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Deepest East Coast Harbor, One Federal Bond

South Carolina Freight Broker Bond$75,000 BMC-84 — No Separate State Bond

Every South Carolina freight broker files the same $75,000 surety bond on FMCSA Form BMC-84, required under 49 U.S.C. § 13906(b) and 49 CFR § 387.307. South Carolina's Office of Regulatory Staff certificates household goods movers, passenger carriers, and hazardous-waste haulers — property brokers aren't on that list, so there's no second bond to file. What makes South Carolina worth a dedicated page is the freight moving through one gateway: the Port of Charleston, the deepest harbor on the East Coast, feeding Inland Port Greer by rail and underpinning BMW's and Volvo's South Carolina export operations. See our broker authority guide for the full FMCSA process.

$75,000
Federal BMC-84
49 CFR § 387.307
None
SC State Bond
ORS doesn’t bond property brokers
52–54 ft
Charleston Harbor
Deepest on the U.S. East Coast
205,523
Inland Port Greer
Rail moves, FY2025 record
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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
Why South Carolina, Specifically

One Deep-Water Gateway, Feeding a Rail-Served Inland Port 212 Miles Upstate

Every state requires the same $75,000 BMC-84. What varies is what the freight underneath it looks like — and South Carolina's freight economy is unusually concentrated: nearly everything that matters for a broker's book runs through the Port of Charleston, then either stays coastal or rides Norfolk Southern rail 212 miles inland to Greer, near Spartanburg, where BMW's manufacturing campus sits three miles away. The Charleston Harbor Deepening Project, completed in December 2022, brought the Inner Harbor to 52 feet and the Entrance Channel to 54 feet — the deepest harbor on the U.S. East Coast, according to the South Carolina Ports Authority — which is why the newest terminal there can already berth ultra-large container vessels without the tidal windows that constrain shallower ports.

Port of Charleston

  • 2.6 million TEUs handled in fiscal year 2025, up 3% year over year, per SC Ports Authority
  • 52–54 foot channel depth — deepest on the U.S. East Coast since the 2022 deepening project
  • Long-range plan targets 10 million TEUs of capacity as Leatherman Terminal expands

Inland Port Greer

  • 205,523 rail moves in fiscal 2025 — a record, up nearly 10% year over year
  • Recent expansion doubled the facility's cargo capacity
  • Norfolk Southern rail link to Charleston, opened 2013 with BMW as first customer

BMW & Volvo Export

  • BMW exports ~70% of SC-built vehicles through Charleston to ~125 countries
  • Roughly 5,000 finished vehicles/week moving via Norfolk Southern to Charleston
  • Volvo's Berkeley County plant works coastal logistics directly with SC Ports

Ready to get bonded and start booking Charleston, Greer, or auto-export freight? We file your BMC-84 directly with the FMCSA.

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Why the ORS Never Bonds Property Brokers

South Carolina's Office of Regulatory Staff (ORS) represents the public interest before the Public Service Commission on transportation matters under S.C. Code Title 58, Chapter 23. Its regulated categories are narrow: motor carriers of passengers (taxis, charter buses, limousines, and non-emergency medical transportation), transportation network carriers, household goods movers, and haulers of hazardous waste for disposal. Property/freight brokers aren't on that list, and there's no repealed statute to point to — South Carolina simply never built a state-level bonding scheme for property brokers the way it did for household goods movers. That's consistent with federal law: the FAAAA, codified at 49 U.S.C. § 14501(c)(1), preempts states from regulating a motor carrier or broker's prices, routes, or services for the transportation of property. Brokers still owe the FMCSA basic recordkeeping obligations under 49 CFR part 371 — keeping a record of each transaction for at least three years — but that's a federal paperwork rule, not a second bond.

What ORS Actually Regulates

  • Household goods movers
  • Passenger carriers — taxis, charter buses, limousines, NEMT, TNCs
  • Hazardous-waste-for-disposal haulers

What You Still Owe the FMCSA

Beyond the $75,000 BMC-84 itself, 49 CFR part 371 requires brokers to keep a record of each brokered transaction — the names of shipper and carrier, agreed charges, and payment dates — for a minimum of three years, and to make those records available to the FMCSA on request. It's a compliance obligation, not a bond, but it's worth building into your recordkeeping from day one.

South Carolina 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.

One Bond, No Exceptions

Whether you're running Charleston drayage, Inland Port Greer rail freight, or BMW/Volvo auto-export loads, the $75,000 BMC-84 is your only bond premium. South Carolina brokers register annually through the national UCR system — currently $46/year for the Bracket 1 broker fee, unchanged for 2026.

Getting Broker Authority as a South Carolina-Based Broker

For interstate authority, the entire process runs through the FMCSA. Broker registration itself is governed by 49 U.S.C. § 13904, which requires the FMCSA to register a person as a broker only after finding they're fit, willing, and able to comply with federal broker rules — and that registration stays valid only while the broker maintains the $75,000 bond required under 49 U.S.C. § 13906(b). See our full guide to getting freight broker authority for more detail on each step.

South Carolina-Specific Steps

  1. 1

    Register for UCR Through the National UCR System

    $46/year Bracket 1 broker fee for 2026, filed through SCDMV

  2. 2

    No ORS License to File for Property Brokers

    ORS certificates household goods movers, passenger carriers, and hazardous-waste haulers — not property/freight brokers

South Carolina Freight Broker Bond — Frequently Asked Questions

Questions specific to South Carolina-based brokers, the Charleston-to-Greer rail bridge, and the BMW/Volvo export corridor

Does South Carolina require its own freight broker bond in addition to the federal BMC-84?

No. Every South Carolina property broker only needs the $75,000 BMC-84 filed with the FMCSA under 49 U.S.C. § 13906(b) and 49 CFR § 387.307. South Carolina's Office of Regulatory Staff (ORS), which represents the public interest before the Public Service Commission on transportation matters, certificates and bonds household goods movers, passenger carriers (taxis, charter buses, limousines, non-emergency medical transportation, and transportation network carriers), and hazardous-waste-for-disposal haulers under S.C. Code Title 58, Chapter 23. Property/freight brokers are not among the categories ORS lists as regulated. That tracks with federal law: the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (FAAAA), 49 U.S.C. § 14501(c)(1), preempts states from regulating the prices, routes, or services of property brokers, which is why South Carolina never built a parallel state bonding scheme for freight brokers the way it did for household goods movers.

Why is Charleston harbor's depth relevant to a freight broker's business, even though it doesn't change the bond amount?

The Charleston Harbor Deepening Project, completed in December 2022, brought the Inner Harbor to 52 feet and the Entrance Channel to 54 feet — currently the deepest harbor on the U.S. East Coast, according to the South Carolina Ports Authority. That depth is why the Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal can berth ultra-large container vessels (the OOCL Iris, a 16,828-TEU ship, set a Charleston tonnage record calling there in February 2025) without tidal restrictions that shallower East Coast ports face. For a broker, this doesn't change your $75,000 BMC-84 — but it does mean the carrier network you need to service Charleston drayage has to handle bigger, less-predictable vessel unloads: more boxes hitting the yard at once, tighter chassis availability during peak calls, and less scheduling slack than a broker working a shallower, smaller-ship port would need to plan for.

How does the BMW plant near Inland Port Greer change the carrier-vetting conversation for a South Carolina broker?

Inland Port Greer sits three miles from BMW's Spartanburg-area manufacturing campus and became the rail port's first customer when it opened in 2013. BMW exports roughly 70% of its South Carolina-built vehicles through the Port of Charleston to about 125 countries, with finished vehicles arriving at the coast via Norfolk Southern at a pace of around 5,000 per week, according to reporting on BMW's Charleston operations. Inland Port Greer itself posted a record fiscal year 2025 with 205,523 total rail moves — up nearly 10% year over year and the first time the facility topped 200,000 moves in a 12-month period, per SC Ports Authority figures, and a recent expansion doubled its cargo capacity. A broker booking Upstate-to-coast freight around that corridor is underwriting a fundamentally different risk than one running general truckload: rail-dependent scheduling, finished-vehicle cargo values, and OEM-grade delivery-window discipline that don't show up in a broker's book unless the carrier network is built for it.

What changed with South Carolina UCR registration for 2026?

Nothing changed in the fee itself — the UCR Board of Directors did not recommend any fee change for the 2026 registration year, so brokers pay the same Bracket 1 rate as 2025. For 2026, brokers register at the $46 annual fee, since brokers and leasing companies are always charged the flat Bracket 1 rate regardless of fleet size or load volume. Registration for 2026 opened October 1, 2025, and enforcement began January 1, 2026; South Carolina participates in the national UCR system through the SCDMV, so this is a small annual registration on top of your BMC-84 premium — not a second bond, and not something that varies by credit score the way your bond premium does.

Does the new Volvo plant near Charleston create separate brokering opportunities from the BMW/Greer corridor?

Yes, and they run through different infrastructure. Volvo Cars has a manufacturing plant in the Charleston area (Berkeley County), and unlike BMW's Upstate operation, Volvo's freight doesn't route through Inland Port Greer — it works directly with the South Carolina Ports Authority on coastal container and vehicle-movement logistics rather than the rail-served inland port model. That means a broker building a book around Volvo-adjacent freight is underwriting coastal drayage and near-port logistics, while a BMW/Greer-focused broker is underwriting a rail-dependent Upstate-to-coast lane — same $75,000 BMC-84, genuinely different carrier network and scheduling risk.

FMCSA Broker Registration

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

SC Office of Regulatory Staff — Transportation

Official list of ORS-certificated transportation categories, confirming household goods movers, passenger carriers, and hazardous-waste haulers are bonded — property brokers are not.

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Freight Broker Bond Resources

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How to Get Broker Authority

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BMC-84 Premium 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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