Glossary
BMC filings (BMC-91, 91X, 34, 84, 85)
The insurance section of the federal carrier record is built from BMC forms, filed with FMCSA by the insurer or surety, not by the carrier. Knowing the handful of codes makes the record legible:
- BMC-91 / BMC-91X: public liability (BIPD) coverage. The 91X variant is used for excess layers or coverage split across multiple insurers; it is ordinary, not a warning sign.
- BMC-34 / BMC-83: cargo coverage, today required as a filing only of household-goods carriers.
- BMC-84 / BMC-85: a broker's $75,000 surety bond (84) or trust fund (85), the financial-responsibility requirement for freight brokers.
Why the form codes matter
Misreading a form code produces confident nonsense: treating a 91X excess filing as a cancellation, or reading a missing cargo form as a violation for a general-freight carrier. The form code tells you which obligation a filing satisfies, and each entity type has its own required set (carriers need liability; brokers need the bond; household-goods carriers need cargo too).
What fleetfax does with them
fleetfax classifies every filing by form code and evaluates each requirement separately, so a carrier-broker shows the state of both its liability coverage and its bond, labeled in plain English ("Liability (BMC-91)", "Broker surety bond (BMC-84)"). Absence is only flagged where that entity type actually requires the filing.
Related terms
BIPD insurance (public liability)
Bodily injury and property damage liability coverage, the insurance federal law requires for-hire interstate carriers to keep on file with FMCSA. Minimum $750,000 for general freight, higher for oil and certain hazmat.
Cargo insurance
Coverage for damage to the freight itself. Since 2011 FMCSA requires a cargo-insurance filing only of household-goods carriers; for general freight it is a contractual matter between broker and carrier, not a federal filing.
Insurance lapse & cancellation notices
Insurers must notify FMCSA before terminating a carrier's filed coverage, so cancellations appear on the public record in advance. A lapse in required coverage triggers revocation of operating authority.
fleetfax reads public FMCSA data and is not affiliated with FMCSA or the U.S. Department of Transportation. This page explains terminology; it is not legal advice.