Freight broker authority is its own animal. If your broker MC docket has flipped to “NOT AUTHORIZED” in FMCSA's records, the cure is not the BMC-91 insurance a motor carrier files — it is the $75,000 broker bond. Broker registration sits under 49 CFR Part 365, and its financial-responsibility backbone is the BMC-84 surety bond or the BMC-85 trust fund under 49 CFR 387.307. Get the bond back to the full amount, confirm it is e-filed, and the rest of the reinstatement looks familiar.
The $75,000 Bond Is the Whole Ballgame
Under 49 CFR 387.307(a), a property broker “must have a surety bond or trust fund of $75,000 in effect,” and FMCSA will not register a broker until that full amount is in place. The same logic governs reinstatement: a revoked broker docket cannot come back to ACTIVE until the bond or trust is restored to the full $75,000 and on file. There is no partial cure and no waiver for hardship on the bond itself.
- BMC-84 surety bond— a surety company pledges up to $75,000 to pay valid shipper or motor-carrier claims if the broker fails to carry out its contracts. Most brokers choose this because it does not lock up $75,000 in capital.
- BMC-85 trust fund— the broker deposits $75,000 in acceptable assets (cash, irrevocable letters of credit, or Treasury bonds) that, per 49 CFR 387.307(b), can be liquidated to cash within 7 calendar days.
How Broker Authority Gets Revoked Without an Insurance Lapse
Carriers usually lose authority to a BMC-91 insurance lapse. Brokers lose it a different way. Two triggers dominate:
- The bond is cancelled.A BMC-84 or BMC-85 can be cancelled only on 30 days’ written notice to FMCSA — Form BMC-36 for the bond, per 49 CFR 387.307(d)(2)(i). That 30-day clock is the pending-revocation window. Non-renewal for an unpaid bond premium is a common reason a surety files it.
- A claim drops the bond below $75,000. Under 49 CFR 387.307(e), when a surety or financial institution pays a claim that pulls the bond under $75,000, it must notify FMCSA within 2 business days. FMCSA then warns the broker that the registration will be suspended within 7 business days unless the broker proves the bond has been restored to the full $75,000 or the claims were satisfied without bond assets.
An unaddressed suspension hardens into revocation. Because none of this involves the liability insurance carriers think about, brokers are often blindsided — the docket is gone before they realize the bond was the problem. To confirm your current authority status, look up your record in FMCSA's Motus public search (by USDOT number or company name).
The Reinstatement Sequence
Order matters, and it mirrors the broader reinstatement process— cure first, file second.
- Secure a new BMC-84 or BMC-85 for the full $75,000. If your prior surety dropped you after a claim, you may need a different surety; any FMCSA-authorized surety or financial institution can issue the instrument.
- Confirm the surety e-filed it.FMCSA only recognizes the bond or trust when the surety transmits the BMC-84 or BMC-85 electronically and it shows on your FMCSA record — a paper bond certificate in your inbox does not count.
- Submit the $80 reinstatement. The petition for reinstatement of revoked operating authority is $80 under 49 CFR 360.3T(f)(52). Under 360.3T(c), that fee is not refundable once FMCSA accepts the filing — which is exactly why you confirm the bond is on record before you pay.
Reinstate vs. Apply for a New Broker Docket
The math usually favors reinstating the existing MC number. A reinstatement is $80; a brand-new broker authority application is $300 under 49 CFR 360.3T(f)(1). Reinstatement also preserves the docket and whatever broker relationships ride on it. One wrinkle worth knowing: broker, common, and contract authority are each separate filings under 49 CFR 360.3T(d)(1), so a carrier that also brokers freight may have more than one docket and more than one cure to coordinate. If you are unsure whether your status is a suspension, a revocation, or a deactivation, start with our guide to checking your authority status.
One line item the $80-vs-$300 comparison hides: a brand-new broker docket is a new MC number, and a new MC number needs its own BOC-3 process-agent designation on file within 20 daysof the notice publishing in the FMCSA Register (49 CFR §365.109T) or the application is dismissed. Reinstating the existing docket does not require a refile unless the designation lapsed or your process agent dropped you — which, for brokers, is a real risk, because a cancelled BOC-3 is its own independent revocation cause on top of the bond. Worth knowing before you pay anyone: a broker or freight forwarder that operates no commercial motor vehiclesmay self-file the BOC-3 under 49 CFR §366.4T(b). If you also run trucks, the filing has to come from an FMCSA-registered process agent — FastBOC3Filing covers all 50 states and D.C. for $75 one-time, with no annual renewal.
Doing It Without the Guesswork
The bond is between you and your surety, but the federal filing is where brokers most often waste the non-refundable $80 — submitting before the BMC-84 shows on the FMCSA record, or filing against the wrong docket. With FastReinstatement Filing, the bond is confirmed on file, the docket is confirmed, and your reinstatement is submitted to FMCSA the same business day for a flat $275, with the federal fee bundled in. For a full breakdown of what that covers and the adjacent costs, see our reinstatement cost guide.