The Freight Broker Accountability Bill: What It Means and How to Prepare

If you're a freight broker, December 18, 2025 just changed your risk profile. Representative John Moolenaar introduced the Patrick and Barbara Kowalski Freight Brokers Safety Act—a bill that would hold brokers financially liable for contracting with carriers that have three or more DOT violations within five years. The penalty? 10% of the contracted cargo's value, paid to the Highway Trust Fund. For a small brokerage running $5 million in annual freight, that's $500,000 in potential liability per violation. This isn't abstract policy—it's a direct financial risk that requires immediate action on carrier vetting and compliance tracking.

Key Takeaways for Freight Brokers

• The Patrick Kowalski Freight Brokers Safety Act, introduced December 18, 2025, would impose a 10% penalty on freight brokers who contract with carriers having three or more DOT violations within five years.
• The bill grants FMCSA enhanced authority to investigate brokers and impose operating requirements following fatal crashes involving contracted carriers, creating new compliance obligations beyond financial penalties.
• Small brokerages without systematic carrier vetting processes face the highest risk, as manual carrier qualification methods won't scale to track DOT violations across hundreds of carriers.
• Brokers need to immediately audit their carrier qualification processes, implement DOT violation tracking systems, and establish clear documentation of carrier safety reviews.
• Modern brokerages are treating carrier safety as a first-class operational concern: tracking DOT violations automatically, flagging high-risk carriers, and maintaining audit-ready documentation of carrier qualification decisions.
• ARK TMS is designed for small teams (1-25 users) who need to track carrier compliance, document safety reviews, and manage carrier relationships without enterprise complexity or months of setup.

Who This Matters For

Ideal reader:

• U.S. freight brokerages with 1-50 employees
• Brokers currently managing carrier vetting manually or in spreadsheets
• Operations that don't systematically track DOT violations across their carrier base
• Brokers working with small fleets or carriers that may have compliance issues

Who can skip this:

• Asset-based carriers without brokerage operations
• Large enterprise brokerages with dedicated compliance teams and automated carrier safety systems
• Brokers who already have systematic DOT violation tracking and carrier qualification processes

The Patrick Kowalski Act: What It Actually Does

The Patrick and Barbara Kowalski Freight Brokers Safety Act, introduced by U.S. Representative John Moolenaar (R-Michigan) on December 18, 2025, creates new financial and regulatory liability for freight brokers. Here's what the bill proposes:

Financial Penalties for Unsafe Carrier Contracts

The bill would impose a civil penalty equal to 10% of the value of contracted cargo when brokers engage carriers that have three or more Department of Transportation violations within a five-year period. These penalties would be directed to the Highway Trust Fund to support roadway safety initiatives.

What this means in practice:

• A broker contracts a $50,000 load with a carrier that has three DOT violations in the past five years
• If the bill becomes law, the broker faces a $5,000 penalty (10% of $50,000)
• For a brokerage running $5 million annually, one violation could cost $500,000
• Multiple violations compound the financial risk

Enhanced FMCSA Investigation Authority

Beyond financial penalties, the bill seeks to grant FMCSA greater authority to investigate freight brokers and enforce operating requirements following fatal crashes involving contracted carriers. This means brokers could face operational restrictions, not just financial penalties, if a contracted carrier is involved in a fatal accident.

What this means in practice:

• FMCSA could require brokers to implement specific carrier qualification processes after a fatal crash
• Brokers could face operating restrictions or requirements to demonstrate improved vetting
• Documentation of carrier safety reviews becomes critical for defending against enforcement actions

The Five-Year Lookback Window

The bill uses a five-year lookback period for DOT violations, meaning brokers need to track carrier violation history going back five years, not just current compliance status. This requires systematic record-keeping and violation tracking that most small brokerages don't currently have.

What this means in practice:

• Brokers need historical violation data, not just current carrier status
• Carrier qualification processes must capture and retain violation history
• Systems need to flag carriers approaching the three-violation threshold before contracts are signed

Why This Hits Small Brokerages Harder

For small and midsize brokerages, the Patrick Kowalski Act creates disproportionate risk:

Manual Processes Don't Scale

If you're managing carrier vetting in spreadsheets or email threads, tracking DOT violations across hundreds of carriers over five years becomes impossible. Manual processes create gaps, errors, and audit risk—exactly what this bill targets.

The problem:

• Spreadsheets can't automatically pull DOT violation data
• Email-based carrier qualification doesn't create audit trails
• Manual processes miss violations that automated systems would catch

Financial Impact Is Disproportionate

A $500,000 penalty for a small brokerage running $5 million annually represents 10% of annual revenue—potentially business-ending. Large brokerages with dedicated compliance teams and automated systems can absorb these penalties; small brokerages cannot.

The math:

• Small brokerage: $5M annual revenue, $500K penalty = 10% of revenue
• Large brokerage: $500M annual revenue, $500K penalty = 0.1% of revenue
• The same penalty represents 100x more financial impact for small brokerages

Carrier Base Risk Profile

Small brokerages often work with smaller carriers and owner-operators who may have higher violation rates than large fleets. This doesn't mean these carriers are unsafe—but it does mean small brokerages face higher statistical risk of contracting with carriers that meet the three-violation threshold.

The reality:

• Small carriers may have fewer resources for compliance management
• Owner-operators may have violations from different operating contexts
• Small brokerages need better tools to assess carrier risk, not just avoid small carriers

Why This Matters for Freight Brokers

The Patrick Kowalski Act represents a fundamental shift in broker liability and compliance obligations. Here's what you need to understand:

1. Carrier Vetting Is Now a Financial Risk Management Issue

Carrier qualification isn't just about service quality anymore—it's about financial risk. Every carrier contract creates potential liability if that carrier has three DOT violations. Brokers need to treat carrier vetting like insurance underwriting: systematic, documented, and risk-based.

2. Documentation Is Your Defense

When FMCSA investigates brokers following fatal crashes, documentation of carrier safety reviews becomes critical. Brokers who can demonstrate systematic vetting processes, violation tracking, and informed decision-making will have stronger defenses than those relying on informal processes.

3. Automation Isn't Optional

Manual carrier vetting processes won't scale to track DOT violations across hundreds of carriers over five years. Brokers need automated systems that pull violation data, flag high-risk carriers, and maintain audit-ready documentation. This isn't a "nice to have"—it's a compliance requirement.

4. The Bill May Change, But the Trend Won't

Even if the Patrick Kowalski Act doesn't pass in its current form, the trend toward broker accountability is clear. FMCSA is already working on broker transparency rules. State legislatures are considering similar bills. The industry is moving toward greater broker responsibility for carrier safety—and brokers need to prepare now.

5. Small Brokerages Can Compete, But Need Better Tools

Small brokerages don't need to avoid small carriers or owner-operators—they need better tools to assess carrier risk systematically. Modern TMS systems can track DOT violations, flag high-risk carriers, and document qualification decisions without requiring enterprise-level resources.

What to Do This Week

Small brokerages should take immediate action on four fronts: audit current carrier vetting processes, implement DOT violation tracking, establish documentation workflows, and build carrier risk management systems. Here's the breakdown:

1. Audit Your Current Carrier Vetting Process

This week:

• Review your last 50 carrier contracts and identify how you currently assess carrier safety (DOT violations, safety ratings, insurance, etc.).
• Map where carrier safety information is stored (email, spreadsheets, carrier database) and identify gaps in violation tracking.
• Document your current carrier qualification process—even if it's informal—so you know what needs improvement.

By end of January:

• Create a carrier qualification checklist that includes DOT violation history review (five-year lookback).
• Establish minimum safety standards for carrier qualification (maximum violations allowed, safety rating requirements, etc.).
• Train your team on the new qualification requirements so everyone follows the same process.

2. Implement DOT Violation Tracking

This week:

• Research tools and systems that can automatically pull DOT violation data (FMCSA's Safety Measurement System, carrier safety APIs, TMS integrations).
• Identify which carriers in your current base have DOT violations and document their violation history.
• Create a simple tracking system (spreadsheet or database) to monitor violations across your carrier base.

By end of January:

• Implement automated DOT violation tracking in your TMS or carrier management system.
• Set up alerts for carriers approaching the three-violation threshold.
• Establish a process for reviewing violation history before signing new carrier contracts.

3. Establish Documentation Workflows

This week:

• Create templates for carrier qualification documentation (safety review forms, violation tracking sheets, qualification decision records).
• Map where carrier qualification documents should be stored (centralized system, not email threads).
• Document your carrier qualification decision-making process so it's repeatable and defensible.

By end of January:

• Implement a documentation workflow that captures carrier safety reviews, violation history, and qualification decisions.
• Store all carrier qualification documents in a centralized system with proper organization and searchability.
• Create an audit trail that shows when carriers were reviewed, what violations were found, and why qualification decisions were made.

4. Build Carrier Risk Management Systems

This week:

• Categorize carriers by risk level (low risk: 0 violations, medium risk: 1-2 violations, high risk: 3+ violations).
• Establish different qualification requirements for different risk levels (more scrutiny for higher-risk carriers).
• Create a process for monitoring carrier risk over time (quarterly reviews, violation updates, risk reclassification).

By end of January:

• Implement carrier risk scoring in your TMS or carrier management system.
• Set up automated alerts for carriers whose risk level changes (new violations, approaching thresholds).
• Establish a process for managing high-risk carriers (additional documentation, more frequent reviews, or exclusion from certain loads).

How Modern Brokerages Handle This

Modern small and midsize brokerages aren't treating the Patrick Kowalski Act as a future problem. They're building carrier safety management into their core operations:

Automated DOT Violation Tracking

Modern brokerages integrate DOT violation data directly into their TMS, automatically pulling violation history from FMCSA's Safety Measurement System or carrier safety APIs. This means:

• Real-time violation data: Carrier violation history updates automatically, not manually
• Risk flagging: Carriers approaching the three-violation threshold are flagged before contracts are signed
• Historical tracking: Five-year violation history is maintained automatically, not through manual record-keeping

Systems like ARK TMS are designed for small teams (1-25 users) who need automated carrier safety tracking without enterprise complexity or months of setup.

Systematic Carrier Qualification Workflows

Modern brokerages build carrier qualification into their TMS workflows, ensuring every carrier goes through the same safety review process:

• Qualification checklists: Standardized safety review forms that capture DOT violations, safety ratings, insurance, and other risk factors
• Approval workflows: Clear processes for carrier qualification decisions, with documentation at each step
• Risk-based qualification: Different requirements for different risk levels, not one-size-fits-all processes

This ensures consistency, reduces errors, and creates audit-ready documentation of carrier qualification decisions.

Carrier Risk Management and Monitoring

Modern brokerages treat carrier safety as an ongoing concern, not a one-time qualification:

• Risk scoring: Carriers are scored based on violation history, safety ratings, and other factors
• Ongoing monitoring: Violation data is updated automatically, and carriers are re-evaluated when risk levels change
• Proactive management: High-risk carriers are flagged before problems occur, not after violations accumulate

This proactive approach reduces the risk of contracting with carriers that meet the three-violation threshold and creates stronger defenses if FMCSA investigates.

Documentation and Audit Readiness

Modern brokerages maintain comprehensive documentation of carrier qualification decisions:

• Centralized storage: All carrier safety documents stored in one place, not scattered across email threads
• Searchable records: Carrier qualification history easily accessible for audits or investigations
• Decision documentation: Clear records of why carriers were qualified or disqualified, with violation history and risk assessments

This documentation becomes critical when defending against FMCSA investigations or demonstrating compliance with the Patrick Kowalski Act's requirements.

What This Means Going Forward

The Patrick Kowalski Act may or may not pass in its current form, but the trend toward broker accountability is clear. FMCSA is already working on broker transparency rules. State legislatures are considering similar bills. The industry is moving toward greater broker responsibility for carrier safety—and brokers need to prepare now.

For small and midsize brokerages, the practical response is the same regardless of the legislative outcome:

• Treat carrier safety as financial risk management: Carrier qualification isn't just about service quality—it's about financial liability
• Automate violation tracking: Manual processes won't scale to track DOT violations across hundreds of carriers over five years
• Document everything: Comprehensive documentation of carrier qualification decisions becomes critical for defending against investigations
• Build systems that scale: Small brokerages need tools that provide enterprise-level carrier safety management without enterprise complexity

The brokerages that thrive through this transition will be the ones who turned "we try to work with safe carriers" into "here's our systematic, documented, audit-ready carrier qualification process."

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ARK TMS is a modern transportation management system designed for small freight brokerages (1-25 users) who need fast setup, carrier compliance tracking, and lean operations without enterprise complexity. Learn more about how ARK TMS helps brokerages manage carrier safety, track DOT violations, and maintain audit-ready documentation at arktms.com.