How to Start a Freight Brokerage in Indiana

This guide is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Confirm every fee, form and deadline with the agency named before you file or pay, and talk with a qualified attorney and CPA about your situation.

A freight broker sells transportation. You match a shipper that needs a load moved with a carrier that owns the truck, keep a margin, and manage the job from pickup to delivery. You do not need a fleet to run a brokerage, but you do need legal authority, and in freight the first authority that matters is federal. A broker that arranges interstate truck moves for pay needs FMCSA broker authority and a surety bond before it touches a load. Indiana may add its own registrations on top. This guide starts with the federal steps for that reason, then covers the Indiana entity, the state registrations, and the setup that keeps you compliant.

Indiana is a strong place to build a brokerage. The state ranks 19th in GDP, has about 6.9 million residents, and sits on major interstates including I-65, I-69 and I-70. Manufacturing, motor vehicle and transportation equipment, steel, agriculture and food processing, and logistics and distribution are all large here, and those industries ship a lot of freight. That is the logistics hub angle: your shippers are close at hand, and so are the carriers that serve them.

What You Need Before You Start

Gather these items before you file anything. Most are inexpensive or quick to get. The federal registration and the surety bond take the longest.

• A business name that includes “Limited Liability Company” or an abbreviation of it, and that is distinguishable from names already on Indiana’s records
• State filing money: $95 for the Articles of Organization online through INBiz ($100 by paper), plus $10 if you want to reserve a name
• An Indiana registered agent with a street address in Indiana
• An employer identification number (EIN) from the IRS
• A surety bond quote for $75,000, the federal BMC-84 amount, from a surety company
• A process agent designation for federal filings (the BOC-3 form), which you should confirm with FMCSA
• A business bank account and quotes for business insurance
• Written shipper and carrier agreements, reviewed by an attorney
• A carrier vetting process and a load management system for tracking shipments

Step 1: Choose and Reserve Your Business Name

Pick a name that works for shippers and carriers and that Indiana will accept. Your LLC name must include “Limited Liability Company” or an abbreviation of it, as State Form 49459 requires. The name also must be distinguishable on the Secretary of State’s records. INBiz explains that a name is distinguishable when it contains different letters, numerals or words, or a different sequence of them. Entity identifiers such as Inc. or LLC, articles like “the,” punctuation, capitalization, plurals, and the swap of “and” for an ampersand do not make a name distinguishable. Search the Indiana Business Search at https://bsd.sos.in.gov/publicbusinesssearch before you settle on a name, and check for near matches, not just exact ones.

If you need time, reserve the name through INBiz at https://inbiz.in.gov/start-business/step-one for $10. The reservation holds the name for 120 days. It does not form the company, so you still need to file the Articles of Organization within that window.

Step 2: Form the Indiana LLC

File the Articles of Organization, Domestic Limited Liability Company (State Form 49459), with the Indiana Secretary of State, Business Services Division, through the INBiz portal at https://inbiz.in.gov/. The filing fee is $95 online or $100 by paper. The online filing is completed and paid in a single session. The Secretary of State does not publish a processing time for formations, and INBiz lists no expedited option, so do not plan a launch date around a rush service that does not exist.

Indiana has no franchise tax. An LLC’s income passes through to its owners, who pay the individual adjusted gross income tax (2.95% for 2026, scheduled to fall to 2.90% in 2027) plus their county local income tax. An LLC that elects corporate treatment instead pays the 4.9% corporate adjusted gross income tax. Talk with a CPA before you choose a tax election, because the right answer depends on your owners and your expected profit.

Step 3: Appoint an Indiana Registered Agent

Every Indiana entity must continuously maintain a registered agent and a registered office in Indiana. The agent receives service of process and tax documents, so a missed delivery can become a missed court date. The registered office must be a street address. A P.O. Box does not qualify unless it comes with a rural route reference. The agent can be an Indiana resident whose business office matches the registered office, or a business entity authorized to do business in Indiana. You cannot serve as your own registered agent, and an entity may have only one agent. Many new brokers hire a commercial registered agent for an annual fee. Get the quote, and compare it with the cost and risk of covering the office yourself.

Step 4: Get Your EIN and Indiana Tax Registrations

Apply for an EIN from the IRS before you open a bank account or hire anyone. Then decide which Indiana registrations your operation needs. If you will have employees, register with the Indiana Department of Revenue (DOR) for withholding. If you plan to sell taxable goods, you need a sales tax permit. A brokerage sells a service, so ask DOR directly whether your brokerage fees are taxable in Indiana and whether the Registered Retail Merchant Certificate ($25) applies to you. Do not assume either answer. Start at https://www.in.gov/dor/i-am-a/business-corp/business-education/register-business/.

Step 5: Get Federal Broker Authority and the BMC-84 Bond

This is the step that makes you a broker in the eyes of federal law, and it comes before any Indiana operating work. Freight brokerage is federally regulated, so the federal requirements lead this guide. We have not yet checked the federal details below against FMCSA’s current pages, so confirm each one with FMCSA at https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/ before you pay anything.

In general terms, the federal path looks like this:

1. Register with FMCSA for broker authority through its online registration system.
2. Designate a process agent with FMCSA. The process agent accepts legal papers for your company.
3. Have a surety company file a BMC-84 surety bond for the federal amount of $75,000 with FMCSA.
4. Wait for FMCSA to issue your broker authority, and do not accept freight until the authority shows as active.

The bond is where many new brokers get stuck. A surety charges a premium, which is typically a percentage of the bond amount, and the rate depends on your credit and experience. When you compare offers for an indiana freight broker bond, get at least two quotes, read the terms, and confirm the surety is one you can verify. Do not send deposit money to anyone who promises a bond without underwriting. A cancelled bond can lead FMCSA to revoke your authority, so set a renewal reminder and treat the bond as a standing compliance item.

Step 6: Register with Indiana DOR Motor Carrier Services

Indiana’s transportation registrations run through the Department of Revenue. Its Motor Carrier Services handles intrastate operating authority, USDOT and Indiana ID numbers, Unified Carrier Registration (UCR), and fuel tax for carriers. Begin at https://www.in.gov/dor/ and ask Motor Carrier Services to confirm which of these apply to your business.

Carrier-side forms matter here. The DOR checklist lists Form IOA-1 and Form E insurance for new intrastate for-hire carriers. A broker that never operates its own truck may not fall under those rules, but that is a question for DOR to answer, not one to assume. Ask whether IOA-1 and Form E apply to an intrastate-only broker before you file.

UCR is the registration most brokers overlook. DOR pages state that companies operating solely as brokers must register for UCR and pay a fee. We have not confirmed the fee amount or the renewal details, so confirm both with DOR Motor Carrier Services before you register.

On the license question, the DOR pages we reviewed do not show a separate Indiana freight broker license. That is not proof that none exists. Confirm with Motor Carrier Services whether Indiana requires anything for an intrastate-only broker, and whether any indiana freight broker license applies to the lanes you plan to run. Indiana’s Business Owner’s Guide also states that the state has no single comprehensive business license, but profession-specific licenses, local permits and zoning approval can still apply. Ask the city or county where your office sits.

Step 7: Calendar Your Indiana Secretary of State Filings

The Business Entity Report costs $32 online and is due every other year, by the end of the month in which your LLC was formed or registered. The first report is due two years after formation. Paper filing costs $50. Miss it and you risk your good standing, so put the date on your calendar the day your Articles are approved.

If you operate under a name other than your LLC’s legal name, you must file a Certificate of Assumed Business Name (State Form 30353). The fee is $20 per name online through INBiz. By paper, the fee is $30 per name for an LLC. The paper form is available at https://forms.in.gov/Download.aspx?id=16986.

Step 8: Set Up Banking, Insurance and Contracts

Open a business bank account in the LLC’s name, and keep freight revenue and carrier payments separate from personal funds. Shippers and carriers often request proof of insurance, and their requirements should drive which coverage you buy. Ask an insurance agent for quotes, and ask each shipper and carrier exactly which certificates they need before you sign anything. Have an attorney review the agreement you use with shippers and the agreement you use with trucking companies, paying close attention to liability, payment terms and claims language.

Before you tender a load to any carrier, check that carrier’s operating authority and insurance on FMCSA’s public lookup, and record what you found. Brokers who skip this step can be held responsible for a carrier that was never authorized to haul the freight. Keep a carrier packet for every carrier you use.

Step 9: Choose Your Lanes Around Indiana’s Logistics Strengths

Your lanes shape your rates and your carrier pool. Indiana’s larger metros, including Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Evansville, South Bend and Gary, give you shipper density across manufacturing, motor vehicle and transportation equipment, steel, food processing and distribution. Smaller industrial cities such as Elkhart, Lafayette and Jeffersonville add more regional freight. Choose two or three industries you can learn well, find out which carriers already run those lanes, and build rate relationships before you chase volume.

For advising on your business plan, the Indiana Small Business Development Center (Indiana SBDC) at https://isbdc.org/ and the SBA’s Indiana district page at https://www.sba.gov/district/indiana list local resources. A CPA can also review your pricing model and tax setup before you take on your first customer.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Treating the LLC as your broker license. The state LLC is only the entity. Federal broker authority and the bond come first.
• Using a P.O. Box as the registered office. Indiana requires a street address unless a rural route reference accompanies the box.
• Choosing a name too close to an existing one. Words like “freight” and “logistics” are common, so search for near matches in the Business Search.
• Letting the bond lapse. A cancelled bond can cost you authority, and you may not learn about it until a shipper asks.
• Tendering loads to unverified carriers. Check authority and insurance before every new carrier, not just the first one.
• Skipping the DOR questions. Confirm UCR, IOA-1, Form E and any Indiana license requirement with DOR Motor Carrier Services rather than assuming they do not apply.
• Missing the first Business Entity Report. It is due two years after formation and then every other year.

Tips for a Smoother Launch

• Request bond quotes early. Underwriting takes time, and your launch date depends on it.
• Keep one compliance calendar covering the federal bond renewal, the Indiana Business Entity Report and the UCR renewal, and name an owner for each item.
• Write down your carrier vetting steps before your first load so every load gets the same checks.
• Ask each agency for its current fee and processing time in writing, and file the answer with your records.

Expected Results

A correct setup may leave you with an Indiana LLC in good standing, a registered agent on file, federal broker authority that shows as active once the bond is in place, and a documented carrier vetting process. Those results may help you start arranging loads with fewer delays. They do not guarantee customers, margins or revenue. Timing is also hard to predict: the Secretary of State does not publish a formation processing time, and this guide could not confirm FMCSA processing times. Your bond underwriting and insurance quotes will set part of the schedule, so build in extra time for both, and confirm the actual timing with each agency as you go.

Disclaimer

This article is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Freight brokerage is federally regulated, and both federal and Indiana rules can change. Confirm every fee, form and deadline with FMCSA, the Indiana Secretary of State or the Indiana Department of Revenue before you act. Talk with a qualified attorney about your contracts and liability, and with a CPA about your tax election and pricing.