Glossary
Broker of record
The broker of record is the broker that holds the contractual relationship for a shipment or an account and carries responsibility for it: booking the carrier, owning the customer relationship, and standing behind payment. For any given load there is a broker of record even when other parties touch the freight.
Why establishing it matters
Freight can pass through several hands. When a broker uses another broker through co-brokering, or when a load is handed off, the question of who the broker of record is decides who owes the carrier, who the shipper looks to, and who is accountable if something goes wrong. Ambiguity about the broker of record is the confusion that double brokering exploits, because a carrier can be left unsure who actually engaged it and who is obligated to pay.
The vetting read
Clarity about the broker of record, backed by a rate confirmation and a broker-carrier agreement that name the parties, is what keeps the payment chain traceable. On the carrier side, confirming the hauling company's identity against its federal record is the parallel check. Clear paper and a verified carrier together are what a documented process produces.
Why it decides accountability
When several parties touch a load, the broker of record is the one the shipper contracted with and the one ultimately answerable for it: for the carrier being paid, for the freight moving, and for the record of who was vetted. Losing track of that role is how a carrier ends up unsure who engaged it and who owes it money.
A concrete case
A shipper books a load with Broker A. Broker A, through a disclosed co-brokering arrangement, brings in Broker B to source the truck. Broker A remains the broker of record: it holds the shipper relationship and stands behind the load. If instead Broker A quietly handed the load to Broker B with no one told, the broker-of-record line blurs, which is the ambiguity double brokering feeds on. Clear paper that names the parties, plus a carrier verified against the federal record, keeps the chain traceable.
Related terms
Co-brokering
An arrangement where one broker passes a load to another broker, with both parties aware and authorized. Distinct from double brokering, which happens without the shipper's or original broker's knowledge.
Double brokering
Re-brokering a load to another carrier without the original broker's or shipper's knowledge. The freight moves under a carrier nobody vetted and payment chains break; it's the load-board era's defining fraud pattern.
Freight broker authority
FMCSA licensing that lets a company arrange transportation for compensation without hauling the freight itself. A broker holds broker authority and a surety bond, not motor-carrier 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.