Carrier packet builder checklist: the documents and cover sheet brokers ask for

Pick your truck, your payment setup and your MC age. The carrier packet builder checklist lists the documents to gather and fills a cover sheet you can print.

By Rafael Fox · Updated October 2026

What is a carrier packet?

A trucking carrier packet is the paperwork that sets you up with a broker. Before a broker can send you a rate con, it needs proof that your authority is active, that you carry the required insurance, and where to send payment. Each broker has its own form or setup portal, but the documents underneath are nearly the same. Build them once, keep them current, and setups take minutes instead of days.

How the builder works

The checklist starts from the documents nearly every broker asks for, then changes with your answers. Nothing is scored and nothing is uploaded; your answers and checkmarks stay in this browser.

What changes the list
Your answer	What the checklist does
You factor	Adds the notice of assignment from your factor and drops the voided check
You're paid direct	Adds a voided check or bank letter in your W-9 name
Truck needs a CDL	Adds your drug and alcohol program enrollment
Truck runs without a CDL	Replaces it with a note that DOT testing doesn't apply
MC under 6 months	Adds references, since new authorities get asked more often
Equipment type	Adds the items brokers ask about for that truck

The rules behind those changes are public. Your insurance must meet the federal minimum, $750,000 for general freight and more for some hazmat , and your authority depends on a process agent filing . Drug and alcohol testing covers employers of drivers who need a CDL, and a one-truck CDL carrier counts as both . Hazmat haulers add a registration that applies to placarded loads . Cargo coverage isn't part of the federal minimum for most freight, but most brokers ask for it, often at an amount named in their agreement.

What each document proves

Brokers aren't collecting paper for its own sake. Each document answers one question they're responsible for before they hand you a shipper's freight:

The core documents, what they prove and where they come from
Document	What it proves	Where you get it
Authority letter	You may haul freight for hire across state lines	FMCSA, when your authority is granted
W-9	Who gets paid, under which tax ID	You fill it in; IRS form
Certificate of insurance	Liability and cargo coverage are in force today	Your insurance agent, per broker
BOC-3	You have a process agent in each state	The process agent company you hired
NOA or voided check	Where the money goes	Your factor, or your bank
Drug program letter	Your CDL drivers are in a random pool	Your consortium or C/TPA

Ask your insurance agent to send each COI straight to the broker. Many brokers only accept a certificate that comes from the agent, because a certificate emailed by a carrier can be edited.

A worked example

EXAMPLE: Carrier B runs one 26 ft box truck rated under 26,001 lb, has held its MC for 3 months, and factors its invoices. In the builder that's box truck, CDL no, factoring yes, MC under 6 months yes. The list comes back with 12 items: the cover sheet, authority letter, W-9, COI, BOC-3, broker agreement, the NOA, a safety record snapshot, a non-CDL note in place of a drug program, a truck list, box length and GVWR, and references.

A box truck carrier packet like this one doesn't include a consortium letter, because the truck doesn't need a CDL. If Carrier B later adds a tractor, the list gains the drug program and drops the note.

Reading the result

Match every name

The most common setup failure is a mismatch. The legal name on your W-9, your COI, your NOA and your FMCSA record must be identical, down to LLC or Inc. Run your own number through the DOT and MC lookup and copy the legal name exactly as it appears there.

Owner-operator carrier packet tips

An owner operator carrier packet is the same packet with one person in every contact field. That's fine, but give brokers a billing email you check daily, and add your factor's contact if invoices go there. Date every document and note when your insurance renews.

New authority

Some brokers set a minimum authority age, and others ask more questions in the first months. References help. So does a clean, complete packet sent the first time. See brokers that work with new authority and the step-by-step new carrier setup guide.

Keep it current

A packet goes stale quietly. Insurance renews once a year, drug program letters are usually dated, and a new factor means a new NOA. Set a reminder a month before your policy renews, and when anything changes, send the new page to every broker you've hauled for in the last few months. An expired COI on file is a common reason a broker can't tender you a load you were counting on.

Keep the master copy as one PDF with the cover sheet on top and each document on its own page, named with your company name and the date. Brokers move faster through a clean file, and you can see at a glance what's about to expire.

After the packet

Once you're set up and hauling, the next document you'll send is an invoice; the trucking invoice generator builds one from your rate con. If you'd rather not chase setups yourself, our dispatchers do it as part of dispatch for new authority carriers, sending your packet only to brokers whose records we've checked. Browse more free trucking tools or apply for dispatch.

Questions carriers ask

What is a carrier packet?

It's the set of documents a broker needs before it can tender you a load: your operating authority, W-9, certificate of insurance, payment details, and the broker's own carrier agreement, often with a cover sheet listing your contacts. Brokers use it to confirm you're legal, insured and paid to the right account. Many collect it through an online setup portal instead of email.

What goes in a box truck carrier packet?

The same core documents as any carrier: authority letter, W-9, COI, BOC-3 and payment details. Add the box length and GVWR, since brokers need to know it's 26 ft or longer and whether a CDL applies. If the truck is under 26,001 lb GVWR and no CDL is needed, DOT drug testing doesn't apply, so skip the consortium letter.

Do I need a new packet for each broker?

No. Build one master packet and keep it current, then send it to each new broker and sign that broker's own agreement. Update it when your insurance renews, your factor changes, or your contact details change, and resend the changed document to brokers you already work with. Outdated certificates are a common reason a setup stalls.

How do I send a carrier packet safely?

Only to a broker contact you've checked. Look the broker up in the public record, match the email domain to its own website, and call back on a number you found yourself, not one from the email. Prefer the broker's own setup portal. Never send your FMCSA login or bank passwords; no legitimate setup needs them.

What is an NOA in a carrier packet?

A notice of assignment. If you factor your invoices, your factoring company issues it to tell the broker to pay the factor instead of you. It goes in the packet in place of a voided check. Ask your factor for it when you sign up, and if you ever switch factors, the old one sends a release so the broker knows where to pay.

One packet, sent only to brokers we've checked

Your dispatcher handles broker setups, so your documents go to verified contacts only. You still confirm every load.

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