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Last updated: General Maryland freight broker bond information — confirm current requirements with the licensing authority.
No. 1 U.S. Port for Ro-Ro Farm & Construction Machinery

Maryland Freight Broker Bond$75,000 BMC-84 — No Second State Bond

Every Maryland freight broker needs a $75,000 surety bond filed on FMCSA Form BMC-84, required under 49 U.S.C. § 13906(b) and 49 CFR § 387.307. Maryland's Public Service Commission bonds passenger-for-hire carriers, not property brokers, so there's no second state filing to track. What makes Maryland worth its own page is the freight underneath that one bond: Port of Baltimore ro-ro drayage still rerouting around the collapsed Key Bridge, dense I-95 corridor distribution freight, and Eastern Shore poultry logistics running on an entirely different clock. See our broker authority guide for the full FMCSA process.

$75,000
Federal BMC-84
49 CFR § 387.307
None
MD State Bond
PSC bonds passenger carriers only
#1 US
Baltimore Ro-Ro Farm/Ag
887,513 tons handled, 2025
+30–35 mi
Key Bridge Hazmat Detour
Until rebuild opens, late 2030
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Quick answer
A BMC-84 freight broker bond is the $75,000 federal surety bond FMCSA requires before it will grant or keep a property broker's operating authority, whether your brokerage is based in Maryland or arranges loads through the state. Maryland does not add a separate state freight broker bond. You pay a yearly premium that is a small percentage of $75,000 (an estimate; the carrier sets the final price), not the full amount.
  • Who requires it: FMCSA, for every property broker and freight forwarder in interstate commerce (49 U.S.C. 13906; 49 CFR 387.307).
  • Amount: $75,000, set by federal law. A BMC-85 trust fund of $75,000 is the alternative.
  • Typical cost (estimate): about 1%–4% of $75,000 per year with good credit, roughly $750–$3,000. The carrier sets the final price.
  • Timing: We submit complete applications to the carrier promptly; most quotes within one business day.
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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
The Routing Problem No Directory Mentions

Why the Key Bridge Collapse Still Shapes Maryland Freight Brokering in 2026

Hazardous-materials trucks have never been permitted inside the Fort McHenry or Baltimore Harbor Tunnels — before March 26, 2024, those loads crossed the harbor on the Francis Scott Key Bridge, part of I-695's outer loop. The bridge is gone, and the substitute route is a real cost, not a footnote: hazmat-placarded freight now detours roughly 30–35 miles around the western half of I-695, adding up to two hours of drive time to loads that used to clear the harbor in minutes. The Maryland Transportation Authority issued its Request for Qualifications for the main-span construction contract in July 2026, but the bridge's current target for reopening to traffic is late 2030 — later than the fall-2028 estimate originally floated, with total project cost now projected between $4.3 billion and $5.2 billion. A broker booking any load that touches Baltimore's port terminals, refineries, or chemical distributors needs to know whether that freight is hazmat-tagged before quoting a shipper a transit time — and needs carriers who actually take the legal detour instead of the tunnels. A Baltimore Banner tunnel-traffic investigation found hazmat-placarded trucks illegally cutting through the harbor tunnels anyway, which is exactly the kind of carrier compliance risk a broker's contract should be pricing in.

Baltimore Harbor Crossing — Before vs. After the Key Bridge Collapse

What changed for freight moving through or around the Port of Baltimore since March 2024

Cargo TypePre-Collapse RouteCurrent Route (2026)Broker Impact
Hazmat-placarded loadsI-695 outer loop via Key Bridge, harbor crossing in minutes~30–35 mile detour around western I-695, up to 2 hrs addedTransit-time quotes must build in the detour; carrier selection matters more
Non-hazmat general freightFort McHenry or Baltimore Harbor Tunnels, or I-695Unaffected — tunnels remain open to non-restricted freightNo material change to routing or pricing
Restricted freight via non-compliant carriersN/A — bridge crossing was the legal optionSome carriers illegally use tunnels to avoid the detour (per Baltimore Banner tracking)Compliance exposure a broker’s carrier vetting should screen for

Detour distance and rebuild timeline per Maryland Transportation Authority public updates and news coverage as of July 2026. Individual routing varies by origin/destination.

Ready to get bonded and start booking Baltimore port, I-95 corridor, or Eastern Shore freight? We file your BMC-84 directly with the FMCSA.

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Port, Corridor, Poultry: Maryland Freight Splits Into Three Books

Maryland is small enough to drive across in a day, but its freight economy isn't one market — it's three, and they barely overlap.

Port of Baltimore Ro-Ro Drayage

The Port's Dundalk and Fairfield/Southpoint terminals moved 728,225 autos and light trucks in 2025 — its 13th straight year above 700,000 units — plus a U.S.-leading 887,513 tons of ro-ro farm and construction equipment and 1.1 million tons of forest products, according to the Maryland Port Administration's 2025 cargo report. Drayage here is short-haul and terminal-scheduled, with claims clustering around container/vehicle free-time windows and owner-operator payment terms rather than long-transit cargo damage.

I-95 / Baltimore-Washington Corridor

This is Maryland's general-freight backbone — warehouse and last-mile distribution threading BWI, Baltimore, and the DC suburbs. It's also the softest it's been in years: regional industrial vacancy climbed to 10.1% by the end of Q1 2026 (up 30 basis points from the prior quarter), and the corridor gave back 807,350 square feet of net absorption in Q1 2026 — largely the Rite Aid bankruptcy closing an 800,000-square-foot Harford County distribution facility — after two quarters of growth, per Colliers' Maryland industrial market report. A broker working this lane is pricing into a market with more available capacity than it had a year earlier — which cuts both ways on rate negotiation.

Eastern Shore / Delmarva Poultry Freight

Maryland's Eastern Shore counties sit inside the Delmarva Peninsula, the nation's fifth-largest broiler chicken production region, with several major poultry processors and many contract grower families. Freight here runs refrigerated, moves on US-50, and operates on live-bird and perishable-product schedules where a missed pickup isn't a late delivery — it's a loss. It's the least port-adjacent, least discussed freight economy in the state, and it needs a completely different carrier bench than drayage or corridor freight.

A fourth factor worth watching: the Howard Street Tunnel project, an upgrade to a Baltimore rail tunnel intended to allow double-stacked container trains — a rail-intermodal option that could pull some port-adjacent freight off Maryland's trucking lanes over the next few years.

What Maryland PSC Actually Bonds

The Maryland Public Service Commission's Transportation Division licenses passenger-for-hire carriers — sedan, van, limousine, and motor coach operators — under its own certificate-of-public- convenience process. Property/freight brokers are outside that scope entirely. If you also arrange passenger transportation on the side, confirm which authority track applies to that business separately from your BMC-84.

One Bond, No State Filing to Track

Whether your freight starts and ends in Maryland or crosses state lines, the $75,000 BMC-84 is your only bond premium. The only routine add-on is the annual federal UCR fee — $46/year for Bracket 1 carriers, brokers, and forwarders in 2026 — which isn't a bond and isn't affected by credit score.

What the $75,000 BMC-84 Actually Costs a Maryland Broker

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.

Same Bond, Three Different Books

Pricing on the BMC-84 itself doesn't change based on whether you run port drayage, corridor freight, or Eastern Shore poultry — it's driven by personal credit. What does change is how a surety evaluates your claims history once you're renewing, so keeping clean documentation on whichever lane you specialize in helps at renewal time.

The FMCSA Checklist — Since Maryland PSC Won't License You

For interstate authority, the entire process runs through the FMCSA. See our full guide to getting freight broker authority for more detail on each step.

Maryland-Specific Steps

  1. 1

    Register for UCR — Bracket 1

    $46/year for brokers with 0–2 power units, unchanged for 2026

  2. 2

    No Maryland Broker License to File

    Maryland PSC licenses passenger carriers, not property brokers — your FMCSA authority is sufficient statewide

Maryland Freight Broker Bond — Frequently Asked Questions

Questions specific to Maryland-based brokers, the Key Bridge detour, and Port-to-Eastern-Shore freight economics

Does Maryland require its own freight broker bond on top of the federal BMC-84?

No. The $75,000 BMC-84 filed with the FMCSA under 49 U.S.C. § 13906(b) and 49 CFR § 387.307 is the only surety bond a Maryland property broker needs, whether the freight moves in interstate or intrastate commerce. The Maryland Public Service Commission's Transportation Division regulates and bonds passenger-for-hire carriers — sedan, van, limousine, and motor coach operators — under its own certificate-of-authority process, but that authority doesn't reach property/freight brokers. MDOT's Motor Vehicle Administration handles vehicle titling and dealer licensing, not broker bonding. If a Maryland-based broker only moves freight, the federal BMC-84 is the entire bonding requirement — there's no second state filing to track or renew.

Why does the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse still matter to Maryland freight brokers in 2026?

Because the detour it created for restricted cargo is still in effect and will be for years. Trucks carrying hazardous materials have never been allowed to use the Fort McHenry or Baltimore Harbor Tunnels — before March 2024 they used the Key Bridge on I-695's outer loop to cross the harbor instead. With the bridge gone, that same hazmat load now has to detour roughly 30–35 miles around the western side of I-695, adding up to two hours of driving time. The Maryland Transportation Authority issued its Request for Qualifications for the main-span construction contract in July 2026, but the current target for opening the new bridge to traffic is late 2030 — pushed back from an earlier fall-2028 estimate, with the project cost now projected at $4.3–$5.2 billion. A broker who books hazmat-tagged freight through the Baltimore area without accounting for that detour is quoting the wrong transit time to the shipper.

Is the Port of Baltimore really the country's #1 auto-import port?

Not for autos specifically — Brunswick, Georgia passed Baltimore for total vehicle volume in 2024. But the more precise claim holds up: the Port of Baltimore handled 728,225 autos and light trucks in 2025 (second in the U.S., its 13th straight year above 700,000 units), and its public terminals moved 887,513 tons of roll-on/roll-off farm and construction equipment in 2025 — the highest of any U.S. port for the category, per the Maryland Port Administration. Baltimore also led the nation in forest products (rolled paper and wood pulp) at 1.1 million tons. For a freight broker, the practical takeaway isn't the ranking — it's that Baltimore's ro-ro terminals (Dundalk and Fairfield/Southpoint) generate genuinely heavy, time-boxed drayage demand that a broker can build a specialty around.

How is brokering Eastern Shore poultry freight different from Port of Baltimore drayage?

They're close to opposite businesses running under the same bond. Maryland's Eastern Shore sits inside the Delmarva Peninsula, the country's fifth-largest broiler chicken production region — with several major poultry processors and many contract grower families. That freight moves on refrigerated trailers along US-50 on tight, live-animal or perishable-product schedules where a missed pickup window is a real financial loss, not just a late delivery. Port drayage, by contrast, is container and vehicle freight bound by terminal free-time windows and dock scheduling. A broker running both needs a different carrier bench and a different conversation with underwriters than one running either lane alone.

Is there a Maryland broker license to file alongside the BMC-84?

No. Unlike passenger-for-hire operators, Maryland property brokers have no separate PSC or MVA license to layer on top of federal authority. What Maryland brokers do file annually is UCR: brokers with 0–2 power units fall into Bracket 1, which is $46 for 2026 — unchanged from 2025, per the FMCSA fee notice under 49 U.S.C. § 14504a. The federal sequence itself is identical in every state and is walked through step by step in our guide to getting freight broker authority.

Who needs a Maryland freight broker bond?

Property brokers and freight forwarders based in Maryland that arrange interstate freight. It is required by FMCSA, under 49 U.S.C. 13906 and 49 CFR 387.307. The bond amount is $75,000, set by federal law (BMC-84 surety bond; a BMC-85 trust fund is the alternative).

How do I get a Maryland freight broker bond?

Request a quote with the form on this page. A licensed agent submits your application to a Treasury-listed surety carrier; once the carrier issues your bond, file it as the requiring agency directs.

What happens after I apply?

We submit complete applications to the carrier promptly; most quotes come back within one business day. The carrier decides approval and the final premium, and you pay only when your bond is issued.

FMCSA Broker Registration

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

Maryland Transportation Authority

Official Key Bridge rebuild updates, harbor tunnel restrictions, and MDTA toll-facility routing for restricted cargo.

Treasury-Listed Carriers
FMCSA Sets Processing Time
Direct FMCSA Filing
All Credit Reviewed

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

Pennsylvania Freight Broker Bond

I-81 and I-83 corridor freight straight up from the Port of Baltimore

How to Get Broker Authority

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

BMC-84 Bond Cost Calculator

Estimate your annual premium by credit score tier

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). BuySuretyBonds.com works with Treasury-listed surety carriers.

Port, Corridor, or Eastern Shore Freight — One Bond

Get Your Maryland Freight Broker Bond

BMC-84 quotes within one business day. No separate Maryland bond, ever — the PSC bonds passenger carriers, not property brokers. Premiums commonly run about 1%–4% of $75,000 with good credit (the carrier sets the price), all credit levels reviewed.

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Treasury-Listed Carriers
FMCSA Sets Processing Time
Est. 1%–4% of $75K (good credit)

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Freight Broker Bond Resources

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