Rate confirmation explained: what to check before you sign
Every field on a broker rate confirmation, red flags for double brokering and non-payment, and how to verify a broker's MC, authority and bond on FMCSA.
The rate confirmation is the contract for the load. It is the document a broker’s accounting department pays against, the document you point to when the rate on the check is wrong, and the document a judge reads if it ever gets that far. Read it the way you would read a lease, every time, even from a broker you have hauled for a hundred times, because the person who sent this one may not be who you think.
What a rate confirmation contains
| Field | What to check |
|---|---|
| Broker name, MC number, address, phone | Matches FMCSA records and the email domain it came from |
| Your company name and MC/USDOT | Spelled right; the wrong carrier name means the wrong carrier gets paid |
| Load or order number | You will need it on the invoice and every call |
| Rate | Linehaul, fuel surcharge and accessorials listed separately, with the all-in total |
| Pickup: shipper, address, date, appointment window, pickup number | Appointment vs FCFS; who to call |
| Delivery: consignee, address, date, window, delivery number | Same, plus whether a lumper is expected |
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