may fall under that state’s own rules, which vary by state.
Common questions
Does the Carmack Amendment apply to loads that stay inside one state?
No. It applies to carriers under federal jurisdiction, which 49 U.S.C. 13501 ties to the route: between a place in one state and a place in another, through another state, or the U.S. portion of a move to or from a foreign country. A shipment that starts and ends inside one state with no out-of-state or foreign leg falls under that state’s law, which varies by state.
Does the shipper have to prove my driver was negligent?
No. The shipper only shows the goods were delivered to you in good condition, arrived in damaged condition, and what the loss is worth. Then you have to prove you were not negligent and that one of the five excepted causes applies.
Can I limit my liability to a set amount per pound?
Yes, if you do it the way 14706(c)(1)(A) allows: a value established by the shipper’s written or electronic declaration or by a written agreement, tied to the rate and reasonable under the circumstances. A limitation the shipper never saw or agreed to is the weak spot, and a broker contract may set something different.
How long does a shipper have to file a cargo claim?
At least 9 months to file a written claim and at least 2 years to sue, with the 2 years counted from your written notice disallowing any part of the claim. Those are statutory floors; your bill of lading can allow more time, not less.
If my cargo policy excludes the loss, do I still owe the shipper?
Yes. FMCSA has stated that a carrier must compensate the shipper for the actual loss regardless of policy deductibles or exclusions, unless the shipper agreed to limit or waive the carrier’s liability. The policy decides who funds the payment, not whether you owe it.
Sources
- 49 U.S.C. 14706 (Cornell LII): liability of carriers under receipts and bills of lading
- 49 U.S.C. 13102 (Cornell LII): definitions of broker, freight forwarder, motor carrier and household goods
- 49 U.S.C. 13501 (Cornell LII): federal jurisdiction over transportation by motor carrier (interstate and foreign commerce)
- Missouri Pacific R. Co. v. Elmore & Stahl, 377 U.S. 134 (1964) (Cornell LII): the shipper’s prima facie case and the carrier’s excepted causes
- 49 CFR Part 370 (govinfo): principles and practices for the investigation and voluntary disposition of loss and damage claims
- 49 CFR 375.201 (Cornell LII): a household goods carrier’s normal liability for loss and damage
- Appendix A to 49 CFR Part 375 (Cornell LII): Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move
- FMCSA Protect Your Move: Liability & Protection (Full Value Protection and Released Value)
- FMCSA final rule, Cargo Insurance for Property Loss or Damage, 75 FR 35318 (govinfo)
General information about motor carrier cargo liability under 49 U.S.C. 14706 (the Carmack Amendment) as of October 2026, not legal or tax advice; the statute, 49 CFR Parts 370 and 375, your bill of lading and your contracts control. Coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued.