Gateway Lines
NVOCC and ocean freight forwarder
Free license check
Is your logistics company actually licensed?
Check any freight forwarder, NVOCC, trucker, freight broker or customs broker against FMC, FMCSA and CBP records, or look up a SCAC code. Free.
Before you hand someone your freight, check who they are.
Pick MC#, DOT# or Name, then type the number or the company name.
Finding a company here does not mean it is an authentic business or that its service is guaranteed. Gateway has vetted only the companies that show the Gateway badge.
Featured logistics companies
Out of compliance: FMC's list of NVOCCs that have not published a tariff, read every week.
How to check a freight forwarder's FMC license
In the United States, an ocean freight forwarder or an NVOCC (a non-vessel-operating common carrier, which issues its own bills of lading) needs a license from the Federal Maritime Commission.
Every license holder keeps a bond or other financial security on file with the FMC: $50,000 for an ocean freight forwarder and $75,000 for an NVOCC. A foreign NVOCC that registers with the FMC instead of getting a license files $150,000.
Search the company name or license number above, and check that the name on your invoice matches the license or one of its trade names.
What USDOT and MC numbers mean
A company that runs commercial trucks across state lines has a USDOT number from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). For-hire carriers and freight brokers also need FMCSA operating authority, which carries a docket number such as MC-123456.
A freight broker must keep a $75,000 surety bond or trust fund on file. A for-hire carrier hauling general freight in trucks of 10,001 pounds or more must carry at least $750,000 of liability insurance.
The FMCSA result above shows whether the company is authorized to operate, what authority it holds and what insurance is on file today.
How customs brokers are licensed
Customs brokers are licensed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). To file entries anywhere in the country, a broker also needs a national permit.
CBP gives each filer a three-character filer code. The first three characters of every entry number are the code of whoever filed it, so your entry paperwork tells you which broker filed for you.
Search the broker name or filer code above.
The signs of an impostor
A common scam is to pose as a real, licensed company: the right name, but a different phone number, email address or bank account.
Compare the phone and address on the record with the ones you were given, and call the number on the record. Be careful with a last-minute change of bank details, a payment request in another company name, or an email domain that does not match the company website.
FMCSA operating authority cannot be sold or lent, so a company using someone else's number is a warning sign on its own.
Your company
Get the Gateway badge for your company
Shippers check companies here before they hand over freight. With the badge, your name shows the Vetted & Verified by Gateway Check shield and the date we checked your paperwork.
- Business formation & identity
- License / registration / authority
- Bond / financial responsibility
- Insurance documentation
- Business history review
- References on file
- Other industry criteria
$999 to $1,999.99 a year, depending on your company's size, invoiced, paid by wire or ACH. We re-check your records every week, and the badge comes off if your authority or insurance lapses.
Your company also gets its own page on check.gatewaylines.com and a Business Verification Certificate to send to customers.
How we vet a company
The email, website domain and phone you contact us from must match your license record; if they do not, we stop there. Then we check your authority (FMCSA MC or DOT, FMC or CBP), your insurance or bond (both if you hold several authorities), your state business registration against your articles of incorporation, and 3 business references in the industry. We also check public databases and sites, such as FMC's OTI search, FMCSA SAFER, the BBB, Google reviews and other review and complaint sites.
Disclosure
The fee is $999 to $1,999.99 a year, depending on your company's size, and we do not charge it until your company passes our verification. If your company does not pass, you are not billed.
Gateway is not a pay-to-be-vetted service, and paying does not buy the badge. We check your files, we take pride in the integrity of this check, and we will not vet or vouch for any company that is not a legitimate, properly run business.
Please have all your paperwork ready. Gateway Check also goes beyond paperwork: we check federal records, and the state and local records open to the public.
Questions
Is the license check free?
Yes. Your email gives you 5 checks a week, and a free account (just an email and a password) gives you 25 and a list of everything you checked.
Where do the records come from?
Freight forwarders and NVOCCs come from the Federal Maritime Commission's freight forwarder and NVOCC lists (an NVOCC based outside the U.S. may be registered rather than licensed), ocean carriers from the FMC's carrier list, truckers and freight brokers from FMCSA (checked live), customs brokers from CBP's broker permit list, and SCAC codes from a SCAC list dated 2014. Each result shows its list's date.
What is a SCAC code, and why is the list from 2014?
A SCAC (Standard Carrier Alpha Code) is the 2 to 4 letter code that names a carrier on bills of lading and customs filings. NMFTA issues them. Our SCAC list dates from 2014, so a code issued since then won't show here, and that alone doesn't mean a code is fake. For a current answer, check the company's FMC or FMCSA record. We are continuing to update our records as new submissions come in: if a SCAC code is missing or out of date, use Suggest an update on the result, and our team checks it before it shows.
Does Gateway vouch for the companies it shows?
Only for companies showing the Gateway badge, and only for what the badge lists. Those companies pay for a yearly review of their paperwork, such as their business registration, license or operating authority, bond and insurance, and each has a page showing what was reviewed and its certificate. Everything else on this page comes straight from FMC, FMCSA and CBP records.
What if a company I use is not found?
Records are kept under the legal name, which can differ from the name on a website or invoice. Ask the company for its FMC license number, USDOT or MC number, or CBP filer code, and check that number here. If it still doesn't appear, ask them why.
How do I spot someone pretending to be a real company?
Compare the phone number and address on the record with the ones they gave you, call the number on the record rather than the one in the email, and be careful with any request to pay a new bank account or a different company name.
How do reviews work?
Anyone who ran a check can review a company they used: 1 to 5 stars for performance, communication and cost, and whether they would use them again. Reviewers give us their name, address, phone and email, which we never show. A review shows only after our team checks it, and we never remove a review because of its rating.
What is the Gateway badge?
Companies can ask Gateway to review them for $999 to $1,999.99 a year, depending on their size. We bill only once a company passes, and a company that does not pass is not billed. We check the paperwork it sends, and also federal records and the state and local records open to the public. Once a company passes, the Vetted & Verified by Gateway Check shield shows by its name with the date, and it gets its own page and a Business Verification Certificate listing exactly what we reviewed. It is not a guarantee of service.
My company's information is wrong or out of date. How do I fix it?
Use Send updated documents on your company's result. Our team checks what you send, and once approved it shows as on file with Gateway. The FMC, FMCSA and CBP records themselves can only be changed with those agencies.