Carrier packet
A carrier packet is the set of documents a broker requires before tendering freight, typically including authority, insurance certificates, a W-9 and a signed broker–carrier agreement.
Last reviewed · by the Fleetchart team
Completing a packet is the onboarding step with each new broker. Once on file it is reused, though insurance certificates must be kept current.
Where payment should be directed — the carrier or a factoring company — is established here, which is why changing factors requires notifying every broker.
For example, say you sign up with 12 brokers this year and then switch factoring companies. All 12 packets still tell those brokers to pay the old factor. If even one broker is missed and sends a $3,000 payment to the old company, that money now has to be chased back, which can take weeks.
A current packet also helps you book. If a good load is waiting on approval and your insurance certificate on file is out of date, the broker may give the load to someone else. Keep one up-to-date set of documents ready to send, so you can say yes to a good load the same day.