Anyone can put a logo in a footer. The credentials worth anything are the ones held in a register maintained by the issuing authority, which you can check without asking the company. Below are nine, what each actually proves, and — importantly — what none of them prove.
Always check at the issuer, not on the company website. A certificate image, a PDF or a number typed into a page is not evidence; the register is. Registers and rules below were checked on 16 August 2026.
The nine
| Credential | Issued by | What it proves | Checkable at source? |
|---|---|---|---|
| FMC OTI licence | US Federal Maritime Commission | Licensed and bonded to act as an ocean freight forwarder or NVOCC in US trades | Yes — the FMC runs a public OTI search by name, licence number, trade name and location |
| FMCSA broker authority | US Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration | Registered to broker US road freight with financial security in effect | Yes — FMCSA public registration records |
| US customs broker permit | US Customs and Border Protection | The company holds a valid broker permit and filer code. A forwarder is not automatically a customs broker | Yes — CBP publishes a national broker listing with filer codes |
| IATA cargo agent | IATA | Approved to issue air waybills and settle with airlines through CASS | Partly — IATA publishes a cargo directory, but it is a business listing rather than an accreditation register |
| AEO status | EU national customs authorities | Customs has audited their compliance systems, records and security. The strongest customs credential in Europe | Yes, with a catch — the EU AEO database is opt-in (see below) |
| CTPAT | US Customs and Border Protection | Voluntary supply-chain security partnership membership | No public register — ask for their SVI number, shared partner to partner |
| FIATA membership | FIATA, via national associations | Membership of a national forwarders association, usually carrying conduct rules | Yes — FIATA publishes a public member directory by country |
| BIFA membership (UK) | British International Freight Association | Trading on BIFA standard conditions with insurance meeting those liabilities | Yes — BIFA runs a public member search |
| ISO 9001 | Accredited certification bodies | A documented, audited quality management system — not service quality itself | Yes — via the named certification body |
The bond amounts, and what they are not
US licences require financial security, and the figures are public:
- Ocean freight forwarder: $50,000.
- NVOCC based in the US, and licensed non-US NVOCC: $75,000.
- Unlicensed non-US registered NVOCC: $150,000.
- Road brokers and freight forwarders under FMCSA: $75,000, held as a surety bond or trust fund.
Those numbers are small against cargo values, and they are shared among all claimants. A bond is not cargo insurance and does not guarantee you will be made whole — see why carrier liability is never enough.
One useful development: since 16 January 2026, if an FMCSA broker's or freight forwarder's available security falls below $75,000 and is not replenished within seven calendar days, the operating authority is suspended. A current, unsuspended authority therefore means more than it used to.
Two traps that produce the wrong answer
An empty AEO search does not mean no AEO status. Publication in the EU database is opt-in — companies choose whether to appear. Plenty of large, genuinely authorised forwarders are absent. Treat a hit as confirmation and a miss as inconclusive, then ask for the authorisation number.
CBP no longer lists brokers by port. District permits were eliminated at the end of 2022 and brokers now operate on a single national permit, so the old port-by-port pages are gone. The current listing also covers permitted broker companies, not individually licensed brokers — which is what you want when you are checking a firm.
What these actually tell you
Licences are the floor, not the ceiling. An FMC licence means the company is entitled to do the work and has posted a bond. It says nothing about whether they are good at it, whether they answer emails, or whether they are solvent. Treat a missing licence as disqualifying and a present one as the start of the conversation.
Association membership is a conduct signal, not an audit. Associations set standards and provide a complaints route. Most do not audit finances.
ISO 9001 certifies process, not outcome. It means procedures are written down and followed. A consistently mediocre service can be fully compliant.
The credential nobody can show you
Financial stability is the risk that actually hurts, and there is no badge for it. A forwarder holding your cargo, or your money in advance of paying the carrier, is a credit exposure. Check what does exist: filed accounts where your jurisdiction publishes them, a credit report, years trading under the same legal entity, and whether the trading name matches the licensed entity. A mismatch between the name on the website and the name on the licence is worth a direct question.
More on the warning signs: red flags when vetting a forwarder and how to choose a freight forwarder.
Where directory badges fit
Being straightforward about our own: CargoLinked does not pre-check the companies listed in its directory. Company details, contact information and links go live without prior review. Our optional Verified badge is shown only on listings whose documents we have reviewed, and it appears on those listings specifically — it is not a property of the directory as a whole.
That is true of most directories and networks, whatever the marketing implies. The checks above are ones you can run yourself in about fifteen minutes, and they are worth more than any badge, including ours.
A fifteen-minute vetting routine
- Get the exact legal entity name and licence number, in writing.
- Look it up in the issuing register — not on their site, and not through a link they send you.
- Confirm the licence covers what you are buying. An ocean licence does not authorise customs entry filing.
- Check the trading name matches the licensed entity.
- Ask who files your customs entry if they are not a permitted broker themselves.
- Ask for two references on your lane and actually call them.
- Confirm insurance — theirs is liability cover, yours is cargo insurance, and they are not the same thing.
Browse forwarders by country and run these checks on your shortlist, or post a request and vet the ones who respond.
