How to vet a carrier in Canada: a broker's checklist
Updated 2026-10-25
Canada has no single national carrier database. Each province runs the National Safety Code (NSC) for the carriers based there, so vetting means checking the right province, then the insurance, then the identity of the people you are dealing with.
1. Get the carrier's identifiers
Ask for the legal name, the NSC number and the issuing province before you tender a load. A cross-border carrier should also give its USDOT number and, for for-hire interstate work, its MC docket.
- Legal name and operating name
- NSC number and the province that issued it
- Ontario carriers: the CVOR number
- Quebec carriers: the NIR (e.g. R-123456-7) and the NEQ
- USDOT and MC numbers for US moves
2. Check the safety certificate and rating
Confirm the Safety Fitness Certificate is active and read the safety rating the province has issued. Ontario's CVOR abstract also shows the overall violation rate, convictions, collisions and inspections; a rate of 35% or more is where the Ministry's first interventions start. In Quebec, check the Commission des transports' public lists of Unsatisfactory and Conditional carriers.
3. Check the insurance yourself
Get the certificate of insurance and confirm it with the insurer or broker named on it, not with a phone number on the certificate. Check that the named insured matches the legal name, the policy dates cover the move, and the cargo limit covers the load's value.
4. Confirm you are talking to the real carrier
Find the carrier's phone number and email from an independent source (the provincial record, FMCSA, or the carrier's own long-standing website) and call it back. Free email domains, a phone number that doesn't match the record, or a dispatcher who won't take a call back are the most common signs of identity theft.
5. Watch for changes after you approve
A carrier that was fine last month can lose its authority, its insurance or its rating. Re-check before each load, or use a monitoring tool that alerts you the same day something changes.
General information, not legal advice. Confirm current requirements with the province concerned.