Document a carrier review as a record of observations, sources, checks, and decision ownership. The goal is to make a later handoff understandable: what was checked, when, against which entity, what did not match, and who decided the next step. It is not a way to create a claim that a carrier is safe, insured, or fraudulent.
Find and lock the identifier first with HaulFacts lookup. A review file that starts with an unverified company name can accidentally combine documents and records from different entities.
Practical checklist
What to preserve in the review record
Use a consistent record structure
Begin with load or review context, legal entity, DBA, USDOT number, MC/docket where relevant, reviewer, and date/time. Add direct source links and retrieval times for public records. Keep the federal registration, current authority, safety context, insurance evidence, and identity confirmation in separate sections so that one result does not silently stand in for another.
Use precise language. “SAFER Snapshot retrieved at 10:20 ET displayed no assigned safety rating” says more than “no safety issues.” “Certificate received from dispatch; insurer confirmation requested through published contact” says more than “insurance verified.”
| Field | Example entry |
|---|---|
| Entity | Legal name, DBA, USDOT, docket, and source URL |
| Review event | “Motus authority check, 10:20 ET, property authority status displayed as …” |
| Exception | “New dispatch domain; published number called; operations contact confirmed” |
| Decision | Owner, result, condition, and next recheck trigger |
Capture exceptions as facts
Record the old and new value for an address, domain, phone, driver, tractor, or bank instruction; identify the source and observed date; note the person who explained it; and record the verification channel. This makes legitimate changes easier to understand and prevents a vague warning from becoming an unsupported accusation.
For example, a review may note: “Tender used a new email domain. Called phone listed on company snapshot; named operations contact confirmed domain and driver. Pickup facility notified.” The note describes what happened without guaranteeing that every part of the shipment will go as planned.
Record the decision, not just the evidence
End with the decision owner, result, any conditions, and next recheck trigger. Examples: approved subject to insurer confirmation; held pending contact confirmation; not accepted under the customer’s written equipment requirement. Tie the result to your internal policy or customer requirement when applicable, rather than presenting the public data as a universal rule.
Keep source dates because public records change and historical L&I information is not a current Motus filing record. If the upstream system was unavailable, record that it could not be checked. Never turn an outage into a “no authority” or “no insurance” result.
Use carrier vetting for the order of checks and carrier packet checklist for the supporting material. Keep original files and source URLs where retention rules permit. A later reviewer should be able to distinguish a counterparty document from a public record and a phone confirmation.