Shipmater
Carrier Trust & Safety

Every carrier, verified.
Five layers deep.

Shipmater runs the most thorough carrier verification stack in freight brokerage — government ID, live selfie match, FMCSA lookup, criminal background, and drug clearinghouse — before any carrier moves a single load.

100+

Countries covered by Stripe Identity

5-layer

Verification stack per carrier

0

Approved without identity verification

FCRA

Compliant background screening

The problem with "self-reported" freight

Most load boards accept carrier information at face value. An MC number typed into a form field is not a verification. Shipmater connects directly to FMCSA, Stripe, and Checkr APIs — every check is live, authoritative, and cannot be falsified by the carrier.

01

Government ID + Selfie Match

Powered by Stripe Identity

Every carrier submits a government-issued ID — driver's license or passport — and captures a live selfie. Stripe's AI cross-matches the selfie against the document photo and performs a liveness check to prevent spoofing.

100+ countries, 10,000+ document types supported
Liveness detection — photos and deepfakes rejected
Selfie matched against ID in real time
DOB extracted and age-verified from the document itself
Learn more about Stripe Identity
02

FMCSA DOT & MC# Live Lookup

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

We perform a live lookup against the FMCSA carrier registry to verify DOT and MC numbers are active, in-good-standing, and match the carrier's submitted information — not just accepted at face value.

Real-time FMCSA API lookup, not static database
Confirms operating authority status
Catches revoked or inactive operating authority
Required for interstate freight carriers
Learn more about FMCSA SAFER
03

Criminal Background Check

Powered by Checkr

A comprehensive background check through Checkr screens for criminal history, sex offender registry, global watchlist hits, and county-level court records — the same standard used by major gig economy platforms.

SSN trace, criminal history, sex offender registry
County courthouse records search
Global watchlist screening
FCRA-compliant — carriers notified and have dispute rights
Learn more about Checkr
04

FMCSA Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse

U.S. DOT Mandate

A mandatory federal query to the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse confirms the carrier has no unresolved drug or alcohol violations — required by law for CDL holders operating commercial vehicles.

Federal mandate for CDL holders (49 CFR Part 382)
Queries the FMCSA central repository directly
Catches violations from previous employers
Renewed annually per DOT requirement
Learn more about FMCSA Clearinghouse
05

Human Review & Final Approval

Shipmater Trust Team

Every carrier goes through a final human review before being approved. Our trust team examines the full verification record — identity, background, DOT status, clearinghouse, and insurance — and approves only carriers who meet our standards.

No carrier can work without explicit human approval
Approval blocked until identity verification is confirmed
Ongoing monitoring — re-review triggered by any new violation
Insurance validity checked at onboarding and renewal

What this means for shippers

Every carrier on Shipmater has been personally verified through five independent layers. You're not relying on a self-reported MC number — you're relying on FMCSA, Stripe, Checkr, and a human approval.

Cargo insurance verified at onboarding
Criminal background clear before first load
Operating authority confirmed active in FMCSA
No unresolved drug/alcohol violations (DOT mandate)
Identity confirmed against government-issued ID
Platform Standard
Identity (Stripe)Required
Age Verification (18+)Required
FMCSA DOT/MCRequired
Background Check (Checkr)Required
Drug & Alcohol ClearinghouseRequired
Human ApprovalRequired

Verified carriers earn more

Shippers on Shipmater can see your verification badges. Carriers with full verification — identity, DOT, background, clearinghouse — get priority placement on loads and are more likely to be selected from the same-rate pool.

Start carrier onboarding
Stripe Identity verification powered by stripe.com/identity. Background checks by Checkr. All carrier verification is conducted in accordance with applicable federal and state law.