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Last reviewed: Next review due: Reflects current Iowa freight broker bond requirements
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Crossroads of the Midwest

Iowa Freight Broker Bond$75,000 BMC-84 for Brokers Working the I-35/I-80 Junction

Every Iowa freight broker needs a $75,000 surety bond filed on FMCSA Form BMC-84, as required by 49 U.S.C. § 13906(b) and 49 CFR § 387.307. Iowa Code chapter 325A regulates intrastate motor carrier permits, not property brokers — so there's no second state bond to file. What makes Iowa different is the freight itself: the state that grows the most corn and raises the most hogs in the country also produces 28% of the nation's ethanol and hosts a wind-turbine oversize corridor running through the same I-235 spur that links I-35 and I-80 in Des Moines. See our broker authority guide for the full FMCSA process.

$75,000
Federal BMC-84
49 CFR § 387.307
None
Iowa State Bond
No ch. 325A broker layer
4.6B gal
2025 Ethanol Output
28% of U.S. production — IRFA
64%
Wind Share of Grid
Highest of any U.S. state
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BMC-84 quote — 2-minute form, 24-hr turnaround

Official Federal (FMCSA) Requirements

"A broker shall provide a surety bond, trust fund agreement, or other financial security in the amount of $75,000 in a form, manner, and amount as the Secretary may prescribe."
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration — 49 CFR § 387.307, implementing 49 U.S.C. § 13906(b) • 49 CFR § 387.307
What Iowa Brokers Actually Move

Three Freight Profiles Stacked on the Same Corn Belt

Iowa isn't a single-commodity freight state the way a pure grain-belt state can be. It leads the country in corn and hog production, converts a huge share of that corn into ethanol in-state, and — almost incidentally — has become a national hub for wind-turbine component hauling. A broker working Iowa touches all three, often for the same shipper base.

Ag & Livestock Processing

  • 2.8 billion bushels of corn off 13.55 million planted acres — the most of any state, per November 2025 USDA NASS data
  • More hogs than the next five pork-producing states combined, per the Iowa Pork Producers Association
  • Fall harvest surge drives elevator, hopper, and reefer demand every September–November

Ethanol Processing

  • 42 ethanol refineries, over 5 billion gallons of annual capacity, per the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association
  • 4.6 billion gallons produced in 2025 — 28% of total U.S. ethanol output, though down from ~30% in 2023-2024 as IRFA flags stagnating growth
  • Steady year-round tank and rail-transload freight independent of harvest timing

Wind-Turbine Oversize

  • Wind supplies 64% of Iowa's electricity — the highest share of any U.S. state
  • Over 12,200 MW installed capacity, 2nd nationally behind Texas; MidAmerican alone runs 3,400+ turbines across 34 counties
  • Iowa DOT's alternative energy permit is a dedicated track — not the standard OS/OW process

Producer Insight: Why This Mix Matters to an Underwriter

A surety reviewing an Iowa broker's book is looking at a different risk shape than one reviewing a single-commodity or single-mode state. Harvest-season ag freight is seasonal and cash-flow-lumpy; ethanol tank freight is steady and contract-driven; wind-oversize loads carry route-survey and escort requirements that add lead time and coordination risk most brokers never touch. None of it changes the $75,000 bond amount — the BMC-84 is flat regardless of freight type — but a broker who can speak to all three segments in underwriting conversations reads as more sophisticated than one who can only describe general dry-van freight.

Ready to get bonded and start booking Iowa ag, ethanol, or wind-oversize freight? We file your BMC-84 directly with the FMCSA.

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Des Moines and Cedar Rapids: A Century of Carrier Capacity to Recruit Against

Some states have no domestic trucking company of national scale headquartered within their borders. Iowa has three, all clustered within about two hours of the I-235 spur that links I-35 and I-80 through the Des Moines metro — the interchange that gives Iowa its crossroads-of-the-Midwest reputation.

Ruan Transportation

Family-owned dedicated and supply-chain carrier founded in 1932, headquartered on Grand Avenue in Des Moines.

TMC Transportation

Flatbed and intermodal logistics carrier founded in 1972, also headquartered in Des Moines.

CRST

Founded in Cedar Rapids in 1955 as Cedar Rapids Steel Transport; now runs 30,000+ transportation service providers nationwide from the same headquarters city.

What This Means in Practice

A broker building carrier relationships in Iowa isn't starting from zero — there's a deep bench of established regional and national capacity to work with, on top of the general owner-operator pool that runs the I-35/I-80 corridor daily.

Iowa's Oversize/Overweight Permit Tiers — What a Wind-Freight Broker Needs to Know

None of this changes the $75,000 bond — permits are an Iowa DOT filing, not a surety product — but a broker quoting wind-turbine freight needs to know which permit tier the load falls into before promising a shipper a timeline.

Iowa Freight Broker Bond Cost

The $75,000 BMC-84 is priced as a percentage of face value — you never pay $75,000, only the annual premium. Pricing is driven by credit, not geography; see our freight broker bond cost by state guide and surety bond cost overview for broader context.

No Iowa Add-On Cost

Because Iowa Code ch. 325A doesn't reach property brokers, there's no second premium to budget for. The only additional line item is the $46/year UCR fee — a flat federal filing cost, not a bond premium.

What Iowa Code Chapter 325A Actually Regulates — and the UCR Filing It Doesn't Replace

Iowa Code chapter 325A, Motor Carrier Authority, sets definitions, permit and certificate rules, insurance minimums, tariff filing, and sanctions for motor carriers — persons who physically operate a vehicle to transport household goods, bulk liquid commodities, or passengers for hire in intrastate commerce. Its insurance section, § 325A.6, requires carriers to carry minimum coverage tied to the federal limits in 49 CFR ch. 387 — but the chapter never defines "broker" and creates no licensing or bonding track for a property broker who arranges transportation without operating equipment. That distinction — carrier vs. broker — is why chapter 325A doesn't layer a second bond on top of your federal BMC-84.

What UCR Requires of Brokers

  • Annual registration, separate from the BMC-84 bond and FMCSA authority
  • Brokers pay the smallest fee bracket: $46 for the 2026 registration year, unchanged from 2025
  • Filed through the Iowa DOT's motor carrier services division for Iowa-domiciled brokers
  • Runs on a separate annual clock from your BMC-84 filing date

Why It Trips Up New Brokers

A new broker can have a perfectly filed BMC-84 and still get flagged if UCR lapses, because the two filings run on independent renewal clocks and neither system automatically reminds you about the other. UCR is federally mandated but state-administered, so Iowa brokers file through the Iowa DOT specifically as their base-state UCR contact — even though the bond itself goes straight to the FMCSA. Track both renewal dates separately.

Iowa Freight Broker Bond — Frequently Asked Questions

Questions specific to Iowa-based brokers, ag/ethanol freight, and wind-turbine oversize hauling

Does Iowa Code chapter 325A — the state’s Motor Carrier Authority law — create a broker bonding requirement of its own?

No. Chapter 325A governs the state's intrastate permit and certificate system for motor carriers of household goods, bulk liquid commodities, and passengers, and its insurance section (§ 325A.6) sets minimum coverage for those carriers by reference to 49 CFR ch. 387. Nowhere in chapter 325A does the Iowa Code define "broker" or create a licensing or bonding category for property brokers who arrange transportation but don't operate a vehicle themselves. If you're brokering freight into or out of Iowa, your $75,000 BMC-84 bond, filed with the FMCSA under 49 U.S.C. § 13906(b) and 49 CFR § 387.307, is the only surety bond you need — there's no second Iowa-specific filing layered on top of it.

Why does a wind-turbine blade shipment matter to a broker who never touches a turbine?

Wind generates roughly 64% of Iowa's electricity — the highest share of any state — off more than 12,200 MW of installed capacity and 6,000-plus turbines, ranking Iowa second nationally in total wind capacity behind only Texas, per Wind Power in Iowa data and MidAmerican Energy's own project count of 3,400-plus turbines across 34 counties. Every one of those turbines arrived by truck, and Iowa DOT runs a dedicated permit track for it: the alternative energy multi-trip permit, which covers wind-turbine components up to 225 feet long, 16 feet wide, 16 feet high, and 256,000 lbs gross for a flat $600 fee valid up to 12 months — versus a standard single-trip oversize/overweight permit at $35. A broker who books this freight is arranging superload-class logistics that a general-freight broker never encounters, and it's a genuine line item an underwriter will ask about when reviewing your book, even though it changes nothing about the $75,000 bond amount itself.

How does Iowa’s position as the top corn, pork, and ethanol state affect broker freight volume?

Iowa is the nation's top corn-producing state — 2.8 billion bushels off 13.55 million planted acres in the November 2025 USDA NASS report — and the top pork-producing state, with more hogs than the next five states combined per the Iowa Pork Producers Association. That agricultural base feeds 42 ethanol refineries with more than 5 billion gallons of annual capacity, which produced 4.6 billion gallons in 2025 — about 28% of total U.S. ethanol output — according to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, though IRFA also flags that Iowa's share has slipped from roughly 30% in 2023-2024 as other states expand carbon-capture infrastructure Iowa currently lacks. For a broker, that combination means three overlapping freight cycles to plan around: the fall harvest surge moving corn and soybeans to elevators and processors, the steady tank-and-hopper traffic ethanol plants generate year-round, and refrigerated/livestock-trailer freight tied to hog and cattle movement — a volume mix most states don't stack in one place.

Why does a broker’s carrier network matter more in Iowa than in most states?

Des Moines is home to two of the largest privately held trucking companies in the country: Ruan Transportation, a family-owned carrier founded in 1932 and still headquartered on Grand Avenue, and TMC Transportation, a flatbed and intermodal carrier founded in 1972. An hour north, Cedar Rapids is headquarters to CRST, founded in 1955 and now running more than 30,000 transportation service providers nationwide. All three sit within a couple hours of the I-235 spur that links I-35 and I-80 through the Des Moines metro — the interstate junction locals call the crossroads of the Midwest. A broker building a carrier network in Iowa is recruiting against three carriers with nearly a century of combined regional trucking heritage between them, not building relationships from scratch the way a broker entering a state with no major domestic carrier headquarters would.

Since Iowa doesn’t add a state bond, what actually determines what an Iowa broker pays for the $75,000 BMC-84?

Because chapter 325A adds nothing on top of the federal filing, the only variable in an Iowa broker's premium is personal credit — as our freight broker bond cost by state guide explains, the rate has nothing to do with geography. Excellent credit (750+) typically runs 1.0%-1.5%, or $750-$1,125/year. Good credit (700-749) runs 1.25%-2.5%, or $938-$1,875/year. Average credit (650-699) runs 3%-5.5%, or $2,250-$4,125/year. Fair credit (580-649) runs 5%-8%, or $3,750-$6,000/year. Challenged credit (below 580) runs 8%-15%, or $6,000-$11,250/year. New brokers without operating history typically pay $1,500-$9,000/year even on solid credit, because sureties add a startup surcharge that phases out after 12-18 months of clean history.

Who administers UCR for an Iowa-based broker, and what does it cost?

Iowa administers the Unified Carrier Registration Plan through the Iowa DOT's motor carrier services division. Brokers fall into UCR's smallest fee bracket — $46 for the 2026 registration year, unchanged from 2025 — and it renews annually on its own schedule, separate from your BMC-84. That is the only Iowa-side filing: chapter 325A adds no state broker license or bond. The federal sequence itself is identical in every state and is walked through step by step in our guide to getting freight broker authority.

FMCSA Broker Registration

Official FMCSA portal for broker authority applications, BMC-84 filing status, and SAFER system lookups.

Iowa DOT Oversize/Overweight Permits

Official Iowa DOT permit-type schedule, including the alternative energy multi-trip track for wind-turbine components.

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Freight Broker Bond Resources

Freight Broker Bond Hub

Complete BMC-84 guide — requirements, costs, claims, 2026 changes

BMC-84 Deep Dive

FMCSA filing mechanics, bond vs trust fund, personal guarantees

Cost by State Guide

How pricing varies by credit tier, not by state

BMC-84 vs BMC-85

When the trust fund makes sense — and when it never does

How to Get Broker Authority

Step-by-step FMCSA authority process from MC# to ACTIVE status

BMC-84 Premium Calculator

Estimate your annual premium by credit score tier

Nebraska Freight Broker Bond ($75,000 BMC-84)

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Eric Drummond, Licensed Surety Producer
Reviewed by
Eric Drummond, Licensed Surety Producer
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All content is researched from official state and federal sources (.gov) and verified before publication. BuySuretyBonds.com works with Treasury-certified, A-minimum rated surety carriers serving all 50 states.

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State-specific guidance for filing your $75,000 BMC-84 and securing FMCSA property broker authority.

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Freight Broker Bond Resources

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