A freight broker will not set the carrier up until the packet shows the limits it wants

TQL carrier setup

Set up with TQL by completing its online carrier packet and Carrier Contract through RMIS at tqlcarriers.com, then requesting a TQL Carrier Dashboard login. TQL's carrier FAQ lists five requirements: a valid MC or USDOT number, at least $1 million of auto liability, at least $100,000 of cargo insurance, reefer breakdown on the certificate if you haul refrigerated freight, and the completed online Carrier Contract. TQL verifies insurance directly with your insurance agent rather than taking it from you, and its vetting page says your FMCSA operating authority must be valid and active before approval.

Updated October 3, 2026. Written by Andre Beukers, principal at Redoubt, a commercial insurance agency in Salt Lake City, not a government office.

What do you need to set up as a carrier with TQL?

TQL answers this on its carrier FAQ under "What do I need to start hauling for TQL?": a valid MC or US DOT number, minimum $1 million auto liability insurance, a minimum $100,000 cargo insurance policy, reefer breakdown on the insurance certificate if applicable, and a completed online Carrier Contract. TQL's vetting page also requires "Agreement to the terms of TQL’s Broker/Carrier Agreement" and says TQL "utilizes third-party vendors to facilitate the vetting and maintenance."

The contract is signed on RMIS, not on tql.com. The FAQ's link to tqlcarriers.com opens TQL's carrier registration on an RMIS site, which says the process "will take approximately 10 minutes to complete" and that "RMIS does not save submissions unless the process is complete." If you do not qualify on the first pass, the page says you may restart once you meet all of TQL's qualifications.

Whoever clicks through signs for the company: the registration page says you acknowledge authority to enter into contracts binding the carrier, and that submitting the Carrier Contract electronically is your electronic signature. Our advice: have that person do it, with the MC or USDOT number, the policy limits and your agent's contact details in hand.

Sources: 1, 8, 17, 18, 20

What insurance does TQL require from carriers?

TQL's vetting page states the minimums: "$1,000,000 auto liability insurance, except where local law requires additional coverage. $100,000 cargo insurance." The FAQ adds the reefer line for refrigerated freight. Those are TQL's figures, and both sit above FMCSA's. FMCSA's $750,000 minimum applies to for-hire carriers of nonhazardous property in interstate commerce with vehicles of 10,001 pounds GVWR or more, and FMCSA's filing chart lists that carrier's cargo requirement as $0.

Vehicle size does not lower TQL's number. TQL's FAQ says loads for box trucks, sprinter vans and hotshots are available in its app, and neither TQL page gives a smaller limit for them. FMCSA's chart prints $300,000 for a for-hire fleet of only vehicles under 10,001 pounds, from 49 CFR 387.303, which eCFR marks as suspended indefinitely while FMCSA's page still prints it, so a van policy written at that floor falls short of TQL's $1,000,000. A cargo-van carrier with his own MC told Redoubt that brokers asked him for "1000000 y 100000 de carga" before they would give him loads; he did not name TQL.

Progressive says its own cargo policy can include refrigeration breakdown: "Motor truck cargo insurance with refrigeration breakdown: Covers losses from spoilage or changes in temperature." Ask your agent whether yours does. A certificate cannot add it: the ACORD 25 says it "does not affirmatively or negatively amend, extend or alter the coverage afforded by the policies below." So get that answer before the certificate goes to TQL.

TQL's published minimums beside FMCSA's filing chart
Coverage	TQL's published minimum	FMCSA chart, for-hire nonhazardous property
Auto liability, vehicles 10,001 lb GVWR and up	$1,000,000	$750,000 (interstate, 49 CFR 387.9)
Motor truck cargo	$100,000	$0
Reefer breakdown	On the certificate, if you haul reefer	Not listed

Sources: 6, 1, 22, 23, 24, 25, 5, 31, 28, 29

Can you send TQL your own certificate of insurance?

No. TQL's vetting page says "Insurance is verified directly with the carrier’s insurance agent (not accepted directly from carriers)." A PDF you upload or email yourself does not complete the insurance step; your agent has to confirm the coverage to TQL. Tell your agent you are setting up with TQL, give them the limits above and whether you haul reefer, and ask them to answer TQL's verification when it arrives.

Redoubt's own files show the request arriving as a text from a new carrier: "don't forget to sent the info to TQL." Until the agent's confirmation reaches TQL, the insurance step is not finished.

The certificate is not the federal filing. FMCSA says that once an entity applies for operating authority, "a financial responsibility provider must file the appropriate insurance form(s) on behalf of the applicant." That filing shows FMCSA its limits; what TQL verifies has to show TQL's.

Sources: 7, 30, 26

Does TQL work with new authority?

TQL's vetting page gives no minimum age for your authority. Under the heading "Minimum operating authority tenure requirements" it says only that carriers "must have valid and active operating authority issued by the FMCSA prior to approval," and that authority status is verified during onboarding and monitored after. The FAQ words the same item as a valid MC or US DOT number. If you hold a USDOT number but no operating authority, ask TQL Carrier Contracts before registering.

Active is the gate, and insurance comes first. FMCSA "will not grant operating authority registration until the registrant has in effect the minimum levels of financial responsibility on file with FMCSA." The order is policy bound, insurer's filing on record, authority active, then TQL. TQL's approval comes only after the authority is active, and RMIS says that if you do not immediately qualify, you may restart once you meet all of TQL's qualifications.

Safety history is checked too. TQL says every carrier "is vetted using FMCSA safety guidelines – about 18% of carriers are disqualified at onboarding." Its heading on safety ratings names conditional and unrated carriers; the rule beneath it says TQL follows FMCSA guidelines and industry standards and that carriers with "elevated risk profiles (e.g., conditional ratings) are generally avoided under current practices." The page does not say how an unrated carrier is treated.

Sources: 9, 1, 27, 17, 10, 11

How do you get on the TQL load board?

Finish the packet, then ask for a login. TQL's FAQ says "New carriers must complete a carrier packet at tqlcarriers.com before requesting a login," that after setup you click Request a Login at the top right of tql.com or the mobile site, and that "Approval takes about 48 hours." The load board sits inside TQL Carrier Dashboard, which TQL's app listing says "is available to all TQL-approved contract carriers to search, quote, and instantly book loads, plus submit check calls and paperwork on every load."

You can look before you are approved. The FAQ says "An account is not required to download the mobile app and search for loads. Any other feature will prompt a request for a login." If you run a box truck, sprinter van or hotshot, use the app: TQL says loads for those are available only in the app, not in the Carrier Dashboard website.

Sources: 2, 3, 21, 4, 5

What happens at TQL when your insurance renews or changes?

TQL keeps checking after approval. Its vetting page says "TQL continuously monitors insurance for cancellations, lapses, or changes," and that status changes in authority, insurance or safety indicators "can trigger removal." TQL says its TMS "has status automation that locks out certain carriers, with no overrides," and that a removal decision is made in the TMS, which takes the carrier out of further use.

So the coverage TQL verified at setup has to stay in force at TQL's limits. Before a renewal, a switch of insurers, a lower cargo limit or a dropped reefer endorsement, tell your agent TQL is one of your brokers, so the new coverage is confirmed to TQL before the old policy ends.

Sources: 12, 13

What to send

What to have ready before you open TQL's registration

RMIS does not save a half-finished registration, so gather these first.

1.Your MC or USDOT number, with the operating authority showing active at FMCSA
2.The person who can sign contracts for the carrier, since submitting the Carrier Contract is an electronic signature
3.Our advice: your insurance agent's contact details, since TQL verifies insurance with the agent, not with you
4.At least $1,000,000 of auto liability, TQL's published minimum
5.At least $100,000 of cargo insurance, TQL's published minimum
6.Reefer breakdown on the insurance certificate, if you haul refrigerated freight
7.About 10 minutes for the RMIS registration, which is not saved until you finish

Frequently asked questions

Does TQL require workers' compensation or physical damage insurance?

Neither appears on TQL's carrier FAQ or carrier vetting page. The FAQ's five requirements name auto liability, cargo and reefer breakdown as the only insurance, and the vetting page names the same two minimums. We have not seen the RMIS registration form past its opening page, so if the form asks for more, ask TQL Carrier Contracts. If a lender, lessor or customer contract asks for other coverage, that is that holder's requirement.

How long does TQL carrier setup take?

TQL's registration page says the RMIS process takes about 10 minutes, and its FAQ says a Carrier Dashboard login takes about 48 hours to approve after setup. We found no TQL page that gives a time for the vetting review in between.

Who do you call at TQL about setup?

TQL's registration page lists TQL Carrier Contracts at (800) 580-3101 ext. 69319 for questions about TQL or the Carrier Contract, TQL RMIS Contracts at ext. 54100 for registration, general and after-hours questions, and RMIS at (888) 643-8174 for technical problems with the site.

Does TQL's own insurance cover my loads?

TQL says it carries $500,000 of contingent cargo coverage as a brokerage and $5,000,000 of general liability, and that every subcontracted carrier hauling for TQL carries at least $100,000 of cargo coverage. TQL's coverage is TQL's policy; the $100,000 cargo minimum is still yours to carry.

How long do you have to answer a TQL cargo claim?

TQL says the shipper has 9 months from delivery to give TQL the documents to open a claim, and the carrier has 30 days to respond and 120 days to provide resolution. TQL's Claims Team is at 1.800.580.3101 ext. 69850. Tell your cargo insurer as soon as TQL contacts you, so its process starts inside those windows.

Sources

Where these answers come from

Each entry carries the exact words of the source so you can check it yourself. Forms, rules and carrier pages change; read the current version before acting.

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Talk to Redoubt

Setting up with TQL this week?

Text Redoubt your MC or USDOT number, what you haul and whether you pull a reefer. We will go over your policy against TQL's published minimums with you and say what would have to change before TQL checks it with your agent.

Text us your MC number Call 385-375-7655

This is general insurance information, not legal advice or a coverage determination. The policy forms, the endorsements the carrier issues, and the requirement in writing from whoever is asking control.