Freight broker authority is its own animal. If your broker MC docket has flipped to “NOT AUTHORIZED” on SAFER, 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 the most 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 exactly what happened, pull your record in the FMCSA Licensing & Insurance system, which shows the bond status, the cancellation action, and the revocation date.
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 the L&I 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 reading your SAFER and L&I status.
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 L&I record, or filing against the wrong docket. FastReinstatement Filing verifies the bond is on file, confirms the docket, and submits the $80 reinstatement 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.