When choosing an auto shipper, be sure to check and see if the company is licensed and bonded. Vehicle transport companies are licensed and regulated by the US Department of Transportation (DOT). Ask for and check the DOT license number. There exists an enormous amount of confusion over the role of the Interstate commerce Commission (ICC) and how it interacts with trucking companies.

The Interstate Commerce Commission, which once regulated many of the functions of trucking companies, was terminated in 1995 and many of its functions were rolled in to DOT. The ICC's safety functions were transferred to the DOT when that department was created in 1966; the ICC retained its rate-making and regulatory functions. However, in consonance with the deregulatory movement, the ICC's powers over rates and routes in rails and trucking were curtailed in 1980 by the Staggers Rail Act and Motor Carriers Act. Most ICC control over interstate trucking was abandoned in 1994, and the agency was terminated at the end of 1995. Many of its remaining functions were transferred to the new National Surface Transportation Board.

There are basic pieces of information you need to know when you are looking into companies to ship your vehicle and this guide is designed to provide you with that information and answer many other additional questions you may have...