It’s important that you know who you’re working with, especially if things go wrong. So for both peace of mind and protection, it is a good idea to do a little bit of research on your prospective auto transport company. American Auto Transport wants you to be able to check the credentials of whichever company that you decide to go with, so we’ve created this guide to aide you in your endeavors.

Why Should I Check A Company’s Licensing Information?

There are a number of reasons that you might want to check a company’s licensing information. First of all, you want to make sure that the company you’re working with is licensed. Working with unlicensed auto transport companies is illegal, so confirming their status is important for obvious reasons. You’ll also want to know what kind of licensing your auto transport company has, as this can be important for fact checking. Some companies, for instance, insist that they have their own trucks or aren’t brokers, etc. If you have their MC number, then you can either confirm or deny what they’ve told you.

To do this, you’ll need a company’s Motor Carrier (MC) Number. Many companies provide their MC number on their website. If you don’t find the MC number there, give them a call and ask for it. Be very careful of companies that hesitate to give you their MC number, as they probably do not want you to have access to their information!

How do I Check A Company’s Licensing Information?

Once you have the MC number, you can go to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) website to check their information by clicking HYPERLINK "http://li-public.fmcsa.dot.gov/LIVIEW/pkg_carrquery.prc_carrlist" here. From here, you’ll be able to view a transport company’s licensing status.

To see what kind of authority a company has (common carrier, contract carrier, or broker,) you can simply check the AUTHORITY TYPE table.

Auto Transport Done the Right Way

Here at American Auto Transport, we believe that the best way to gain our customer’s trust is to be open and honest. We have the integrity to lay all of our auto transport knowledge out in the light of day so that our customers know what we know. After all, the best way to make good decisions is to have adequate knowledge. So learn about auto shipping and make the right choices for all of you auto shipping needs. Choose wisely, choose American Auto Transport! Call us today at (954) 745-8950 and make your car shipping reservations with the best auto transporters in the country today!