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Can a dispatcher work with more than one carrier?

Yes, but be careful how. Working for several carriers is not banned, but choosing which carrier gets each load (allocating traffic) is one of the factors FMCSA says points to needing broker authority.

FMCSA's final guidance flags allocating loads among multiple carriers you represent. Trade coverage of the guidance gives an example: an independent service sending loads to one of two single-truck dry-van carriers in the same region needs authority.

Safer patterns: each carrier chooses its own loads, you do not pass a load you found to a second carrier, and each carrier has its own written agreement.

Example. You dispatch Carrier A's reefer in Texas and Carrier B's flatbed in Ohio. Different equipment, different lanes, separate agreements, each carrier approving its own loads. A broker posts one load that either could take, and you decide which truck gets it: that is the allocation problem.

General information, not legal advice. Rules change. Check the sources and talk to a transportation lawyer before you sign or start.

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Last reviewed Thu, Nov 12, 2026 · Where our data comes from