Checklist · 8 min read
Jakub Wujec
Last reviewed: 1 August 2026
New carrier verification checklist before you assign a load
Tick five steps before you book: company active in the register, transport licence OK for your lane, VAT that matches, insurance that covers today, and contact details that fit the paperwork. One odd result is not proof of fraud. It is a reason to pause before you send pickup info.
Key checks before you assign the load
- Pull a current extract from the national business register.
- Read transport licence status in the official register, not on a scan from email.
- Check VAT in VIES and local lists where your country has 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, website, and phone with the register address.
- If something important is missing or dates clash, stop until it is cleared.
Checklist order before the first load
Use this order every time, even when the rate is good and the lane is familiar. Friday evening urgency is when people skip contact comparison, not only the register.
1. Company register
Legal form, status, address, recent ownership or board change. Insolvency bulletin where your country publishes one.
Tutorial: Company register carrier check. Full process: How to verify a carrier.
2. Transport licence
National or community licence for the route and vehicle type. Read the live register on booking day.
Tutorial: Transport licence verification.
3. VAT
Active status and name match on the invoice.
Tutorial: VAT and VIES carrier check.
4. Vehicle MTPL
Confirm active cover for the booked plate on pickup day. With Polish plates: UFG. Bureau output may include the insurer, policy number and vehicle description, depending on the country.
Tutorial: UFG vehicle insurance Poland.
5. Cargo/CMR liability
Verify policy holder, dates, limits and territorial scope from the policy document.
Tutorial: Carrier liability insurance check.
6. Email and domain
Contact channel fits company age and register address.
Patterns: How to detect a fake carrier.
Carrier from another country
Keep the same five ticks. Change only the portals. For Romania, use How to verify a Romanian carrier.
What not to tick from a PDF alone
- Licence scan without a live register lookup on booking day.
- Sales “OK” without VIES and company register.
- Insurance PDF without a plate bureau check when plates are known.
- Last month’s approval after an ownership change.
- Polished packet with no date stamp.
- A TIMOCOM or Trans.eu profile on its own. [Is freight exchange verification enough](/knowledge/is-freight-exchange-verification-enough).
What to document before assigning the load
Save register extracts, licence status, VAT printout, insurance confirmation, and who approved the carrier. For the longer documentation list, see Carrier verification before assigning a load.
Red flags and common mistakes
Dead company, live VAT
Often an old VAT ID recycled. Match register and VIES before you share load details.
Licence suspended for international
Do not trust a PDF from email. Read the local transport register yourself.
Cargo policy on another company
Cargo or CMR policy holder must be your carrier. Get a current policy if names differ. Plate bureau MTPL is a separate check.
Brand-new email domain
Not fraud by itself. Worrying when everything else is off too.
Run the checklist in one request
A full manual pass per new VAT ID eats the shift. Certica runs the same register, VAT, licence, insurance, and domain checks in one request. Risk signals show what needs a human before pickup. The PDF is for the carrier file when your process needs one.
- Same checklist order across supported countries.
- Clear verification outcome in one report.
- Typical response time: most checks complete in 10-40 seconds, depending on the country and registry availability. Some registries may take longer when official services are slow or unavailable.
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.
Official sources
- EU VIES VAT validation (European Commission)https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/
- Polish National Court Register (KRS)https://wyszukiwarka-krs.ms.gov.pl
- Polish CEIDG sole trader registerhttps://aplikacja.ceidg.gov.pl/CEIDG/CEIDG.Public.UI/Search.aspx
- Polish KREPTD transport register (GITD)https://kreptd.gitd.gov.pl
- Polish court filings register (RAR)https://rar.ms.gov.pl/rar/wyszukiwanie
- Polish National Debtor Register (KRZ)https://krz.ms.gov.pl/
- Romanian ANAF VAT payer registerhttps://www.anaf.ro/RegistruTVA/
- Romanian ONRC insolvency bulletin (BPI)https://myportal.onrc.ro/
- Romanian road transport licences (ARR)https://licente.arr.ro/publica
- Romanian RCA insurance database (AIDA)https://www.aida.info.ro/politerca/cautare
- Czech ARES business registerhttps://ares.gov.cz/ekonomicke-subjekty
- Bulgarian Road Transport Agency (RTA)https://www.rta.government.bg/bg/672
- Latvian open government data portalhttps://data.gov.lv
FAQ
How long should this freight carrier checklist take by hand?
Opening each portal yourself is often 20 to 40 minutes per carrier.
One red flag means scam?
No. It means look again. Combine register, licence, VAT, insurance, and contact before you approve or reject.
Do I still ask the carrier for papers?
Yes. Registers show official status today. Your process may still need their insurance PDF and signed terms.
Where is the full process, not only the checklist?
See How to verify a carrier. This page is the short tick order with links to detailed tutorials.