surety bonds

can i make money as a freight broker until i make enough to secure my surety bond or enough to send the $10,000 the fmcsa or will i get in trouble. what is the time limit on getting a surety bond for my authority

You will be in trouble if you move ANY freight as a broker until you get your authority which does not become active until your bond is in force. No bond=No Authority.

Thank You Mr. Broker, my name is donny i have 10 Years of Truck Driver experiance and is looking to get into Freight Brokering, I recently received my DBA and sent off for my authority, Then i can get my surety bond and processing agent in one day. once i get my authority how long do i have once i get my authority to get my surety and processing agent? if you don't mind i would like to have you as a Broker advisor.

Thanks Donny, but I am more comfortable just as a Broker and not an adviser. I will answer your question though...It takes about 30 days for you to get your authority. Anyone who tells you that you can get it in a day is not telling the truth. Once the FMCSA gets a copy of the bond, they will start the process of issuing the authority. The authority is good for life but is active based on the status of your bond.

Thank You for the info.How about the mc#? So maybe i should have got my bond first before i sent off for my authority,or do i have time to get my surety and send it in?

Do you get your mc# first, then you pay for the process agent, then get the icc surety bond. is that the process 1,2,3. I ask that because the process agent is asking for my mc# on the application,so I'm assuming that you pay for your authority first wait then get your mc#, then get your process agent, then apply for your surety bond,then once every thing is sent in you get your freight authority. Is that how it goes?

Much appreciated Mr. Broker, It's Pretty Much What i was Figuring.

Hey Guys! Do you think to become a freigh broker in these days is still an idia that can bring you profit?

Not right now.... Customers are hard to come by and the ones that you have are slowing down so much, laying off workers, or just shutting down completely. I wouldn't recommend to anyone to get into this business at this time. I have actually started something on the side for the "just in case".

Thank You, Wendy T

Hello, I already pay for my $300 for the application. I also pay a gaent to process the BOC3 form. What I need now is ICC bond. How much it will be to get a surety bond throgh insuranc?

Hello, I already pay for my $300 for the application. I also pay a gaent to process the BOC3 form. What I need now is ICC bond. How much it will be to get a surety bond throgh insuranc?

David, the ICC no longer exists. The cost of the bond differs between the BMC84 surety bond or the BMC85 surety trust. If you can be bonded, the 84 typically will run around $1000 per year. Might be less if you are lucky. The trust can be fullfilled in three ways. First you can place $10,000 in the trust. Of course most people don't have $10,000 sitting around so this is not the usual course. Secondly you can obtain a $10,000 letter of credit from a bank. This would pledge $10,000 towards the trust, however this is typically collateralized with either property or money. Lastly and the most popular today is the installment plan where you make a payment for 20 to 40 months until the $10,000 is in place. The BMC85 is administered by a surety writing company and they usually also will charge an administrative fee the first one or two years until you have the 10K. After that, the interest off that money pays the fee. The BMC84 is harder to come by these days and you have less control than with the BMC85. Whatever you choose, make sure the bonding company has experience with the transportation industry. A company that traditionally writes construction bonds may not defend the bond against fraudulent claims as a company with industry knowledge.

I would suggest that before anyone applies for their broker license they find out if they can be bonded or obtain a trust. Why spend the $300 only to find out you can't get the bond. The bond submission is the part that takes the longest in the whole application. If you don't have a process agent picked out, don't worry. Once you hit submit on the OP1 they'll call you. It's like they are hovering just waiting to pounce.
But... as Sales Agent in Tulsa says, things are pretty tough right now. If you have a job you might want to keep it for awhile. What in the past might have taken 3 months to develop now will take 6 months to never. You also will probably find many non asset based brokers going under in the future. It still is a truck that moves the freight, no getting around that. If capacity continues to shrink and demand stays the same or ticks up a tad, things should be awesome for the carriers that survive till the end of 2009. The best scenario is to be aligned with an asset based company as a customer may only want to talk to a carrier. Well you are a carrier. On the other hand, if they only want to talk with a broker, well you are one. Pretty simplistic marketing formula, but it works.

could tell me what company that could provide me with the 3rd choice that you explane?

Pacific Financial, Liberty Financial are two off the top of my head. There are probably others. You can contact Scott Ferris at Pacific. Contact Josh Elam at Liberty. Pacific only writes BMC85s, that is all they do so they know about this industry. Liberty started as a process agent and permit company and decided to get into the broker bond business. Liberty offers a 40 payment plan I believe at $250/month. Pacific does the 20 month at around $500 or $550 a month. I would prefer Pacific over Liberty as it has been hard to get return calls from Liberty or may emails answered appropriately. I am sure there are others if people want to post.

Donny in North Hills, California said: Thank You Mr. Broker, my name is donny i have 10 Years of Truck Driver experiance and is looking to get into Freight Brokering, I recently received my DBA and sent off for my authority, Then i can get my surety bond and processing agent in one day. once i get my authority how long do i have once i get my authority to get my surety and processing agent? if you don't mind i would like to have you as a Broker advisor.

How much does it cost to get your authority mc# and everything total?
texasrunner1@msn.com

Mr Broker in Chicago, Illinois said: Thanks Donny, but I am more comfortable just as a Broker and not an adviser. I will answer your question though...It takes about 30 days for you to get your authority. Anyone who tells you that you can get it in a day is not telling the truth. Once the FMCSA gets a copy of the bond, they will start the process of issuing the authority. The authority is good for life but is active based on the status of your bond.

How much does it cost to become legal as far as all the items required to move freight legally?

hawkinsbusinessman@gmail.com

Mr Broker in Chicago, Illinois said: Thanks Donny, but I am more comfortable just as a Broker and not an adviser. I will answer your question though...It takes about 30 days for you to get your authority. Anyone who tells you that you can get it in a day is not telling the truth. Once the FMCSA gets a copy of the bond, they will start the process of issuing the authority. The authority is good for life but is active based on the status of your bond.

wel thats not true eather i took my course in becoming a broker just for refresher i aplyed on line and got mine in 1 week im half way there at filling my bond requirment

Wendy T said: Then your not finished as your bond hasn't been complete and your authority isn't active so you didn't get it yet. You can get a number in minutes all you have to do is apply online with a credit card and when your done you have your mc number so what mr broker said was true it does take about 30 days to get your authority if your bond is not done you have no authority to broker loads.

Thank you Wendy for correcting the new broker in Hudson Falls about the fact that he does not have his authority yet. I wonder where he got his information? It is scary where people come up with so much misinformation.

Donny in North Hills, California said: can i make money as a freight broker until i make enough to secure my surety bond or enough to send the $10,000 the fmcsa or will i get in trouble. what is the time limit on getting a surety bond for my authority

Donny,

You can qualify for this bond if you have excellent credit and you own real estate. If qualified, the premium in California dor one year is $500.00. If you don't qulify, the surety company can ask for a co-signer, and you don't have one, they will ask for 100% collateral to write the bond.

Alex Lakshtanov
Advanced Surety & Insurance Agency
advancedbonding@gmail.com
alex@advancedbonding.com
Insurance Broker/Agent License# 0G21229

Donny in North Hills, California said: can i make money as a freight broker until i make enough to secure my surety bond or enough to send the $10,000 the fmcsa or will i get in trouble. what is the time limit on getting a surety bond for my authority

Get your MC# first, then get the bond

I was so happy when I thought I was approved for a surety bond that would run me an annual premium of $670. Until they told me I had to pay 100% collateral. My question is, if I have $10,000 what would I be paying them $670 to do exactly? Why can't I just put the 10000 in a special account that specifies usage? I know your posts were about a year back, but how is the market now? I already have my company registered. Thanks in advance.

info@gmlogisticsllc.com

Does anyone know how I can get a collection agency surety bond for 10,000 with bad credit? I'm frustrated because i was in a car accident 3 years ago, as a result I have lots of medical bill collection until settled with insurance company. Now I have been denied for a surety bond.

AMUR in Atlanta, Georgia said: I was so happy when I thought I was approved for a surety bond that would run me an annual premium of $670. Until they told me I had to pay 100% collateral. My question is, if I have $10,000 what would I be paying them $670 to do exactly? Why can't I just put the 10000 in a special account that specifies usage? I know your posts were about a year back, but how is the market now? I already have my company registered. Thanks in advance.

info@gmlogisticsllc.com

you can do exactly that. it is called a Trust Bond.

Donny in North Hills, California said: can i make money as a freight broker until i make enough to secure my surety bond or enough to send the $10,000 the fmcsa or will i get in trouble. what is the time limit on getting a surety bond for my authority

You may work as an agent for a FMCSA licensed freight broker and collect a percentage of the load.

Donny in North Hills, California said: i have to wait for my mc# to apply for a surety bond right.

No you do not. In fact you should get pre-approved for your BMC-84(bond) or BMC-85(trust fund) BEFORE you spend the non-refundable $300 for broker MC and application

YT in Elgin, Illinois said: you can do exactly that. it is called a Trust Bond.

It is either a trust OR a bond. You may secure a trust by depositing 10k into it with a USDOT AUTHORIZED BMC-85 filer. Bonds are issued by insurance companies. Many of the 30 that still issue the bonds command 25-100% of bond amount in addition to premium.

STH in Jonesboro, Georgia said: Pacific Financial, Liberty Financial are two off the top of my head. There are probably others. You can contact Scott Ferris at Pacific. Contact Josh Elam at Liberty. Pacific only writes BMC85s, that is all they do so they know about this industry. Liberty started as a process agent and permit company and decided to get into the broker bond business. Liberty offers a 40 payment plan I believe at $250/month. Pacific does the 20 month at around $500 or $550 a month. I would prefer Pacific over Liberty as it has been hard to get return calls from Liberty or may emails answered appropriately. I am sure there are others if people want to post.

1st Security Financial in Columbus, Ohio has doing only BMC-85's since 2003 and has a very good reputation both with brokers & carriers

Donny in North Hills, California said: Do you get your mc# first, then you pay for the process agent, then get the icc surety bond. is that the process 1,2,3. I ask that because the process agent is asking for my mc# on the application,so I'm assuming that you pay for your authority first wait then get your mc#, then get your process agent, then apply for your surety bond,then once every thing is sent in you get your freight authority. Is that how it goes?

I would recommend getting PRE-APPROVED for your bond or trust BEFORE spending money on MC# and process agent.
Why buy a cart if you don't have a horse to pull it.

Does anyone have the software pc miler streets that they would like to sell?

I advise everyone in this industry, the backbone of America, to listen and pay attention to the ramifications of this bill if it passes.
Once you have been informed contact your congressman and voice your view.

Hi Don. Thanks for you input. Do you have an update on S.3483 as of July 2011? Where is it headed?

S 3483 died when the 2010 session was over. However, a new bill was introduced HR 2357 "Fighting Fraud in Transportation" was introduced on June 24th of this year. Very similar, but gives brokers 4 years to comply. I invite all concerned to visit this website to review and learn more about the attempt to put small business owners out of business. Please check out www.independentpropertybrokers.org
My personal opinion and theory since 2005 is that they will settle on 25k. Household Goods Brokers will need to have 25k by Jan 1, 2012.
FMCSA & USDOT will evaluate and work out the bugs over a 12-18 month period before placing this on property brokers.
I have already heard of HH Goods brokers who have found a way around this new 25k requirement they must comply with by 01/01/2012

This bill is dead. When the 111th sessions of congress ended the bill died stalled in committee.
However, a new bill, "Fighting Fraud in Transportation" HR-2357 was introduced to Congress on June 24th of this year. Still calling for 100k, but allowing 4 years to comply. Pretty much the same as last bill.
My personal opinion is that this bill to will also not be passed as written. 100k is just going to put too many people out of business, leaving the big boys to set prices and call the shots, which will lead to anti-trust lawsuits for price fixing.
I said back in 05 that the bond for Household Good Brokers wil increase before it will for Property Brokers. The FMCSA needs time to work out the kinks and plug the loopholes. Once this is done, property brokers will face the same requirements.
Currently, the HH Goods is at 10k, but 25k will take effect January 1, 2012.
In my opinion,they will end up at 25k for all, but property brokers shouldn't expect this increase for at least another 18
months at a minimum.
I encourage all to visit www.independentpropertybrokers.org for more info on this current bill.

Thanks again Don. I plan to pass this info on this evening as I host a f.ree teleclass called "5 Myths in Starting & Operating Your Freight Broker Business".

Interested individuals can do a Google search for “5 myths atex freight broker training” to learn more

I hope anyone interested in becoming a broker gets in on this free teleclass that Atex Freight Broker Training is offering tonight. John is very insightful and provides you with more than the "nuts & bolts" of the industry.

I am looking at possibly getting into this business, however it seems to be rather hard to gauge the actual start up costs as some schools add a profit margin on license and bond fees. Would someone be able to give me an idea?

Cost for freight brokerage start up-
$300 for your MC# and application to FMCSA for property broker authority

$35 for BOC-3 Process Agent

$76 for UCR, Unified Carrier Registration
Your BMC-84 10k Broker Bond will run anywhere from $700- $2500 year plus any collateral insurance company demands

or you may get a BMC-85 Broker Trust Fund (preferred by over 75% of brokers)This is $ you deposit in trust that is an asset of your company. If you close, $ goes back to you.
Cost ranges from $495 to $950 1st year depending on initial deposit into trust. Trust must be with a USDOT/FMCSA AUTHORIZED Financial Institution.

Contact me for more detail- Don Jipping,
1st SECURITY FINANCIAL CORPORATION

STH in Jonesboro, Georgia said: Pacific Financial, Liberty Financial are two off the top of my head. There are probably others. You can contact Scott Ferris at Pacific. Contact Josh Elam at Liberty. Pacific only writes BMC85s, that is all they do so they know about this industry. Liberty started as a process agent and permit company and decided to get into the broker bond business. Liberty offers a 40 payment plan I believe at $250/month. Pacific does the 20 month at around $500 or $550 a month. I would prefer Pacific over Liberty as it has been hard to get return calls from Liberty or may emails answered appropriately. I am sure there are others if people want to post.

1st Security Financial has been doing BMC-85 since 2003 and are highly regarded in the industry.

Don't forget, 250,000.00 as cash flow until you get your business going. To many people think this is all you have to do and go in underfunded and close in bankruptcy in the first 6 months leaving carriers stranded.

Mark in Penn Yan, New York said: Don't forget, 250,000.00 as cash flow until you get your business going. To many people think this is all you have to do and go in underfunded and close in bankruptcy in the first 6 months leaving carriers stranded.

Good point Mark. Make sure you have the working capital to pay your carriers ASAP. You may have to wait up to 90 days to be paid from your customer, the carriers need paid NOW.

Just to clarify on the costs on the BMC-84 surety bond...

We have rates starting at $500, write for both good and bad credit, & do NOT require collateral. We do not want to tie up brokers' capital. The BMC-85 trust fund is guaranteed to tie up $10,000 cash.

As Don and Mark pointed out, working capital is key to the financial health of your business. If you are new to the industry, apply for the bond. If you have the trust fund setup, get your $10,000 cash back in your hands, not the banks.

You can get quoted in minutes, instantly online by our website: www.jwsuretybonds.com/protools.htm

Hi David I want to work in bail bonds I have the license to work I want do pickup like part time can u help my
I am in Miami if u can contact my at hamletvampiro2005@gmail.com.
Thanks

This has been slipped in the bill and will get overlooked UNLESS YOU CALL YOUR CONGRESSMAN !
Otherwise, most brokers will be out of business, and higher rates will prevail as the big boys set the tone. Don't think this will benefit the carrier,carriers will be at the mercy of the big boys for low rates. If you think you are getting screwed now.......

not only the approximate 17,000 licensed freight brokers, but their employees as well

Can anyone tell me of a Bond company that can write the new $25k Household Goods Broker Bond. I have called over 12 Surety bond companies, some did not even know what I sa talking about. I called the US DOT and the rep had not even heard of the new rate increase. HElp me plase in San Jose Ca

Don Lopez in San Jose, California said: Can anyone tell me of a Bond company that can write the new $25k Household Goods Broker Bond. I have called over 12 Surety bond companies, some did not even know what I sa talking about. I called the US DOT and the rep had not even heard of the new rate increase. HElp me plase in San Jose Ca

Don I can issue a BMC-85 Trust for your compliance. To date, I know of no insurance or surety issuing 25k BMC-84 HHG Bonds.
Visit our website www.firstsecuritycorp.com and give me a call.