The question changed in 2026. After the Supreme Court's ruling in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, brokers can face state-law negligent-hiring claims over carrier selection, and the record of what was checked, and when, is what a later review looks at. Here is what that record needs to contain and why "I looked it up at the time" is hard to show afterwards.
Courts and the commentary around the ruling describe the duty as a process: verify operating authority, confirm insurance on file, review the available federal safety information, and keep dated records showing that each check happened before the load moved. A record documents what was checked and when; it does not establish that the process met a legal duty, and nobody credible promises that it does. Citations and the full wording are on the Legal & Insurance page.
The federal files change every day. A carrier's authority can be reinstated, a policy replaced, an inspection added — so a lookup done today may not show what the broker saw on the day of the decision. A screenshot shows a moment with no independent date on it. What a review needs is contemporaneous: a record made at the time, from the data as it then stood, with a date that someone outside the business vouches for.
Tracking a carrier reads its federal file every day and keeps each day's reading. A Dated Verification Record is a PDF of what the files showed for the days you tracked the carrier, with the source on every line, both dates on every page, a reference number and a fingerprint anyone can check at carrierarchive.com/verify. The archived files behind it are timestamped by outside parties on the day they were archived. It covers only days the carrier was under watch — a check that never ran cannot be written up afterwards, which is why the watch goes on before the load moves. Records and the history behind them are kept for seven years on every plan, free included.
A record documents a process; it is not a shield, and it says nothing about whether the federal data was accurate. We do not select or recommend carriers. Nothing here is legal advice; your own counsel and your insurance terms set what you must keep.
Pull a carrier's file now, then track it: the record of what you checked starts the day the watch begins. Free. No signup. Type an MC or USDOT number, or a company name.
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Carrier Archive is an independent, privately operated service and is not affiliated with FMCSA or any government agency. Every fact on a carrier file is cited to its federal source and date; indicators describe documented record patterns and are not accusations about any carrier. The decision to use a carrier is yours; we do not select or recommend carriers. Nothing on this page is legal advice. Federal files checked daily.