Legal costs and office expenses for starting a freight brokerage. Can you afford to start a freight brokerage? Many Freight Agents aspire to become freight brokers but never take the entrepreneurial leap of faith. I'm here to tell you that it's not a far jump at all.

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The Initial Legal Costs and Office Expenses
Every brokerage is going to have its own unique set up. Here are some of the expenses
that a typical modern day freight broker should expect to incur right off the bat. These expenses
are great example of why you need to hit the ground running when you start your brokerage, start
ahead of the curve with our Freight Broker Training Course.
a) Obtaining Your General Business License: Depending on your state guidelines,
$150 – $300.
b) Federal Tax ID Number: $0
c) FMCSA Form OP-1 Application: $300 non-refundable filing fee
d) BMC-84 Surety Bond: $1,100 – $2,250 annually. Brokers with a rate over $2,000
are usually permitted to pay monthly, quarterly, or bi-annually. Your other option is the
$75,000 BMC-85 trust fund.
e) Contingent Cargo Insurance: For a standard policy that covers $100,000 worth of
loss or damage, expect a rate of $1,200 – $1,500 per year. These numbers are calculated
with a $1,000 deductible in mind, please note that rates may change based on your
deductible and other factors.
f) Form BOC-3: Free if you can fill it out alone but you might find that it’s worth the
$20-$50 to work with someone. You can find a contact for you in your state on
the FMCSA Website.
g) United Carrier Registration (UCR): The UCR collects $76 annually. You must
file by the first of the year.
h) Standard Alpha Carrier Code (SCAC): $70 application fee, to stay valid your
code must be renewed each year.
Total Legal Costs: $3,000 to $4,500

2. Freight Broker Office Setup
That of course is the total cost of getting your brokerage up and running initially and your
legal expenses for the entire first year. The required legal costs and fees of a new brokerage will
add up to about $2,450 to $3,900 annually. The total cost did not factor in the office expenses of
a Freight Broker. Here is a list of the office essentials with some general pricing information.
2 line phone system: $50 to $200 (one time cost)
Fax Machine: $60 to $300 (one time cost)
Computer: (if you made it this far I think it’s safe to assume that you’re set)
High speed internet connection, 2 phone lines, and a fax/data line: ~$200/month depending
on your local service provider.
Transportation Management Software (TMS): $150/month and up. You can pretty much
spend anything ($10,000) on software for your Freight Brokerage. Start with the basic plans and
move up as needed. Brokers use their software as a database, to make rate confirmations, and for
invoicing.
Load Board Subscriptions: Similar to the TMS, you can spend almost anything here. However,
to get started with two of the biggest load boards in the industry it will only cost about
$140/month to move all of your freight.
General Office Supplies: Paper, pens, pencils, staples, Pandora/Spotify, etc. ~$50/month.
Initial Office Expenses: $650 to $1,000
Monthly Office Expenses: ~$500
If you are interested at all in perusing a career as a Freight Broker of Freight Broker Agent visit
LogisticsAcademy.org.