Ohio Freight Broker Bond Calculator

The credit-tier rate bands are the same ones our underwriters use to place every Ohio BMC-84 bond, so the slider gives you a genuine range, not a marketing number. Because Ohio doesn't layer a second PUCO broker bond on top of the federal filing, there's no state-specific rate table to miss — the only things that can move your real quote off the slider's estimate are details the calculator can't see: open collections, a prior FMCSA revocation, or a co-applicant with stronger credit. Submit the form below for the exact figure; it doesn't require a credit pull.

Just how you pay for it. FMCSA fixes the BMC-84 penal sum at $75,000 for every broker under 49 CFR § 387.307, regardless of payment schedule. Choosing a 2-year term means you pay the same annual rate twice, upfront, in exchange for not being re-underwritten at the 12-month mark — your coverage, your bond number, and your $75,000 protection for shippers and carriers are identical either way.

Generally no. The roughly 15% new-authority surcharge that applies in your first 12 months typically phases out once you have a clean operating history on file — locking a 2-year term while that surcharge is active means paying the elevated rate for both years instead of getting re-rated down once you clear the new-authority window. Run the calculator with the toggle unchecked to see what your rate looks like without the surcharge, then decide whether annual billing makes more sense until you cross that 12-month mark.

You generally have to wait until your current term expires or renews. A BMC-84 bond is bound for a set term at issuance, and switching mid-cycle usually means canceling and rewriting the bond — which triggers the same 30-day FMCSA cancellation notice as any other bond change and can create a coverage gap if not timed carefully. The clean way to move to a 2-year term is to request it at your next renewal date, before your surety sends the renewal invoice.

No. The $75,000 penal sum and the credit-driven rate band are federal and apply identically whether you're quoting drayage out of Rickenbacker, dry van out of a Columbus office park, or flatbed freight tied to Cleveland steel — there's no Ohio location premium or discount built into the bond itself. Rickenbacker matters for how you underwrite your own book (drayage pricing, appointment windows, seasonal warehouse absorption), not for what FMCSA or your surety charges for the bond.

In most cases, yes. FMCSA's financial security requirement attaches to each broker authority — each MC number — not to the parent company, so a second brand operating under its own MC number generally needs its own BMC-84 filing even if it shares an EIN, an office, and ownership with your first brokerage. Confirm the specifics with FMCSA's registration guidance or your surety before assuming one $75,000 bond covers two separate broker authorities.