The federal minimum has not changed: it is $75,000. The current text of 49 CFR 387.307(a) reads, in full, “A broker must have a surety bond or trust fund of $75,000 in effect.” No FMCSA rule in 2025 or 2026 raises that figure. The amount is fixed by Congress in MAP-21, so the agency cannot change it on its own. The widely repeated claim that the bond rose to $150,000 in July 2026 is false.
What the regulation actually says
The operative sentence is one line long. From the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, title 49, part 387, subpart C, section 387.307(a):
“A broker must have a surety bond or trust fund of $75,000 in effect.”
A broker satisfies it with either a BMC-84 surety bond or a BMC-85 trust fund. Which of the two is on file is visible on every broker page here, together with the name of the surety or trustee.
What did change — and it is not the amount
FMCSA published a final rule on 16 November 2023 implementing the broker and freight-forwarder financial-responsibility provisions, with compliance phased in on 16 January 2025 and 16 January 2026 (the second date was set by a later extension). The rule changed how quickly a shortfall must be dealt with, not how large the security must be. Its own text states that FMCSA “did not propose changing the financial responsibility requirements”.
The mechanism carriers should actually know about is in §387.307(e)–(f):
| Step | Deadline |
|---|---|
| The surety or trustee notifies FMCSA after a payment — or after determining a payment is unavoidable — that drops the security below $75,000 | 2 business days |
| The broker must show the notice was in error, restore the fund, or satisfy the claims — otherwise its operating authority is suspended | 7 business days |
From 16 January 2026 a BMC-85 trust must also hold assets readily available: cash, irrevocable letters of credit from federally insured institutions, and Treasury bonds — instruments that can be liquidated within seven calendar days.
This matters for a practical reason. Suspensions produced by that seven-business-day clock are recorded in the public federal enforcement data, so a financial-security failure can surface as a dated suspension notice on a broker page.
Where the “$150,000” claim comes from
It circulates on industry blogs and compliance-marketing pages, usually attached to a date in 2026, and it is repeated confidently enough that AI assistants now echo it as fact. There is no such rule. Searching the Federal Register for FMCSA rulemakings on broker financial responsibility returns the 2023 final rule and the 2024 compliance-date extension — and nothing in 2025 or 2026 that touches the amount.
A related invention is a “Double Brokering Prevention rule” said to require load-tracking technology. No such rule exists either.
If you are told otherwise, the check takes ten seconds: open §387.307 on eCFR and read subsection (a). eCFR shows the regulation as currently in force.
What this means when you check a broker
- A filing on record means a bond or trust exists. It is not a live balance, and the public record does not show how much of it is left after claims.
- A cancellation filing has an effective date, and filings are often replaced before that date arrives. A pending cancellation is not a failure.
- A suspension notice on a broker page is a dated federal filing. It may have been resolved since it was served.
Check a broker’s financial-security filing →
Sources
- 49 CFR 387.307 — current text on eCFR
- Broker and Freight Forwarder Financial Responsibility — final rule, 16 November 2023
- Same rule — extension of compliance date, 31 December 2024
Primary sources only: the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, the Federal Register, and bill text on govinfo.gov. For information only — not legal advice.
Common questions
Did the broker bond go up to $150,000 in 2026?
No. 49 CFR 387.307(a) currently requires a surety bond or trust fund of $75,000, and no FMCSA rule in 2025 or 2026 changes that amount. The figure is set by Congress in MAP-21, so FMCSA cannot raise it on its own.
What did change in January 2026?
A BMC-85 trust must hold assets that are readily available — cash, irrevocable letters of credit from federally insured institutions, and Treasury bonds — liquidatable within seven calendar days. The $75,000 amount was not affected.
What happens if a broker’s security drops below $75,000?
The surety or trustee must notify FMCSA within 2 business days. The broker then has 7 business days to show the notice was in error, restore the fund, or satisfy the claims, or its operating authority is suspended.
Related guides
- Double brokering: what a carrier can check before booking
- MC numbers and the SAFER Transport Act: what changes for broker checks
- How the CheckMyBroker score is built
Last reviewed Jul 25, 2026. CheckMyBroker is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the FMCSA or any government agency.