Knowledge · 8 min read
Jakub Wujec
Last reviewed: 7 September 2026
Is freight exchange verification enough before you assign a load?
A freight exchange check is a necessary first filter, not verification of the company that takes your load today. The account may be years old, while licence, insurance and company status change. The person writing from the profile may not be the one the exchange checked at signup.
This page is for forwarders who find subcontractors on TIMOCOM or Trans.eu and need to know if a load-board profile closes the check. It is not a login guide for the exchange.
Key checks before you assign the load
- Exchanges do real work when they admit a company.
- An old profile does not prove licence and insurance are valid today.
- A checked-company seal is a visual review of uploaded documents.
- Ratings measure platform behaviour, not the right to haul this lane today.
- Fraudsters take over accounts, buy firms with old profiles, and swap look-alike email domains.
- Before you assign: company register, licence, VAT and contact on booking day.
What the exchange checks at signup and later
A freight exchange, also called a load board (TIMOCOM, Trans.eu), admits companies after an onboarding check. That cuts anonymous profiles. It does not replace your counterparty check on the day you assign the load.
| Check | TIMOCOM | Trans.eu | What this does not prove |
|---|---|---|---|
| The company exists and who opens the account | New-customer review, documents before contract, usually 6 months of existence | Authorisation, data versus databases, 1 PLN transfer, prior accounts | Who is writing from the account today |
| Licence and insurance documents | Business Partner Check: EU licence, register extract, policy (visual inspection) | Data match at signup, re-check after a report | Licence and policy status in the official register on pickup day |
| Seal, ratings, payment indicator | Checked Company seal | Ratings and TransRisk (payment behaviour) | Whether VAT, licence and vehicle insurance match today |
| Monitoring after admission | Customer controlling and security alerts | Activity monitoring and re-check after a report | Owner change, insolvency, email-domain age |
TIMOCOM
According to TIMOCOM help, accessed 7 September 2026, marketplace access usually requires the company to have existed for six months. TIMOCOM reviews business documents and every new customer before the contract. After that, ongoing customer controlling runs. Security software flags unusual activity for a staff audit.
Business Partner Check, according to TIMOCOM, accessed 7 September 2026, is optional: EU licence, commercial-register extract, forwarding or carrier insurance. A Checked Company seal appears after a pass. TIMOCOM states that official documents get a visual inspection and that no assessment is made of other company features.
Trans.eu
According to Trans.eu security pages, accessed 7 September 2026, every joining company is checked: company age, references, links to other entities, and whether data matches databases. A further check starts after a suspected rule breach or a report to the security team.
Authorisation, according to Trans.eu, accessed 7 September 2026, depends on company age. Under one year: references with VAT number and the issuer's phone, then a 1 PLN return transfer from the company account. Over one year: the return transfer first. Trans.eu also checks whether the applicant previously held accounts terminated for rule breaches.
When the exchange profile is not enough
Three gaps show up after cargo losses. None of them means the exchange is negligent. Admission at signup and the check before pickup are two jobs.
Time: an account created years ago
Admission covers the day the account was opened or last reviewed. Community licence, liability cover and company status can change the next month. An old profile with strong ratings does not replace a register extract from booking day.
Identity: who is writing today
The exchange checked a person or company at signup. Someone else may now write from the same profile: a new user, a taken-over password, a different email in the thread. The messenger number is not always the number on the company register.
Scope: what the exchange cannot see
The exchange does not replace the licence line for today in the home-country register, VIES, insolvency, owner change, or vehicle MTPL for the booked plate. It does not see email-domain age. Ratings describe platform work, not the right to haul this lane today.
How fraudsters still get through the exchange
German transport insurers (GDV) counted 171 phantom-carrier cases in 2025, almost double 2024, with about 30 million euros of loss. GDV describes three routes that bypass the exchange filter alone. The longer signal list is on How to detect a fake carrier.
Taken-over exchange account
According to GDV, offenders hijack load-board accounts. The profile looks familiar: age, ratings, old name. The person in chat is not who the exchange saw at signup. Call the number from the company register, not the number in the thread.
Bought or revived company with an old profile
GDV describes stolen identities of real hauliers and shell companies. The exchange still shows history from before the owner change. The company register shows a fresh board or shareholder change just before the first load.
Look-alike email domain
GDV gives the example of swapping a domain ending from “.de” to “.com”. The email looks like the firm on the profile. Compare the domain with the register and the official website before pickup details go out.
What to check in 10 minutes before you assign the load
You already have the name, VAT number and email from the exchange. That is enough to line the profile up with official sources. A company existing in a register is not carrier verification.
| VAT country | Where | What it confirms |
|---|---|---|
| Poland | KRS or CEIDG, KREPTD, VIES, UFG when you have plates | Company, licence for the lane, VAT, vehicle MTPL on pickup day |
| Romania | ANAF, ARR, VIES | VAT, licence, name match to the invoice |
| Other EU country | Country guide on the verify-carrier hub | The same five buckets: company, licence, VAT, insurance, contact |
Step 1: copy the VAT number from the profile, not the email signature
Use the number on the exchange company card. If the email shows a different VAT ID or name, hold the load until the mismatch is explained.
Step 2: match the writer to the company register
Name, phone and email domain should fit the representation and contact on the home-country register. Freemail on a community-licence fleet needs an explanation.
Step 3: licence, VAT and insurance today
Registers appear here, last, as tools. Poland: KRS or CEIDG, KREPTD, VIES, UFG when you have plates. Romania: ANAF, ARR, VIES. Other country: open the guide for the carrier VAT country, not your office country.
Step 4: file the result with the load
Keep the date, sources and decision. If the exchange profile and the registers disagree, do not send pickup details until an independent channel (register phone, not chat) confirms the job.
What to tell the insurer and the customer
“We only work with verified partners from the exchange” shows that the counterparty has a marketplace account and passed the exchange admission. It does not show that you checked licence, VAT and the person in chat on booking day.
After a claim, insurers ask for dated evidence of the check, not a screenshot of a rating. Keep the VAT number, the register extracts and the decision from before pickup. That file is what a customer and an insurer can read. The exchange profile alone is a first filter, not that file.
When to assign and when to walk away
| Situation | Minimum check | When to walk away |
|---|---|---|
| Regular carrier, data unchanged | Quick re-check of licence and VAT on booking day | Do not skip if email or VAT ID changed |
| New profile, good ratings, market rate | Register, licence, VAT, independent contact channel | No licence, or a different VAT ID than the profile |
| Old profile, fresh owner change or new email | Company register plus a call on the register number | Nobody at the firm knows the job or the person in chat |
| Profile and registers disagree | Hold pickup details, confirm on an independent channel | The explanation does not tie name, VAT ID and contact together |
Red flags and common mistakes
VAT ID in the email differs from the exchange card
Hold the load. Confirm which legal entity is taking the cargo before pickup details go out.
Old profile, new domain or freemail
May indicate a taken-over thread. Match the domain to the register and call the register number.
Seal or rating instead of today’s licence line
That is the exchange filter. Read the licence in the home-country transport register, not on the profile badge.
Instead of opening registers beside the exchange card
Certica collects register data, flags risk signals and supports the decision before you assign the load. The PDF stays in the file as an audit trail, not as the product itself.
- The VAT number from the exchange is enough to pull supported registers in one run.
- Mismatches between company, licence, VAT, insurance and contact show up in one result.
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
- TIMOCOM Business Partner Checkhttps://www.timocom.co.uk/services/business-partner-check
- TIMOCOM help: new-customer checkhttps://www.timocom.de/hilfe-center/allgemein
- Trans.eu securityhttps://www.trans.eu/en/security-2026/
- Trans.eu authorisationhttps://www.trans.eu/pl/blog/tfc/autoryzacja-na-trans-eu-po-co-jest-jak-przebiega-i-dlaczego-warto/
- GDV: phantom carriers 2025https://www.gdv.de/gdv/themen/schaden-unfall/betrugsmasche-phantomfrachtfuehrer-zahl-der-faelle-hat-sich-2025-nahezu-verdoppelt-201822
- VIEShttps://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/
FAQ
Is a paid exchange certificate proof of carrier verification?
No. A Checked Company seal is, according to TIMOCOM, a visual inspection of uploaded documents. It does not replace licence and VAT status in the official register on booking day.
Do freight exchanges share fraud reports?
TIMOCOM describes alerts and audits on suspicious activity. Trans.eu describes a security team and re-checks after a report. Those are internal platform processes. Your own check before the load still stands.
How often should I re-check a regular carrier from the exchange?
On every new booking: licence and VAT. Run the full sequence after a change of email, phone, VAT ID or board, or after a long gap in work.
What if the exchange profile and the company registers disagree?
Hold pickup details. Call the number on the company register. If nobody confirms the job, do not release the cargo. Signals: [How to detect a fake carrier](/freight-fraud/fake-carrier).
Is a verified partner on the load board enough for a subcontractor?
As a first filter, yes. Before you assign the load you still need today’s register, licence, VAT and contact check.