Blanket of coverage and Process Agents

All freight forwarders and logistics companies are required by law to assign a process agent, in every state they’ll be operating, upon which legal papers can be served. After acquiring the MC (motor carrier) number from FMCSA, the next step is getting a process agent to file BOC 3 on your company’s behalf. You can choose a licensed and registered process agent from the list published on website of FMCSA. 

Select the process agent: 

The selection of a process agent should be done carefully; you must shop around first, ask for free quotes, evaluate the services provided and then select the company that suits best to your needs. 

Sending Request to process agent: 

Once you select the process agent you want to work with, you have to send a formal online application to them. Most companies have 9 to 5 operating hours and if you send the application within this time window, they immediately start working on BOC 3 filing. This doesn’t mean you can’t send the application at any other time. As soon as the process agents receive the application, the will file BOC 3 with FMCSA. 

A broker's BOC 3 application is different from direct carriers in a way because they can designate themselves as their process agents. If a direct carrier is already in contract with a broker, they may designate them as their process agent. 

Cost: 

Process agents charge $25 to $50 per document. As far as filing of BOC 3 is concerned, you have to pay a one-time charge of $30 to $40 and that is it. A process agent must not charge anything other than this, and there should be no hidden quarterly charges. 

Filing brokers BOC 3 application: 

A broker can fill the Blanket of coverage form and submit it to FMCSA. For Direct carriers a process agent will file it, within 24-hours of filing the form, the information will become available on the website of FMCSA, and the agent will send a copy to the company for record-keeping. FMCSA requires electronic filing of BOC 3 now and a process agent should do it like that. FMCSA will issue a Certificate of Operating Authority once they receive BOC 3. 

Follow-ups: 

Responsible and reliable process agents arrange regular meetings with the clients to avoid any conflict of interest. These follow-up meetings are important for healthy professional relationships. 

If you go to the website of FMCSA and look at the list of registered process agents, you’ll see that A+ Agents of Process Inc. is the first name, this company is one of the highly experienced process agent firms. They’ve been in the industry for a while and provide impeccable services.