A long-running fight over what freight brokers must share with the carriers that haul their loads has taken another step forward.
This is a news summary, not legal advice. The revised proposal hasn't been published yet, and its details may differ from the earlier version described here.
What happened
On Aug. 27, 2026, FMCSA sent a supplemental proposed rule on Transparency in Property Broker Transactions to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review. It builds on the proposal FMCSA published on Nov. 20, 2024, which drew heavy public comment and was never finalized. Sending a supplemental proposal, rather than a final rule, suggests the agency is reconsidering parts of the original plan.
Background
Federal rules at 49 CFR 371.3 already require brokers to keep a record of each transaction and give the parties to it the right to review that record. In practice, many carriers say those rights are hard to use, and broker contracts often ask carriers to waive them.
In 2020, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) petitioned FMCSA to require brokers to send an electronic copy of each transaction record automatically, within 48 hours of the job being completed, and to prohibit waiver clauses. The Small Business in Transportation Coalition also asked FMCSA to bar brokers from requiring parties to waive their review rights.
FMCSA's 2024 proposal would have required brokers to:
- keep transaction records in electronic format, and
- provide a copy to a motor carrier or shipper within 48 hours of a request.
Those records include the charges and payments tied to a shipment, a description of the freight, amounts and dates, and any claims.
What happens next
Executive Order 12866 allows OIRA up to 90 days to review a proposal, though reviews can finish sooner or run longer. After review, the supplemental proposal would be published in the Federal Register with a new public comment period, or it could go back to FMCSA for more changes. Nothing is required of brokers or carriers yet.
What it could mean
- For carriers: easier access to what a shipper paid and what the broker kept, which matters most when your pay is a percentage of the load or when you're disputing a payment or claim.
- For brokers: stricter electronic record-keeping and a firm deadline for producing records. Broker groups, including the Transportation Intermediaries Association, have opposed the proposal as an intrusion into pricing, and other industry groups have raised competitiveness concerns.
What to do now
- Carriers: read your broker agreements for clauses that waive your right to review records, and keep your own complete file of rate confirmations, bills of lading, invoices and payment records for every load.
- Brokers: check whether your systems could produce a complete electronic transaction record for any load within 48 hours.
- Everyone: plan to comment. When the supplemental proposal is published, it will have a comment period, and specific, practical comments from carriers and brokers carry weight.
