This is the fast-track version. If you only have ten minutes before you have to make a decision, run a prospective broker through these six checks. You'll catch most of the fraud and most of the incompetence.

Step 1: Find the MC number on their website (1 minute).

Go to the company's website. Scroll to the footer. Look for an MC number; should look like "MC-123456". If you can't find it, that's a red flag; legitimate brokers display this prominently. Some put it on an "About" or "Contact" page instead of the footer; check there before giving up.

Step 2: Run the MC number through FMCSA Safer (2 minutes).

Go to safer.fmcsa.dot.gov. Enter the MC number. Confirm: authority is active, the company name matches the website, and the company has been operating for at least two years. If any of those fails, stop here.

Step 3: Check the broker bond (1 minute).

In the same Safer record, look for the BOC-3 process agent and surety bond information. The bond should be at least $75,000 and current. Brokers without a current bond are operating illegally.

Step 4: Search for reviews on independent sites (3 minutes).

Search for the company name plus "reviews" on Google. Look at reviews on sites the company doesn't control: Consumer Affairs, Trustpilot, Google reviews, Reddit threads. Look for patterns, not individual complaints. One bad review is meaningless; ten complaints about price increases at delivery is a pattern.

Step 5: Read the most recent reviews specifically (2 minutes).

Sort reviews by most recent. Auto transport companies' service quality changes fast; a company that was excellent two years ago may be terrible now, and vice versa. Recent reviews are more predictive than the lifetime rating.

Step 6: Call them (1 minute).

Call the number on the website. If it's a chatbot, an automated system that won't connect you to a human, or no one answers during business hours, that tells you what their service operation looks like. You should be able to reach a person.

What this won't catch.

The ten-minute version filters out fraud and obvious incompetence. It will not tell you whether a company is the right fit for your specific situation, whether their pricing is fair for your route, or whether the carrier they assign will be a good one. For that, you need to compare quotes, ask follow-up questions, and read the contract.

But if a company fails the ten-minute version, none of the rest matters. Don't book with them.