Knowledge · 6 min read
Jakub Wujec
Last reviewed: 8 July 2026
Manual vs automated carrier verification
Manual carrier verification means opening each government register yourself: KRS, KREPTD, VIES, UFG, and others per country. Automated carrier verification runs the same sources in parallel with the same process every time. Manual work fits edge cases and judgment calls. Automation fits volume, nights, and teams that need the same checks every time.
Key checks before you assign the load
- Manual: full control, slow, depends on who is on shift.
- Automated: parallel fetch, consistent process, faster answer.
- Both need human approval when a risk signal fires.
- Registers are the source of truth in either model.
- PDF from email is not a substitute for either approach.
- Document what was checked before pickup in both cases.
What manual carrier verification looks like
An experienced verifier opens the national business register, transport licence portal, VIES, insurance database when plates are known, and domain age via RDAP or registry creation date when published, or historical signals such as passive DNS, MX history, Certificate Transparency, and first website versions when it is not. That is 20 to 40 minutes per carrier if portals cooperate.
- Pros: flexible judgment, no vendor, works for any country if you know the portals.
- Cons: slow, easy to skip a step under pressure, hard to audit consistently.
- Best for: one-off lanes outside supported automation, deep dispute review.
What automated carrier verification covers
Certica automatically collects and analyses carrier verification data, detects risk signals, and supports your decision before a load is assigned.
Automation does not replace your approve or reject decision. It replaces tab hopping and makes verification outcomes repeatable.
- Enter VAT ID, country, email, and vehicle plates if you have them.
- Certica pulls the supported registers for that country in parallel.
- Certica evaluates company, licence, VAT, insurance, and contact data in one pass.
- You see risk signals and a clear verification outcome before pickup.
- Download the PDF when you need a file for approval or insurers.
Same checks, different delivery
| 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. |
Manual vs automated at a glance
| Topic | Why it matters | Manual vs automated |
|---|---|---|
| Speed on a new carrier | Urgent lanes wait on verification. | Manual backlog delays booking; automation: 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. |
| Consistency across shifts | Night desk should match day desk. | Manual skips UFG on Fridays; automation runs the same verification process. |
| Audit trail | Insurers ask what you verified and when. | Manual notes vary; automated run stores extracts and verification outcomes. |
| Judgment on edge cases | Recent ownership change may still be legit. | Automation flags warning; human approver clears or stops the load. |
| Country coverage | Registers differ by market. | Manual works anywhere you know portals; Certica covers listed production countries. |
What to document before assigning the load
Whether checks were manual or automated, the load file should show sources and date.
- 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.
Red flags and common mistakes
Automation without any human review
Certica surfaces risk signals. Approvers still read warnings before pickup details go out.
Manual checks with no written record
Verbal all clear does not help after a cargo loss. File register printouts or the Certica PDF.
Spreadsheet of links called automation
Links still need a person to open each portal. That is manual work with extra steps.
Skipping insurance because automation needs plates
Collect plates at intake or request policy PDF when plate checks are required.
How Certica bridges manual and automated verification
Teams often keep manual review for exceptions and run Certica on every new carrier for the register pass.
You get the speed of parallel fetch with structured risk signals, plus PDF extracts when you need a paper trail.
- Automated register set: Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, France, Slovenia, and Serbia.
- Web app for ad hoc checks, API for TMS-triggered vetting.
- Same sources you would open manually, fetched together.
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
Should we stop manual checks entirely?
Keep manual judgment for warnings and unusual lanes. Automate the repetitive register, licence, VAT, insurance, and domain pass.
Is automated verification less accurate?
It reads the same official registers. Accuracy depends on input data: correct VAT ID, country, email, and plates when insurance sources need them.
How does this compare to a carrier packet?
Packets go stale. Automated verification hits live registers on booking day. Still collect contracts your process requires.
Which countries can Certica automate today?
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.