Process guide · 7 min read

Jakub Wujec

Last reviewed: 1 August 2026

Carrier verification before you assign a load

Carrier verification before assigning a load means checking the company register, transport licence, VAT, insurance, and contact details against official sources on the day you book. One mismatch is a risk signal, not a fraud verdict. Stop, clear it, then share pickup info.

Key checks before you assign the load

Confirm the company is active in the national business register.
Read transport licence status in KREPTD, ARR, or the local register.
Check VAT in VIES and local lists where your lane requires them.
Confirm vehicle MTPL for the booked plate on pickup day when plates are known.
Verify cargo or CMR liability from the policy document: policy holder, dates, limits and territorial scope.
Compare email, domain, and phone with register data.
Document what you checked before the truck rolls.

Carrier verification process step by step

Run the same carrier verification process for every new name, even when the rate is sharp and the lane is familiar.

Step 1: Pull a current register extract (KRS or CEIDG in PL, ANAF in RO, ARES in CZ, and so on).
Step 2: Check transport licence in the national register for the route and vehicle type.
Step 3: Validate VAT in VIES plus local whitelist where the carrier country publishes one.
Step 4: Confirm vehicle MTPL for the booked plate on pickup day when plates are available (UFG, AIDA, ČKP, and equivalents).
Step 5: Review cargo or CMR liability from the policy document for policy holder, dates, limits and territorial scope.
Step 6: Review email domain age and whether contact details match the register.
Step 7: Record who approved the carrier and attach extracts to the load file.

Core checks before you assign a load
Check	Why it matters	Possible risk signal
Company register	Confirms the legal entity exists and can contract for haulage today.	Dissolved, in liquidation, or recent owner or board change without explanation.
Transport licence	Proves the operator may haul goods on the lane and vehicle type you booked.	Missing licence, suspended status, or scope that does not cover your route.
VAT (VIES and local lists)	Shows the tax ID is active and matches the name on the invoice.	Inactive VIES status, name mismatch, or VAT on a dead company.
Vehicle MTPL	Confirm active cover for the booked plate on pickup day. Bureau output may include the insurer, policy number and vehicle description, depending on the country.	Inactive plate cover, missing record, or passenger-car class on a freight booking.
Cargo/CMR liability	Verify policy holder, dates, limits and territorial scope from the policy document.	Policy holder differs from the contracting carrier, expired dates, or limits too low for the load.
Email and domain	Contact details should fit the register address and company age.	Brand-new domain, freemail on a large fleet, or email that does not match KRS or CEIDG.

What to document before assigning the load

Your carrier verification process is easier to defend when the file matches what you checked on booking day.

Register extract or screenshot with date stamp.
Transport licence status from the official register, not only a PDF from email.
VIES or local VAT printout tied to the invoice name.
Vehicle MTPL bureau confirmation for the booked plate on pickup day when plates are known.
Cargo or CMR policy document with policy holder, dates, limits and territorial scope.
Who approved the carrier, when, and on which lane.
Any follow-up call notes if a risk signal was cleared manually.

Registers Certica pulls by country

Today we cover Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, France, Slovenia, and Serbia. Each country has different registers. See Documentation for the current list per country.

VIES and Domain run on every supported country. Sources marked (plate) run when you provide vehicle registration numbers.
Country	Sources in production
Poland	KRS, CEIDG, REGON, RAR, KRZ, KREPTD, UFG (plate), VIES, VAT whitelist, Domain
Romania	ANAF, ANAF financial statements, BPI insolvency bulletin, ARR operator, ARR vehicle (plate), AIDA RCA (plate), VIES, Domain
Slovakia	ORSR, ZRSR, JISCD, SKP (plate), VIES, Domain
Lithuania	JAR, financial and SODRA enrichment by Certica, LTSA, CAB (plate), VIES, Domain
Czechia	ARES, RPSD, RŽP, ČKP (plate), VIES, Domain
Estonia	JAR, EMTA, MTR, LKF (plate), VIES, Domain
Latvia	UR, VID, ATD, LTAB (plate), VIES, Domain
Bulgaria	TheCompanyBook, RTA, Guarantee Fund (plate), VIES, Domain
France	SIRENE, Infotrans, BODACC, SIV (plate), VIES, Domain
Slovenia	PRS (AJPES), NER, eRTR, FURS VAT, SZZ (plate), VIES, Domain
Serbia	Poreska PIB, PURS PDV, APR, MGSI eITP, Domain

Red flags and common mistakes

Skipping the register because VAT looks fine

A live VAT ID on a dissolved company still happens. Match register status and VIES on the same day.

Trusting a licence scan from email

Read KREPTD, ARR, JISCD, or the local portal yourself. Suspended licences still arrive as PDF attachments.

Booking on a personal Gmail

Freemail is not fraud by itself. Worrying when the register shows a different address and the domain is a week old.

No file because it was a rush load

Friday evening urgency is when steps get skipped. Document anyway, even a short note beats nothing after a claim.

When you do not want to repeat this for every load

Certica automatically collects and analyses carrier verification data, detects risk signals, and supports your decision before a load is assigned.

Enter VAT ID, country, email, and plates when you have them. Certica fetches the supported registers for that country in parallel and evaluates company, licence, VAT, insurance, and contact data.

You get a structured verification outcome in one report. The PDF is your audit trail when compliance or insurers ask what you verified.

Supported countries today: Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, France, Slovenia, and Serbia.
Same checks whether you use the web app or API.
Registry extracts attached when your process needs a paper trail.

Certica

Don't want to do this on every booking?

Certica pulls data from the same registers, checks it, and shows a clear result: what is OK, and what needs clarifying before loading.

Check 20 carriers for free

Signals worth reviewing together

Across supported registers, checks that most often need human review before load assignment are email and domain mismatches, domains registered recently compared with company age, management or ownership changes in the company register, and transport licence scope that does not fit the booked lane.

These are risk signals, not proof of fraud. Clear them before you assign the load.

Official sources

FAQ

When should carrier verification happen?

Before you send pickup address, reference numbers, or cargo value. After that, impersonation and double brokering get harder to stop.

Is one warning enough to reject a carrier?

Not always. A recent ownership change can be legit. Read the full picture: register, licence, VAT, insurance, and contact together.

Which countries does Certica cover?

Do I still need carrier documents from email?

Yes for contracts and sometimes insurance PDFs. Registers tell you official status today. Your file should hold both.