Quick answer: Canada has no single national freight broker licence that we could find. The clear provincial rule is in Quebec: anyone who, for remuneration, acts as an intermediary in a transaction for transport by heavy vehicle must be on the Commission des transports du Québec's list of transport service intermediaries, and a contract made by an unregistered intermediary has no effect. In the other provinces we checked, the trucking safety programs license the operators of trucks rather than brokers. A Canadian broker that arranges loads moving in the United States needs FMCSA broker registration and financial security for that work.
This article looks only at licensing. For the business side of starting a brokerage, such as insurance, finding shippers and building a carrier base, see our guide on how to start a freight broker business in Canada, and for how brokers and carriers differ, see freight broker vs carrier.
Federal rules: no broker licence in the Motor Vehicle Transport Act
Trucking that crosses provincial borders is federal in principle, but the federal Motor Vehicle Transport Act hands day-to-day regulation to the provinces. Section 7 bars anyone from operating an extra-provincial motor carrier undertaking without a safety fitness certificate issued by a provincial authority. The Act regulates carrier undertakings and does not mention brokers. We did not find any federal licence for freight brokers.
Quebec: the list of transport service intermediaries
Quebec's Act respecting owners, operators and drivers of heavy vehicles sets up a licensing scheme that catches most freight brokers.
- Who it covers. Section 15 defines a transport service intermediary as any person who, for remuneration, acts directly or indirectly as an intermediary in a transaction between third persons the object of which is the transportation of persons or property by a heavy vehicle. The CTQ's own guidance names the load broker and the freight forwarder as examples, and notes that a heavy vehicle operator that acts as an intermediary, regularly or occasionally, is covered too.
- What it requires. The CTQ keeps a public list of transport service intermediaries carrying on business in Quebec, and only intermediaries on the list may provide those services. The list can be searched by name or intermediary number through the CTQ's online file search.
- What happens if you skip it. Section 16 requires every intermediary to register and to renew its registration. If a person fails to register or renew, any contract it enters into becomes without effect, which the CTQ describes as null.
Conditions to register and stay registered
Section 16.1 says the Commission must refuse or cancel the registration of an intermediary that:
- was convicted within the past five years of an indictable offence related to its activities as a transport service intermediary;
- is not registered under Quebec's enterprise registration law or as an employer with the workers' compensation regime, where the law requires it; or
- has not paid a fine imposed under that Act, the Transport Act or the Highway Safety Code.
Section 16.2 also lets the Commission refuse or cancel the registration of an intermediary that has an Unsatisfactory safety rating as an owner or operator of heavy vehicles, and section 16.3 lets it cancel a registration for up to five years, or impose conditions, where an intermediary's practices endanger road users or road integrity. Section 18.1 gives the government power to require a suretyship contract from intermediaries by regulation; check with the CTQ whether such a requirement applies to you.
The CTQ's obligations page adds the practical steps: register with Quebec's enterprise registrar where required, register as an employer with the CNESST within 14 days of starting activities, which the CTQ says generally means the day the first worker is hired, pay outstanding fines, and renew on the Commission's schedule.
Bulk trucking brokerage is a separate permit
Quebec also licenses brokerage of bulk trucking services. To broker bulk trucking in a public market, the CTQ says you need a bulk trucking brokerage permit issued by the Commission and must be on the intermediaries list. These permits are held by non-profit organizations and cooperatives that serve regional brokerage zones, so they rarely concern a general freight brokerage, but check before quoting bulk work for public bodies in Quebec.
Other provinces
The safety programs we reviewed outside Quebec license the people who operate trucks. Ontario's CVOR program covers operators of commercial vehicles, Alberta's Safety Fitness Certificate covers carriers that own commercial trucks, and British Columbia's NSC program covers commercial vehicles above set weights. None of those program pages describes a licence for freight brokers.
That is not proof that no rule applies to your business. Brokers still need ordinary business registration, tax accounts and, with staff, workers' compensation registration. Rules can change, and a brokerage that also runs trucks needs the carrier credentials of the province that plates them. Confirm with the transportation ministry in each province where you operate before relying on the absence of a licence.
| Jurisdiction | Broker-specific licence or registration | What we verified |
|---|---|---|
| Federal (Canada) | None found | Motor Vehicle Transport Act regulates carrier undertakings through provincial safety certificates |
| Quebec | Yes: list of transport service intermediaries (CTQ); separate permit for bulk trucking brokerage in public markets | Act respecting owners, operators and drivers of heavy vehicles, ss. 15 to 18.1; CTQ guidance |
| Ontario | None found in the CVOR program | CVOR covers commercial vehicle operators |
| Alberta | None found in carrier certificate programs | Safety Fitness Certificate covers carriers that own commercial vehicles |
| British Columbia | None found in the NSC program | NSC covers commercial vehicles above set weights |
| United States (for US loads) | Yes: FMCSA broker registration with financial security | 49 U.S.C. 13904 and 14916; 49 CFR 371 and 387.307 |
US loads: FMCSA broker authority
FMCSA's jurisdiction reaches the procurement of transportation as well as the transportation itself. Under 49 U.S.C. 13501, it covers motor carrier transportation between US states, and between the United States and a foreign country to the extent the transportation is in the United States.
Within that scope, 49 U.S.C. 14916 says a person may provide interstate brokerage services as a broker only if it is registered under section 13904 and has met the financial security requirements of section 13906. A person who knowingly authorizes or permits unauthorized brokering is liable to the US government for a civil penalty and to the injured party for its claims, and the liability extends jointly and severally to the company's officers, directors and principals. The section has exceptions, for example for ocean freight forwarders arranging inland transport as part of an international through movement, and for licensed customs brokers moving goods under a customs bond.
To register, section 13904 requires the broker to show it has sufficient experience and is fit, willing and able, and to employ as an officer someone with at least 3 years of relevant experience or who otherwise shows knowledge of the rules. Under 49 CFR 387.307, FMCSA will not register a broker until a surety bond or trust fund is in effect, filed on Form BMC-84 or BMC-85, at the amount the regulation sets.
Once registered, the broker must follow 49 CFR 371. It must keep a record of each transaction for three years, and each party to a brokered transaction has the right to review that record (section 371.3). It must not broker under any name other than its registered one, or represent itself as a carrier (section 371.7). Our article on the FMCSA broker transparency rule explains what carriers can ask for under section 371.3.
A licensing checklist for a Canadian brokerage
- List every province where you arrange freight, and every province where your shippers and carriers are based.
- If you broker any freight involving Quebec heavy-vehicle transport, register on the CTQ intermediaries list before quoting, and diarize renewals.
- If any load moves in the United States, register with FMCSA as a broker and file the required bond or trust fund before arranging it.
- If you also run trucks, hold the carrier credentials of the jurisdiction that plates them, and keep the two roles clearly separate on paperwork.
- Confirm current rules with each provincial transportation ministry; do not rely on another broker's experience.
Once licensed, vet every carrier you use. See how Canadian freight brokers vet carriers. If you also broker US freight, the US guide to broker transaction records on truckerpro.net covers the record rules in more depth.
How TruckerPro supports licensed brokerages
TruckerPro does not register brokers or check licences, but it keeps the records a brokerage runs on in one company account. Broker Basic covers single-carrier tendering, the carrier portal, customers, rate agreements, accessorials, invoicing, carrier payables and claims. Every offer, counter and response on a tender is logged, carriers upload PODs, bills of lading and insurance certificates through the portal, and insurance, UCR and IFTA expiry dates are tracked for each carrier. Broker Everything adds waterfall and broadcast tendering, scorecards, margin rules and factoring, and carriers that also broker get brokerage tools from the Mobile plan up. See TruckerPro for brokers.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a federal freight broker licence in Canada?
We did not find one. The federal Motor Vehicle Transport Act requires extra-provincial motor carrier undertakings to operate under a provincial safety fitness certificate, and it does not mention brokers. Licensing of freight intermediaries, where it exists, is provincial, and Quebec is the clear case.
Do I need to register with the CTQ to broker freight in Quebec?
Yes, if you act as an intermediary for remuneration in a transaction between third parties for transport by heavy vehicle. Quebec law requires transport service intermediaries to be on the public list kept by the Commission des transports du Québec, says only listed intermediaries may provide such services, and makes contracts of an intermediary that fails to register or renew without effect.
Does a Canadian broker need FMCSA authority?
It does if it provides interstate brokerage services under US jurisdiction. 49 U.S.C. 14916 says a person may provide interstate brokerage services as a broker only if registered under section 13904 and compliant with the financial security requirements, and FMCSA's jurisdiction covers transportation between the United States and a foreign country to the extent it is in the United States.
Can a licensed broker also haul freight with its own trucks?
In the US, a broker may not provide transportation as a motor carrier unless it has registered separately as a motor carrier, under 49 U.S.C. 13904(d). In Canada, the trucks themselves need the operator credentials of the province where they are plated, such as an NSC safety fitness certificate or a CVOR certificate in Ontario.
Sources
- Act respecting owners, operators and drivers of heavy vehicles, CQLR c P-30.3, sections 15 to 18.1 (LégisQuébec)
- Commission des transports du Québec: Intermédiaires en services de transport
- CTQ: Obligations of transport service intermediaries
- CTQ: Courtage en services de camionnage en vrac
- Motor Vehicle Transport Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. 29 (3rd Supp.), section 7 (Justice Laws)
- Ontario: Commercial vehicle operator's registration (CVOR)
- Alberta: Commercial carrier certificates and operating status
- BC CVSE: National Safety Code
- 49 U.S.C. 13501 (Cornell LII), 13904 and 14916
- 49 CFR Part 371, Brokers of Property (eCFR)
- 49 CFR 387.307, Property broker surety bond or trust fund (eCFR)