How to Vet a Car Transport Company

You're trusting a stranger with one of your most valuable possessions. That's what happens every time you book auto transport — and it's exactly why taking 10 minutes to vet a car transport company before you sign anything can save you thousands of dollars and a massive headache later.

The auto transport industry is largely legitimate, but it also has its share of bad actors: brokers who collect deposits and disappear, carriers with expired insurance, and companies with spotty safety records that never come up in a basic Google search. The good news is that the U.S. federal government maintains public records on every licensed auto transport company operating in the country — and those records are free to search. You just need to know where to look.

This guide covers exactly what to check — starting with the MC number, moving through insurance verification, reading reviews intelligently, and finishing with a quick checklist you can run in under five minutes before booking.

Why Vetting an Auto Transport Company Matters

Most auto transport companies are legitimate businesses that move vehicles safely every day. But the industry also attracts bad actors for a simple reason: the barrier to entry looks low, the money flows upfront, and customers often don't realize something has gone wrong until days after a deposit clears.

Here's what can go wrong when you skip the vetting process:

• Deposit scams: A company collects a deposit — sometimes $300–$500 — and either disappears or fails to dispatch a carrier, leaving you scrambling at the last minute. These operations often have professional-looking websites and no FMCSA registration.
• Uninsured carriers: A carrier with lapsed or insufficient cargo insurance can legally pick up your vehicle. If damage occurs in transit, you may find yourself dealing with a carrier that has no coverage — meaning no recourse beyond a lawsuit.
• Bait-and-switch pricing: Some brokers quote a low rate to win the booking, then tell you no carrier will accept that price. The "solution" they offer is always to pay more — often significantly more — or wait indefinitely.
• Safety violations: Some carriers on the road have active out-of-service violations, a history of accidents, or flagged safety records. FMCSA tracks all of this publicly — but you have to look it up.

None of this requires paranoia — just a few minutes of homework before you commit to a company. Here's how to do it.

How to Check an MC Number via FMCSA

Every legitimate auto transport broker and carrier operating in the U.S. must be registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and hold an active Motor Carrier (MC) number. This is non-negotiable under federal law.

Step 1: Get the MC Number

Any reputable company will display their MC number on their website — often in the footer, on their "About" page, or directly on their quote. If a company refuses to give you their MC number when asked, that's an immediate disqualifying red flag. Don't proceed.

Step 2: Look It Up on FMCSA

Go to the FMCSA Licensing & Insurance (L&I) database:

li.fmcsa.dot.gov

Enter the MC number (or company name) and search. What you're looking for:

Step 3: Cross-Check the Safety Record

For carriers (not brokers), also run the DOT number through the FMCSA SAFER system at safer.fmcsa.dot.gov. This shows:

• The carrier's safety rating (Satisfactory, Conditional, Unsatisfactory, or Unrated)
• Number of inspections and out-of-service violations
• Crash history in the past 24 months
• Driver fitness and vehicle maintenance scores

Most auto transport carriers won't have a formal FMCSA safety rating (most are "Unrated" because they haven't been through a compliance review) — that's normal and not a red flag by itself. What matters is their out-of-service rate and crash history relative to the national average for their carrier type.

What Insurance a Car Transport Company Must Carry

Insurance is the critical backstop that protects your vehicle if something goes wrong in transit. Understanding what coverage should exist — and how to verify it — is one of the most important parts of vetting any auto transport company.

For Carriers (the companies that physically move your vehicle)

• Cargo Insurance: Covers damage to vehicles in their care, custody, and control. FMCSA requires a minimum of $5,000 per vehicle and $10,000 per occurrence — but responsible carriers carry far more. Ask for confirmation of at least $100,000 in cargo coverage per occurrence. Many reputable carriers carry $250,000 or more.
• Auto Liability Insurance: Covers third-party damage if the carrier is involved in an accident while transporting your vehicle. The FMCSA minimum is $750,000 for general freight carriers.
• Physical Damage (optional but good): Some carriers also carry physical damage coverage on their own equipment — a sign of a financially stable operation.

For Brokers (companies that arrange transport but don't move the vehicle themselves)

• Surety Bond: Brokers are required to carry a $75,000 surety bond filed with FMCSA. This protects shippers if the broker fails to pay carriers or commits fraud. Verify this on the FMCSA L&I lookup.
• Note on broker liability: A broker is not directly liable for cargo damage — that's the carrier's responsibility. This is why the carrier your broker assigns to your load also needs solid cargo coverage. Don't hesitate to ask your broker: "Who is the carrier, and what cargo coverage do they carry?"

How to Verify Insurance Before Booking

1. Ask the company for a Certificate of Insurance (COI) — any legitimate carrier or broker can produce one within minutes.
2. Verify the policy is current (check the expiration date) and that the insured name matches the company you're working with.
3. Cross-check on FMCSA L&I to confirm the insurance is properly filed with the federal regulator — not just an internal document the company printed.

Where to Read Reviews — and How to Read Them

Reviews are a powerful signal — but only if you know where to look and how to interpret what you find. Not all review platforms are equal, and knowing which ones matter can save you from both fake positives and misread negatives.

The Best Platforms for Auto Transport Reviews

1. Transport Reviews (transportreviews.com)

This is the most industry-specific and historically reliable review platform for auto transport. Reviews are submitted by verified shippers and are much harder to fake than general review sites. A company with hundreds of reviews over several years on Transport Reviews has a meaningful track record. Look at the review dates — a company with 300 reviews from 2019–2024 that suddenly has nothing recent could indicate a name change or a business in decline.

2. Google Business Profile

Google reviews are the most visible and one of the most trusted by consumers. What to look for:

• Volume and consistency: 50+ reviews over 2+ years is meaningful. Ten reviews in the last two weeks is suspicious.
• How the company responds to negatives: A company that addresses complaints professionally shows accountability. A company that argues with or ignores negative reviews is telling you how they'll handle problems with your shipment.
• The content of negatives: Every company will have some negative reviews. What matters is the pattern. Recurring complaints about deposits not being returned, vehicles not being picked up, or damage disputes that went unresolved are serious.

3. Better Business Bureau (BBB)

The BBB complaint database is particularly useful for identifying systematic issues — not the star rating itself, but the pattern of complaints and how the company resolved them. A company with a "B+" rating and 40 resolved complaints might actually have better accountability than a "A+" company with no record at all (which sometimes means they've never had enough business to generate complaints, or have circumvented the system).

4. uShip and Trustpilot

These platforms have some useful reviews, but are more prone to manipulation — particularly uShip, where individual carrier accounts can be difficult to tie back to the same operator over time. Use these as supplementary data, not primary sources.

What to Avoid: Red Flags in Review Patterns

• Reviews only on the company's own website: Testimonials hosted by the company itself are unverifiable and should carry zero weight.
• A sudden burst of 5-star reviews: If a company has 3 reviews from 2023 and 47 reviews from the last 60 days, something is off.
• All reviews are identical in tone and length: This is a common hallmark of fake reviews — no variance in how customers describe their experience.
• No negative reviews at all: On any platform used at scale, some dissatisfied customers exist. Zero negatives on 100+ reviews is statistically improbable.

Broker vs. Carrier: Who Are You Vetting?

This distinction matters enormously for how you verify who you're dealing with — and what they're actually responsible for.

Most auto transport companies you encounter online are brokers: they take your order, post it to a carrier load board, and assign a carrier to pick up your vehicle. They don't own trucks or move vehicles themselves. A smaller number are carriers — they own the trucks and do the actual transport.

Some companies operate as both (broker-carriers), which is a legitimate structure that requires separate FMCSA authorization for each role.

When you work with a broker, ask: "Who is the carrier that will actually pick up my vehicle?" A good broker can tell you the carrier name and MC number before pickup. This lets you run a secondary verification on the actual company moving your car — not just the broker you booked with.

For a deeper look at this distinction, see our full guide: Auto Transport Brokers vs. Carriers: Who Are You Actually Hiring?

Red Flags That Should Stop You From Booking

Some warning signs are subtle; others are obvious once you know what to look for. Here are the most common red flags in the auto transport industry:

🚩 Demands a Large Upfront Deposit Before Dispatch

Legitimate auto transport companies — both brokers and carriers — typically don't charge a deposit until a carrier has been dispatched. A company that demands $300–$500 immediately upon booking, before any carrier has been assigned, is a classic setup for a deposit-and-disappear scam. At Lepke, we charge $0 until your vehicle is actually assigned to a carrier.

🚩 Can't Provide an MC Number

If a company can't or won't give you their MC number, they either don't have one (operating illegally) or have a reason to hide it (revoked, suspended, or associated with complaints). No legitimate company hesitates on this.

🚩 Quote Is Significantly Below Market

Auto transport rates are market-driven — carriers post loads on a board, and prices reflect current supply and demand. A quote that's 30–40% below what you're seeing elsewhere isn't a deal — it's a sign that the company has no intention of dispatching a carrier at that rate, or that they're compensating for something. Check how auto transport quotes work to calibrate what's realistic.

🚩 No Physical Address or Business Contact

A PO Box as the only address, a Gmail or Yahoo email address instead of a company domain, and a website with no physical location listed are signs of an operation that isn't built to be found when things go wrong.

🚩 High-Pressure Tactics

Legitimate auto transport is a service industry, not a time-share sale. If a representative is pressuring you to "book right now before the price goes up" or "this spot will be gone in 20 minutes" — walk away. The market for carriers doesn't work that way, and the pressure is designed to prevent you from doing the research this guide describes.

🚩 No FMCSA Record at All

Search the company name in the FMCSA database. If nothing comes up — no record whatsoever — they are operating without federal authorization. This is illegal and means zero regulatory protection for you as a shipper.

Your 5-Minute Pre-Booking Vetting Checklist

Run through this before you commit to any auto transport company:

If you can check all ten boxes, you're working with a legitimate company. Most reputable auto transport companies pass this test easily — because they've built their business on exactly this kind of transparency.

FAQs: Vetting a Car Transport Company

How do I look up an auto transport company's MC number?

Go to the FMCSA Licensing & Insurance database at li.fmcsa.dot.gov and search by company name or MC number. You can verify that the company is authorized to operate, check their insurance filings, and see any safety violations on record. Any legitimate auto transport broker or carrier should have an active MC number you can verify in seconds.

What insurance should an auto transport company carry?

Carriers are required to carry cargo insurance covering damage to vehicles in transit, plus auto liability. FMCSA minimums require carriers to carry cargo coverage, but reputable auto transporters typically carry $100,000 or more per occurrence. Brokers must carry surety bonds of at least $75,000. Always ask for a certificate of insurance (COI) or verify coverage through FMCSA before booking.

Where are the best places to read auto transport company reviews?

The most reliable auto transport review platforms are: Transport Reviews (transportreviews.com) — industry-specific and moderated; Google Business reviews — look for volume and consistency; the BBB for complaint history; and Trustpilot. Be cautious of reviews that only appear on the company's own website. Look for patterns in negative reviews, not just star ratings.

What are the biggest red flags when choosing an auto transport company?

Major red flags include: demanding a large deposit before dispatch; unable or unwilling to provide their MC number; quotes that are unusually low compared to competitors; no verifiable physical address or contact information; generic email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo) instead of a business domain; pressure to book immediately; and no FMCSA record. Any one of these should make you pause — two or more and you should walk away entirely.

Is there a difference between a broker and a carrier, and does it matter for vetting?

Yes — and it matters a lot. A broker arranges transport by connecting shippers to carriers; a carrier actually moves the vehicle. Both must be registered with FMCSA, but under different license types. When you work with a broker, ask which carrier will actually move your car, and verify that carrier too if possible. See our broker vs. carrier guide for the full breakdown.

Can I check a car transport company's safety record?

Yes. The FMCSA's SAFER system at safer.fmcsa.dot.gov lets you look up any carrier's safety rating, crash history, inspection records, and out-of-service violations. A "Satisfactory" rating is the highest. If a carrier shows "Conditional" or "Unsatisfactory" — or has an unusually high out-of-service percentage — that's a meaningful concern worth researching further.