Cargo Van Guide
Cargo Van Load Boards: Where Van Freight Is Posted and What You Need to Book It
Van loads are not hard to find. Getting a broker to hand one to you is the hard part. Before any load moves, the broker checks your authority, your federal filing and your insurance certificate, and a van that is legal to drive can still fail that check.
This guide covers the four kinds of places cargo van and sprinter van freight gets posted, the setup steps every board and broker runs before you can book, the insurance numbers a van has to show, the cargo policy clauses that cause denied van claims, and how to read a van load post before you say yes.
Four places cargo van freight gets posted
Most van operators end up using more than one source. The big public boards are where you learn what lanes pay; the steadier freight tends to come from networks and brokers that already know you. Each source asks for something different before it lets you in.
| Source | What you find | What it asks of you | Fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large subscription load boards | Thousands of posts a day from brokers nationwide. Most let you filter by equipment, and van or sprinter is usually one of the choices, though the bulk of the volume is for 53-foot trailers. | A monthly subscription, an active MC number, and broker-by-broker setup before you can haul what you find. | Good for learning lanes and rates. Expect to call through many posts to find ones sized for a van. |
| Expedite networks | Members-only networks, Sylectus being one widely used example, where expedite carriers and brokers post time-critical, small-volume freight: auto parts, medical supplies, line-down shipments. | Approval to join, which usually includes a review of your authority and insurance. Some networks or the carriers inside them also look for a track record. | The most van-sized freight in one place, but the hardest door to get through with brand-new authority. |
| Broker and shipper portals and apps | Load boards run by a single broker or shipper for carriers already set up with them. Once approved, you see their freight before it reaches the public boards. | A completed carrier packet, a passing insurance review, and in many cases automated monitoring of your authority and certificate. | Where repeat freight comes from once you have a few good relationships. |
| Local and last-mile sources | Courier companies, regional distributors, parts suppliers and delivery contractors that need vans for same-day or route work, often found by calling rather than on any board. | Their own contract, often their own insurance minimums, and sometimes a lease to their authority instead of using yours. | Steady work close to home. Read the contract to see whose authority and whose insurance cover the trip. |
Notice the column in the middle. Every source, paid or free, ends with the same gate: someone checks your authority and your insurance before the first load. That gate is where we spend the rest of this page.
What every board and broker checks before you can book
A subscription gets you a login. It does not get you a load. These are the steps that stand between a new van carrier and its first paid run, in the order they usually happen.
1.Operating authority for interstate for-hire freight
Hauling other people's goods across state lines for pay needs an MC number, whatever the vehicle weighs. The application runs through FMCSA's registration system, which also issues your USDOT number. Purely local, one-state work may only need what your state requires, so check before you assume either way.
2.The insurance filing that switches the authority on
Your authority is granted but not active until an insurer files proof of liability coverage with FMCSA (the BMC-91 or BMC-91X filing). New authorities also sit through a protest period before they go active. Until both are done, brokers cannot legally tender you a load.
3.A process agent filing
The BOC-3 names someone in each state who can accept legal papers for you. It is cheap and quick, and an authority without one stays inactive.
4.The broker's carrier packet
Every broker you haul for asks for your authority letter, a W-9, a signed carrier agreement and a certificate of insurance naming them as certificate holder. Many also run your MC number through a monitoring service that checks your authority age, safety record and insurance on file.
5.The insurance review
Someone at the broker reads your certificate against their requirements: the liability limit, the cargo limit, the vehicle listed, and any exclusions. This is the step where most new van carriers get turned away, and it is covered in the next section.
Our list of broker carrier setup documents walks through each item in a typical packet. If a broker tells you your authority shows inactive after you were told it was granted, the guide to an authority showing inactive explains how to find out whether the filing is missing or the record is just behind.
The insurance numbers a cargo van has to show
Here is the trap. Federal rules set a lower liability floor for small vehicles: a for-hire carrier of general property in a vehicle rated under 10,001 pounds needs $300,000, not the $750,000 that applies to heavier trucks. Plenty of van owners buy exactly that, get their authority switched on, and then find that the brokers posting the loads want far more.
Brokers set their own requirements in the carrier agreement, and most do not scale them down for vans. The table sets the legal floor beside what you are likely to be asked for.
| Coverage | Federal floor | Commonly asked for | What to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auto liability | $300,000 for a for-hire property vehicle under 10,001 lb GVWR (49 CFR 387.303). | Commonly $750,000 to $1,000,000. Large brokers often publish $1,000,000. | A van insured at the federal floor is legal to run and still fails many carrier packets. Ask each broker for its number before you buy. |
| Motor truck cargo | No federal requirement for general freight. | Commonly $100,000. Some expedite and high-value loads ask for more. | Brokers read the exclusions as closely as the limit. A cargo policy that excludes the commodity on the load fails review even at the right amount. |
| General liability | None. | Some shippers and courier contracts ask for $1,000,000 per occurrence, mostly for work on their premises. | Matters more for local delivery and inside work than for point-to-point board freight. |
| Physical damage | None. | Not a broker requirement, but your lender or lessor will require it on a financed van. | Covers your own van. Without it, a crash or theft can leave you paying off a vehicle you no longer have. |
The practical move is to collect the insurance page from the three or four brokers you most want to work with before you buy a policy, then insure to the highest number on that list. Raising a limit mid-term is possible, but it means a new certificate, a premium change and a delay while the broker re-reviews you. Our page on broker insurance requirements lists what several large brokers publish, with the date each was checked.
One more line to watch: if your van's weight rating is 10,001 pounds or higher, as some high-roof, extended sprinters are, you are no longer in the small-vehicle tier. The $750,000 federal minimum applies, and so do the rules that come with heavier commercial vehicles. Read the rating on the door sticker, not the brochure.
Cargo policy fine print that sinks van claims
A $100,000 cargo limit on the certificate gets you through setup. Whether it pays when a load is stolen or damaged depends on conditions most van carriers never read. These four come up again and again with small-vehicle freight.
Unattended vehicle conditions
Many cargo forms limit or exclude theft from a vehicle left unattended unless it was locked, the keys were removed, and in some forms an alarm was set or the van was parked in a secured lot. A van driver stopping for food on a long run is exactly the situation these clauses were written for.
Commodity exclusions
Electronics, cell phones, pharmaceuticals, tobacco, jewelry and alcohol show up on exclusion or sublimit lists because they are stolen often. Expedite freight leans toward high-value goods, so read the list before you book loads you found on an expedite network.
Scheduled vehicles only
Some cargo policies cover freight only while it is in a vehicle listed on the policy. If you buy a second van or borrow one while yours is in the shop, freight in the unlisted van may have no cover until your agent adds it.
Personal auto policies
A personal auto policy almost always excludes carrying goods for pay. If the van is still on a personal policy, a crash on a paid load can leave you with no liability coverage at all, and no broker will accept a personal policy in the carrier packet.
When you shop cargo insurance, ask for the exclusion list and the theft conditions in writing, and ask how the policy treats a temporary replacement vehicle. Our glossary entry on motor truck cargo coverage explains the coverage form itself.
How to read a cargo van load post before you take it
A post shows a pickup, a drop, a weight and sometimes a rate. What it leaves out is whether the load fits your van, your schedule and your policy. Run these checks every time.
- Weight against your real payload. Check the door-jamb sticker: payload is GVWR minus what the van weighs empty with you in it. Many full-size cargo vans land somewhere around 3,000 to 4,500 pounds; a post written for a straight truck can exceed that.
- Dimensions and piece count. A load that fits by weight can still fail on length or pallet count. Know your inside cargo length, width between the wheel wells and door opening height.
- Deadhead miles. Add the empty miles to and from the load to the loaded miles before you judge the rate.
- Rate per total mile. Divide the pay by loaded plus empty miles, then compare it to your cost per mile, which includes fuel, maintenance, the van payment and insurance.
- Pickup and delivery windows. Expedite freight often means driving through the night. The federal hours-of-service limits are written for vehicles of 10,001 lb and up, but a broker's delivery window and your own fatigue still set a limit on what you can safely run.
- Commodity. Match what the load is against the exclusion list on your cargo policy before you accept it, not after something goes missing.
A worked example
Say a post offers $600 for a 300-mile run, and the pickup is 60 miles from where you are parked. The return trip home is another 300 empty miles unless you find a reload. On loaded miles alone, that looks like $2.00 a mile. On all 660 miles you would drive, it is about $0.91. If your all-in cost is $0.85 a mile, the load barely covers the van, and a single stop for a flat tire turns it into a loss. A reload near the drop changes the math completely, which is why experienced van operators line up the second load before accepting the first.
Insurance is one of the few costs in that number that does not change with the miles you run, so it weighs heaviest on a van that sits. Put your premium, payment and running costs into our cost per mile calculator to find the rate below which you should pass on a post.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need my own authority to use a cargo van load board?
To book freight from brokers on your own, yes: brokers can only tender interstate loads to a carrier with active authority and an insurance filing on record. The alternative is leasing onto a carrier that already has authority and hauling under its number, in which case its insurance usually covers the trips it dispatches.
Is the $300,000 federal minimum enough insurance for a cargo van?
It is enough to make your authority legal for a for-hire property vehicle under 10,001 pounds GVWR. It is often not enough to get set up with brokers, many of whom ask for $750,000 or $1,000,000 of auto liability no matter what size the vehicle is. Collect the requirements from the brokers you want before you choose a limit.
Why does a broker turn down a van with a valid insurance certificate?
Usually one of four things: the liability limit is under the broker's number, the cargo limit is too low, the cargo policy excludes the commodity, or the van on the load is not the vehicle listed on the policy. A brand-new authority can also be turned away on age alone, regardless of insurance.
Can I haul load board freight in a cargo van on my personal auto insurance?
No. Personal auto policies almost always exclude carrying goods for pay, so a claim on a paid load can be denied outright. Brokers will not accept a personal policy in a carrier packet, and the federal filing that activates your authority has to come from a commercial policy.
Is a sprinter van treated differently from a regular cargo van?
Underwriters care about the weight rating, the value and how the van is used more than the badge. A high-roof sprinter with a GVWR of 10,001 pounds or more crosses into the $750,000 federal minimum for general freight and the rules that come with heavier vehicles. Below that line, it is rated much like any other cargo van.
How much does cargo van insurance cost for load board work?
It depends on your state, your driving record, the limits your brokers require, the van's value and how far you run. New authorities pay more than carriers with a few clean years. The fastest way to a real number is a quote built to the requirements of the brokers you actually want to haul for.
Failing a broker's insurance check with your van?
Send us your USDOT number and the insurance requirements from the brokers you want to haul for. We will quote a van policy built to those numbers, with the federal filing included, across the markets that write cargo vans and new authorities.