Freight Load Vet: FMCSA carrier + broker + OFAC in one verdict

Before you tender a load, run one check instead of four. For each load this Actor pulls the live FMCSA record for the carrier (operating authority) plus FMCSA's current monthly SMS BASIC safety results, checks the broker's FMCSA authority, screens the legal name against OFAC sanctions lists, and returns one verdict:

• TENDER: authority active, nothing alarming in the public record
• HOLD: something needs a human look (e.g. a BASIC over the intervention threshold, a REVIEW-level name match, missing data)
• REJECT: not authorized to operate, broker authority inactive, or a sanctions hit

Every verdict comes with plain-English reasons and the sources it used (FMCSA QCMobile, OFAC list date). No invented "fraud score": the verdict follows only from public federal fields.

Who it's for

• Freight brokers and dispatchers vetting a carrier before booking
• Carriers checking that an unfamiliar broker is real and authorized
• Factoring companies and shippers checking counterparties in bulk
• AI freight agents that need a yes/no gate in a workflow (works through the Apify MCP server)

Input

Give a list of loads. Each load needs at least one of dot, mc or brokerMc:

{
  "loads": [
    { "reference": "LOAD-1001", "dot": "44110", "brokerMc": "MC-121058", "name": "Example Trucking LLC" },
    { "reference": "LOAD-1002", "mc": "MC-515000" }
  ]
}

Quick mode: pass "dotNumbers": ["44110", "2233"] to vet carriers by USDOT only.

Output (one row per load)

Field	Meaning
verdict	TENDER / HOLD / REJECT
reasons	Why, in plain English
carrierAuthority	Legal name, operating status, authority, safety rating, fleet size
safetyDataAsOf	When FMCSA published the safety (SMS BASIC) data behind this verdict
safetyDataStale	true if that data is more than 75 days old, or the shelf returned DATA_QUALITY_HOLD_SAFETY_DATA_STALE. A stale feed is a reason to HOLD, not a carrier problem
holdBasis	data_quality or carrier_risk when the shelf says why it held. data_quality means the data is stale or incomplete. It is not a finding against the carrier. Re-check once fresh FMCSA data is out
holdNote	Plain-English note on data-quality holds
partial	true if a requested section timed out. That section shows status: "timeout" and the verdict is at least HOLD (never TENDER; a REJECT stays REJECT). false when every requested section answered
sections	Status of each section: authority, basics, broker, ofac = ok, timeout or skipped (skipped = not requested)
safetyDataFormat	sms_monthly (current) or legacy_qcmobile (old 2017 feed)
safetyCarrierGroup	passenger or property. FMCSA doesn't publish percentiles or threshold alerts for property carriers (FAST Act), so for most freight carriers only acute/critical violations can flag
safetyFlags	Safety flags behind the verdict, e.g. ACUTE_CRITICAL_DRIVER_FITNESS, BASICS_DATA_STALE
carrierBasics	Full SMS BASIC detail per category (percentile where public, measure, acute/critical, alert, inspections with violations)
brokerAuthority	Broker's authority status (when brokerMc is given)
ofac	Sanctions screen of name (when given)
sources	Data sources and dates
reference	Your load ID, echoed back

Example output (real run)

Real output from a run on 2026-10-18 for USDOT 44110 (trimmed):

{
  "reference": "ONA-0.1.9-44110",
  "dot": "44110",
  "verdict": "HOLD",
  "reasons": [
    "ACUTE_CRITICAL_DRIVER_FITNESS"
  ],
  "holdBasis": "carrier_risk",
  "holdNote": null,
  "safetyDataFound": true,
  "safetyDataAsOf": "2026-10-13T07:05:22.000Z",
  "safetyDataStale": false,
  "safetyDataFormat": "sms_monthly",
  "safetyCarrierGroup": "passenger",
  "safetyFlags": [
    "ACUTE_CRITICAL_DRIVER_FITNESS"
  ],
  "safetyDataSource": "FMCSA SMS monthly results",
  "carrierAuthority": {
    "carrier": {
      "legal_name": "GREYHOUND LINES INC",
      "dot": 44110,
      "allowed_to_operate": "Y",
      "status_code": "A"
    },
    "authority": {
      "common": "A",
      "contract": "A",
      "broker": "I"
    },
    "safety": {
      "rating": "S"
    }
  },
  "carrierBasics": {
    "carrier_group": "passenger",
    "as_of": "2026-10-13T07:05:22.000Z",
    "stale": false,
    "basics": [
      {
        "basic": "Driver Fitness",
        "percentile": 57,
        "percentile_public": true,
        "acute_critical_violation": true,
        "basic_alert": true,
        "inspections_with_violation": 7
      }
    ],
    "…": "other BASICs trimmed"
  },
  "ofac": {
    "skipped": true,
    "reason": "no legal name provided"
  },
  "error": null
}

This HOLD has holdBasis: "carrier_risk" because FMCSA's current data shows an acute/critical Driver Fitness violation.

Data-quality holds. If FMCSA's monthly safety data is stale, the verdict is HOLD with reason DATA_QUALITY_HOLD_SAFETY_DATA_STALE, holdBasis: "data_quality" and safetyDataStale: true. This is a data-quality hold, not a carrier risk. It says nothing bad about the carrier.

A carrier with no SMS data this month comes back with safetyDataFound: false. That's common for small or new carriers, and it is not a clearance.

Pricing

$0.05 per load vetted. That's one charge for authority + BASICs + broker + OFAC together. Invalid or failed loads are free. Set a max cost per run and the Actor stops cleanly when it is reached.

Important

A decision aid built on public FMCSA and OFAC data, not a guarantee against fraud or double brokering. FMCSA data can lag real-world changes; confirm insurance directly for high-value loads.

A section that times out returns status "timeout" with partial:true and a HOLD verdict (never TENDER; a REJECT stays REJECT). Full price applies when carrier authority (broker, for a broker-only pack) is delivered; if that core section times out, or every section does, the call fails with 503 before payment settles.

Built by Ni Biashara LLC (Texas). The same check is available pay-per-call to agents over x402 at agents.nibiashara.biz.