A written vetting policy — the actual defense
After Montgomery, the question isn't whether you have a tool — it's whether you have a written standard and can show you followed it, every time. Start from this. Adopt it, adapt the bracketed values to your risk tolerance, and you have a policy. Enforce it in Broker-Aware and every check is documented against it automatically.
CARRIER VETTING POLICY — [Company Name]
Effective [date] · Version 1.0
1. PURPOSE
To ensure every motor carrier we engage meets a documented safety standard
before any load is tendered, and to retain verifiable proof of each check.
2. WHO IT APPLIES TO
All brokerage personnel who select or approve carriers, for every shipment.
3. BEFORE TENDERING A LOAD, WE VERIFY THE CARRIER:
a. Operating authority is ACTIVE.
b. Insurance (BIPD/liability) of at least $[1,000,000] is on file with FMCSA,
plus cargo coverage of at least $[100,000].
c. Is not under an out-of-service order.
d. Does not exceed our BASIC thresholds: no BASIC at or above the [80th]
percentile [list any stricter per-BASIC limits].
e. Operating scope matches the lane (interstate / intrastate).
4. DOCUMENTATION
Each vetting decision is recorded as a timestamped, verifiable receipt
identifying the carrier (USDOT), the data relied upon and its as-of date,
the policy version applied, and the result. Receipts are retained [7] years.
5. RE-CHECK & MONITORING
Carriers on our active panel are re-checked at least every [30] days and on
any alert that a threshold was crossed. A carrier that falls out of standard
is flagged for review before its next load.
6. EXCEPTIONS
Any decision to use a carrier outside this standard requires documented
written justification from [role] and is recorded as an override. Not legal advice. A template is a start, not a shield — the defense is a policy you actually follow. Have counsel review it, then make sure every tender runs against it.
From document to enforcement
A policy in a Google Doc nobody checks won't help you in discovery. In Broker-Aware, you encode this policy once in the Policy Editor; every carrier check runs against it, and the receipt records which version applied. That's the difference between "we have a policy" and "here's the signed proof we followed it on this load."