FMCSA Carrier Database Integration
What is FMCSA Carrier Database Integration?
FMCSA Carrier Database Integration connects TMS.ai directly to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's public carrier records, letting you search and verify carrier information without leaving your TMS. When adding a new carrier to your network, you search by company name or DOT number and the system pulls their registered information, safety ratings, authority status, and carrier details directly from government records. This eliminates manual entry of basic carrier data while ensuring you're working with verified, up-to-date information.
For brokers vetting new carrier partners, this feature provides instant access to the same safety and authority information you'd get from the FMCSA website, but integrated directly into your onboarding workflow. You're not switching between browser tabs to look up DOT numbers and copy information back into your TMS.
How FMCSA Carrier Database Integration works:
1. Initiate new partner creation from the Partners module. Navigate to the Partners section of your TMS and click "Create Partner" to begin adding a new carrier to your network. Instead of starting with blank fields, you'll use the FMCSA search function to find verified carrier information as your starting point.
2. Search the FMCSA database for the carrier. Use the integrated search tool to find the carrier by their company name, DOT number, or MC number. The system queries the FMCSA's public records in real-time and returns matching carriers from the federal database. This search pulls from the same official records the FMCSA website provides, but accessed through your TMS interface.
3. Select the correct carrier from search results. Review the search results to identify the specific carrier you want to onboard. Each result displays key identifying information like the legal business name, DOT number, and location to help confirm you've found the right company. This verification step is important when carriers have similar names or operate in the same geographic area.
4. System pre-populates partner record with FMCSA data. When you select a carrier from the search results, TMS.ai automatically creates a new partner record filled with their registered information from the FMCSA database. This includes legal business name, DOT number, MC number, business address, and other details from their federal carrier registration. These pre-filled fields serve as verified baseline information for the carrier relationship.
5. Complete partner setup with additional operational details. With the FMCSA information loaded, add the operational details specific to your relationship with this carrier: equipment types they'll provide, lanes they operate, rate agreements, contact information for dispatch and accounting, and any internal notes about their services. The FMCSA data provides the foundation, and you layer on the business-specific information.
6. Proceed to onboarding workflow if additional documentation needed. After creating the partner record with FMCSA data, you can immediately send them your carrier onboarding packet to collect insurance certificates, additional authority documentation, W-9 forms, and other compliance materials. The verified government data combined with your collected documents creates a complete carrier file.
What it means for you:
New carrier setup drops from fifteen minutes of data entry and verification to under two minutes. You're not manually typing DOT numbers, business names, and addresses that are already in a public database. More importantly, you're starting with verified information rather than whatever the carrier wrote on their signup form.
When questions arise about a carrier's authority or safety status, you're working from the same federal records the FMCSA publishes, not outdated information someone entered months ago. This matters during audits when you need to demonstrate you properly vetted carriers before tendering them loads.