The proposal
On November 20, 2024, FMCSA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), "Transparency in Property Broker Transactions" (89 FR 91648, Docket FMCSA-2023-0257), responding to OOIDA and SBTC petitions. It would require brokers to keep transaction records electronically, list all charges and payments (and any claims) for each shipment, and provide the records to a party to the transaction within 48 hours of a request - addressing motor-carrier complaints that 49 CFR §371.3 rights are often waived or hard to use.
The comment period closed January 21, 2025, and was reopened from February 18 to March 20, 2025. No final rule has been published in the Federal Register as of October 2026.
Current state
49 CFR §371.3 still requires brokers to keep a record of each transaction for 3 years, including the consignor, the carrier, the bill of lading or freight bill number, the broker's compensation and who paid it, any freight charges collected, and the date of payment to the carrier. Each party to a brokered transaction has the right to review that record (§371.3(c)). The challenge is enforcement - small carriers rarely sue a broker over a §371.3 violation.
The 2024 NPRM aims to make compliance more automatic. Whether the final rule retains the original timing window and the original recordkeeping format is uncertain pending FMCSA's review of comments.
What carriers should do
Carriers can already request §371.3 records from brokers. Document the request in writing; document the response or non-response. A broker who refuses to provide records may face a complaint to FMCSA or, in extreme cases, a private cause of action under §14704.
Watch the Federal Register (federalregister.gov, Docket FMCSA-2023-0257) for the final rule.