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Last reviewed: Next review due: Reflects current Massachusetts freight broker bond requirements
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New England's Only Full-Service Container Port

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

Quick answer: Every Massachusetts freight broker needs a $75,000 surety bond filed on FMCSA Form BMC-84 — no more, no less — required under 49 U.S.C. § 13906(b)(3) and 49 CFR § 387.307. Massachusetts adds no separate state broker bond — the DPU's Transportation Oversight Division doesn't license or bond property brokers at all. Annual premiums run roughly $750–$11,250 depending on personal credit.

What makes Massachusetts worth its own page isn't the bond math — it's the freight underneath it. Nearly every New England container move funnels through one facility, Conley Terminal in South Boston, before fanning out by truck. Meanwhile the I-495/I-90 distribution belt ringing Greater Boston holds the state's densest concentration of warehouse space. Brokers who work one lane, the other, or both are underwriting two genuinely different risk profiles on the same bond. See our broker authority guide for the full FMCSA process.

$75,000
Federal BMC-84
49 CFR § 387.307
None
MA State Bond
DPU doesn’t license property brokers
30 min
Conley Truck Turns
Near-dock chassis pool, Massport
$46/yr
2026 UCR Fee
Lowest bracket, filed via MA DPU
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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)(3) • 49 CFR § 387.307
Why Massachusetts, Specifically

Two Freight Economies, One Bond: Conley Terminal Drayage and the I-495 Belt

Every state requires the identical $75,000 BMC-84. What varies is the freight economy underneath it — and Massachusetts runs two genuinely different lanes through the same bond. Conley Terminal in South Boston is, per the Massachusetts Port Authority, the only full-service container terminal in New England — meaning most of the region's import/export container volume funnels through one gate before it moves by truck. The I-495/I-90 distribution belt circling Greater Boston at roughly a 30-mile radius is the inverse: dense, land-constrained warehouse space serving next-day fulfillment freight rather than port cargo. A broker who knows which lane dominates their book prices, staffs, and collects differently than one treating Massachusetts as one undifferentiated market.

Conley Terminal Drayage

  • New England's only full-service container terminal — per Massport, the state port authority
  • 30-minute truck turn times and a near-dock chassis pool, roughly a mile from major interstates
  • Services 2,500+ importers/exporters annually across 19 scheduled vessel start times

I-495 / I-90 Distribution Belt

  • Circles Greater Boston at roughly a 30-mile radius, linking I-90 and I-95
  • Largest concentration of MA warehouse space in Marlborough, Westborough, and Milford
  • Part of a ~350 million sq. ft. Boston-area industrial market with vacancy near 4.8%

Ready to get bonded and start booking Conley Terminal, I-495 belt, or New England regional freight? We file your BMC-84 directly with the FMCSA.

Get Massachusetts QuoteBMC-84 Complete Guide
What the DPU Actually Regulates

Why the Massachusetts DPU Never Bonds Property Brokers

The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities' Transportation Oversight Division is the agency that licenses and regulates in-state transportation businesses — but its scope, per the agency's own description, covers motor coach and bus companies, household goods movers, and towing companies. Property/freight brokers arranging truck transportation are not on that list. That's a meaningful distinction from states that separately license or bond intrastate property brokers — Massachusetts never built that layer, so there's nothing for a broker to file with the DPU beyond the federal UCR fee. The only bond a Massachusetts freight broker files is the $75,000 BMC-84 with the FMCSA.

What the DPU Licenses

  • Intrastate motor coach/bus companies and their drivers
  • Household goods movers operating within Massachusetts
  • Towing companies handling involuntary and police-requested tows

What the DPU Does Not License

Property/freight brokers — the entities that arrange truck transportation for shippers — fall outside the Transportation Oversight Division's scope entirely. The Division does administer Massachusetts' role as UCR base-state, so brokers still owe the annual $46 UCR fee, but that's a federal registration fee, not a state bond or license. Contact the Division at DPU.Transportation@mass.gov if you also run household-goods or passenger operations that fall under its separate licensing rules.

Massachusetts 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 credit tier guide and surety bond cost overview for broader context.

One Bond, No Exceptions

Whether you broker Conley Terminal drayage, I-495 belt LTL, or freight that continues into Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, or Maine, the $75,000 BMC-84 is your only bond premium. The only routine add-on is the $46/year federal UCR fee — not a bond, and unaffected by credit score.

Filing BMC-84 Authority From a Massachusetts Base

Interstate authority runs entirely through the FMCSA — Massachusetts has no separate broker license to layer on top. See our full guide to getting freight broker authority for more detail on each step.

Massachusetts-Specific Steps

  1. 1

    Register for UCR Through the Massachusetts DPU

    $46/year for 2026, brokers fall in the lowest bracket (B1)

  2. 2

    No Massachusetts Broker License to File

    The DPU’s Transportation Oversight Division doesn’t license property brokers — your FMCSA authority is sufficient statewide

Massachusetts Freight Broker Bond — Frequently Asked Questions

Questions specific to Massachusetts-based brokers, Conley Terminal drayage, and I-495 belt distribution freight

Does Massachusetts 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)(3) and 49 CFR § 387.307 is the only bonding requirement a Massachusetts-based property broker has. The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities' Transportation Oversight Division — the state agency that licenses and bonds intrastate carriers — regulates motor coach and bus companies, household goods movers, and towing companies. Property/freight brokers arranging truck transportation are not on that list. Unlike states that stack a separate intrastate bond on brokers (or used to, before repealing it), Massachusetts never created one. There's a single bond to budget for, not two.

How is brokering Conley Terminal drayage different from I-495 belt freight, underwriting-wise?

Conley Terminal — the only full-service container terminal in New England, per the Massachusetts Port Authority — runs on 30-minute truck turn times and a near-dock chassis pool, which pushes drayage brokers toward high-frequency, tightly time-boxed moves tied to container free-time windows. A broker running that freight racks up more individual dispatches per week, so carrier-payment disputes and detention claims tend to surface faster, even though the dollar exposure per move is usually smaller. The I-495/I-90 distribution belt runs the opposite pattern: dense next-day and two-day LTL freight feeding fulfillment centers in Marlborough, Westborough, and Milford, where claims cluster more around delivery-window misses and multi-stop routing errors than payment disputes. A surety underwriting a drayage-heavy book asks more about dispatch documentation and carrier payment terms; one underwriting an I-495 book asks more about delivery-appointment compliance and claims history on multi-stop freight.

Why is New England capacity-constrained for freight brokers, and does that affect the bond?

It doesn't change the bond amount — $75,000 is fixed by federal law regardless of geography — but it changes the operating math a broker is bonding against. Conley Terminal is New England's only full-service container port, meaning nearly all regional import/export container freight funnels through one facility before it fans out by truck. The I-495 belt, meanwhile, holds the largest concentration of Massachusetts warehouse and distribution space — mostly in Marlborough, Westborough, Milford, and Franklin — because land closer to Boston is scarce and expensive, according to 495 MetroWest Partnership's transportation and logistics reporting. That concentration means fewer alternate routes and terminals if something goes wrong (a vessel delay, a warehouse space crunch), which raises the stakes on carrier reliability and payment discipline — exactly what the BMC-84 bond exists to backstop when a broker fails to pay a carrier or shipper.

What is the Massachusetts UCR fee, and who administers it?

$46 for 2026, unchanged from 2025 — brokers and leasing companies fall into the lowest Unified Carrier Registration fee bracket (B1, 0–2 commercial motor vehicles) regardless of freight volume. UCR is a separate federal requirement under 49 U.S.C. § 14504a, distinct from the BMC-84 bond; it funds state motor-carrier safety enforcement, not broker-carrier payment protection. Massachusetts brokers file and pay through the Massachusetts DPU's Transportation Oversight Division, which serves as the state's UCR base-state administrator — the state where a broker maintains its principal place of business is normally its base state under the UCR agreement. Register at ucr.gov; the DPU does not issue a separate state broker license alongside it.

Does the Massachusetts DPU license freight brokers?

No — property brokers fall outside the Transportation Oversight Division's licensing scope, so there is no separate DPU broker license to obtain. The DPU does serve as your base-state UCR administrator, though: register annually through the Massachusetts DPU at $46 for 2026. 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.

Massachusetts DPU Transportation Oversight

Official Massachusetts DPU division confirming its licensing scope excludes property brokers, plus UCR base-state administration details.

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Freight Broker Bond Resources

Freight Broker Bond Hub

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

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Cost by Credit Tier Guide

How pricing varies by credit tier, not by state

BMC-84 vs BMC-85

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Eric Drummond, Licensed Surety Producer
Reviewed by
Eric Drummond, Licensed Surety Producer
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Conley Terminal, I-495 Belt, or Regional LTL — One Bond

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