Freight broker credit score
Freight broker credit scores run on a 0–100 scale. On SureLoadr's bands, 85+ is low risk (a reliable payer), 70–84 is moderate risk (workable — watch days-to-pay), 51–69 is elevated risk, and below 51 is high risk. Read the score with days-to-pay and payment trends before you accept a load.
The 0–100 scale
Freight broker credit runs on a 0–100 scale — higher is safer. Unlike a personal FICO score, it reflects how a broker pays carriers and freight bills, not consumer credit. Here is what each band means before you book.
| Score | Risk band | What it means for a carrier |
|---|---|---|
| 85 – 100 | Low risk | Consistent, on-time payer. Safe to haul for on normal terms — the strongest broker credit tier. |
| 70 – 84 | Moderate risk | Generally workable, but watch days-to-pay and payment trends. Reasonable for most loads with normal caution. |
| 51 – 69 | Elevated risk | Thin, mixed, or slowing payment history. Price the risk, keep exposure small, and confirm terms in writing. |
| 0 – 50 | High risk | Serious slow-pay, non-payment, or too little history to trust. Treat a high rate here as a warning, not a win. |
Days-to-pay
Days-to-pay is the average number of days a broker takes to pay a carrier after getting the invoice. A strong score with slow days-to-pay still ties up your cash. Most freight terms are 30 days — the further past that a broker drifts, the more the rate has to make up for the wait.
| Average days-to-pay | How to read it |
|---|---|
| 30 days or less | Healthy — paying inside standard freight terms. |
| 31 – 45 days | Acceptable, but trending slow. Watch for a pattern. |
| 46 – 60 days | Slow pay. Real cash-flow risk for a small carrier. |
| 60+ days | High risk. Factoring may question or reject the invoice. |
Worked example
A $2,000 load from a broker who scores 88 and pays in 28 days is money in the bank next month. The same $2,000 load from a broker scoring 58 who pays in 68 days ties up your cash, may cost you a factoring fee, and could turn into a collections call. The rate is identical — the risk is not. The credit score and days-to-pay are what tell them apart before you commit the truck.
Carrier questions
Plain-language answers for carriers reading a broker's score before booking.
Freight broker credit scores use a 0–100 scale. On SureLoadr's bands, 85 and above is low risk (a reliable payer), 70–84 is moderate risk (workable, watch days-to-pay), 51–69 is elevated risk, and below 51 is high risk. Always read the score alongside days-to-pay and payment trends, not on its own.
A freight broker credit score is built from how a broker actually pays carriers and freight bills — days-to-pay, payment trends, and past-due activity — not general commercial credit like a Paydex or bank score. It answers one question a carrier cares about: is this broker likely to pay me on time?
Most freight terms run 30 days. Paying inside 30 days is healthy, 31–45 days is acceptable but worth watching, 46–60 days is slow pay that strains a small carrier's cash flow, and past 60 days is high risk that a factoring company may question or reject.
You can confirm authority and bond for free on FMCSA SAFER, but SAFER has no credit score or days-to-pay data. SureLoadr pulls broker credit, payment trends, days-to-pay, authority, and bond into one plain-language report so a carrier can decide before accepting the load.
Yes. A score is one signal. A broker with a solid score can still slow down, and a brand-new broker may simply have too little history to score well yet. Pair the score with days-to-pay, past-due signals, authority, and bond before you commit the truck.
SureLoadr
SureLoadr turns broker credit, days-to-pay, payment trends, authority, and bond into one plain-language report — so the score is in front of you before you accept the load, not after the invoice goes past due.