FMCSA’s broker transparency rule pushed to 2026

Truckers awaiting the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) freight broker transparency rule will have to keep waiting until next spring, according to the latest federal regulatory agenda.

A second Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the FMCSA’s Transparency in Property Broker Transactions is slated to publish in May 2026, according to Office of Management Budget documents published last week.

The freight broker transparency rule was introduced in November 2024 following 2020 petitions from the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) and the Small Business in Transportation Coalition (SBTC).

From FMCSA:

“Under current regulations, the parties to a brokered freight transaction have a right to review the broker’s record of the transaction, which stakeholders often refer to as “broker transparency.” Contracts between brokers and motor carriers frequently contain waivers of this right. OOIDA requested that FMCSA promulgate a requirement that property brokers provide an electronic copy of each transaction record automatically within 48 hours after the contractual service has been completed, and explicitly prohibit brokers from including any provision in their contracts that requires a motor carrier to waive its rights to access the transaction records. SBTC requested that FMCSA prohibit brokers of property from coercing or requiring parties to brokers’ transactions to waive their right to review the record of the transaction as a condition for doing business and prohibit the use of clause(s) exempting the broker from having to comply with this transparency requirement. Though the proposed rule is responsive to the petitions in reinforcing the broker transparency requirement, the proposed provisions differ from those requested by OOIDA and SBTC.“

The proposed rule would make the following four major changes to current broker regulations (49 CFR 371.3, “Records to be kept by brokers”):

1. Require property brokers to keep their records in an electronic format
2. Modernize and tailor the required contents of the records to better achieve broker transparency
3. Reframe broker transparency as a regulatory duty imposed on brokers to provide records to the transacting parties
4. Require brokers to provide the records within 48 hours when a party to the transaction requests those records

“Brokers often include provisions in their contracts with motor carriers that require motor carriers to waive their ability to review broker records. In addition, even without waiver clauses, motor carriers often face practical hurdles in accessing records that they should be able to review under the current regulations. As a result of the SBTC and OOIDA petitions, the Agency reviewed its property broker recordkeeping requirements and is proposing certain amendments to those requirements. The proposed amendments are intended to reinforce broker transparency for motor carriers and to better tailor the required contents of the records to the purpose of broker transparency,” FMCSA said.

The FMCSA received nearly 7,000 public comments on the freight broker transparency rule proposal.

Check out a sample of some of the comments submitted to FMCSA below.

• “Broker transparency is desperately needed. The current environment allows scams and fraud against the trucking community, resulting in men and women losing their livelihood. Scams are occurring and services are being provided without the individual doing the work being compensated.  I implore you to take action to prevent bad actors in the broker community from continuing to scam the hard working men and women of the trucking community.”
• “Broker transparency would allow trucking companies and owner-ops to make better informed decisions and prevent income theft. 
  I understand that brokers need to make a profit on their services, however, without transparency some bad apples take advantage. With transparency truckers could compare broker services and be reassured that we are making a sound financial decision and not being scammed.”
• “As a new carrier company I feel like transparency from brokers would go a long way. It seems like they tend to take advantage of certain markets. If everything was laid out in black and white then those brokers can’t make carriers go bankrupt trying to move freight.”
• “Transparency is vital for my small trucking company, especially since brokers frequently offer me unreasonably low rates. It’s becoming increasingly difficult for my business to stay afloat. Additionally, we occasionally face payment denials for the extra work we’ve completed.”