Trucking Startup Cost Calculator
The bond premium in the wider startup picture.
OpenThe BMC-84 Broker Bond
7 min
49 CFR §387.307
A broker must have a surety bond or trust fund of $75,000 in effect. FMCSA will not register a broker until it is filed, and the registration lasts only as long as the bond does.
What the bond secures
It secures the broker's performance to the people on the other side of the arrangement: shippers and motor carriers. If the broker fails to carry out its contracts — most often by not paying a carrier for a load it hauled — the bond provides for payment. The section says exactly that, and the amount is fixed at $75,000.
It is not insurance for the broker. Every dollar a surety pays out is a dollar the surety will come back to the broker for.
BMC-84 against BMC-85
| Form | Instrument | Cash tied up | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| BMC-84 | Surety bond from an insurer | An annual premium | Most brokers |
| BMC-85 | Trust fund at a financial institution | $75,000 | Brokers with cash and poor credit |
The trust route requires assets aggregating to the full $75,000 that can be liquidated to cash within 7 calendar days, and the acceptable assets are narrow: cash, irrevocable letters of credit from a federally insured institution, and Treasury bonds.
What it costs to carry
A surety bond is priced as a percentage of the bonded amount, and the percentage is a credit decision. Strong credit and a clean history buy the lowest rate; a new broker with thin credit pays a multiple of it, sometimes with collateral on top. Quotes vary widely enough between sureties that getting three is worth the afternoon.
We do not publish a premium figure here because the rate is individual and moves with the market. Ask a surety for a quote on your own credit; anything you read as a flat national number is a lead magnet.
When a claim lands
A carrier that has not been paid can claim against the bond. The surety investigates, pays valid claims from the bond, and seeks recovery from the broker. Once the bond is impaired the broker has to restore it, and if it is cancelled outright the registration follows: the section makes the registration effective only as long as the security is.
Out-of-service risk. Brokering loads without an active bond is operating without registration. The bond lapse is visible in the same public record every carrier checks before hauling for you, so the commercial consequence usually arrives before the regulatory one.
Sources
- 49 CFR §387.307read 2026-09-04