Trust Score Methodology

The score and what the verdicts mean

Every scored carrier starts at 100 points. Deductions accrue across four audited categories, pattern modifiers adjust the total, and the final number maps to a three-way verdict:

Every deduction is itemized on the carrier page, so you can always see why a carrier scored what it did — and disagree with us if your risk tolerance differs.

The five-layer architecture

The scoring engine evaluates each carrier through five layers, in order:

1. Layer 0 — Classification. Is this a property carrier, passenger carrier, or broker? Hazmat? Mexico-domiciled? Classification decides which rules apply: brokers get bond checks instead of inspection math, passenger carriers get higher insurance bars.
2. Layer 1 — Gates. Binary auto-reject conditions. If any gate fires, the verdict is REJECT no matter how the arithmetic works out (detailed below).
3. Layer 2 — Weighted signals. The four deduction categories — safety, crashes, insurance, authority — each capped, exposure-normalized (a crash means something different for a 3-truck fleet than a 3,000-truck fleet), and time-decayed (recent events weigh more than old ones).
4. Layer 3 — Pattern intelligence. Behavioral modifiers on top of the categories: the chameleon/reincarnation screen (shared phone, address, and officers cross-referenced against revoked carriers) and filing-churn patterns like insurance cancellation cycles.
5. Layer 4 — Decision floors. Guardrails that stop dangerous auto-APPROVEs. Examples: an authority under 6 months old can't score APPROVE regardless of arithmetic; neither can a carrier under 12 months with zero inspection history, or one with a recent fatal crash. These cap the score at 74 and force a REVIEW.

Automatic rejection gates

Gates are pass/fail. Any one of them forces a REJECT verdict on its own:

Deduction categories and caps

When no gate fires, the score is 100 minus the category deductions. Each category has a hard ceiling so no single dimension can dominate:

The chameleon modifier

On top of the categories, the identity screen can pull the total down further. We cross-reference each carrier's phone numbers, physical addresses, and named officers against 4.4 million registrations — specifically looking for links to carriers with revocation history. A hard chameleon match is treated as gate-level; softer shared-identity signals apply graduated deductions. The pattern itself is explained in our chameleon carriers guide.

How missing data is treated

Absence of evidence is not treated as good news. Each signal carries a confidence weight: a carrier with 200 inspections and clean numbers earns its safety points; a carrier with 3 inspections gets limited credit either way, and very thin data triggers the Layer-4 floors that hold the verdict at REVIEW. Broker entities skip inspection scoring entirely — roadside data doesn't apply to a company with no trucks.

Data sources and refresh cadence

Everything in the score derives from public federal records:

• FMCSA registration census — the master carrier file (~4.4M records). We archive every monthly release and diff them field by field, which is what powers the record timeline on carrier pages.
• QCMobile / authority data — live operating-authority status, re-checked on lookup.
• Licensing & Insurance (L&I) — authority grants, insurance and bond filings, cancellation history.
• Safety Measurement System & inspection datasets — inspections, out-of-service results, BASIC percentiles.
• Crash records — DOT-recordable crashes with severity detail.
• Revocation and BOC-3 datasets — the raw material of the chameleon screen.

Refresh cadence: authority and safety fields re-check when you run a lookup; scores recompute as new filings land; the census archive extends monthly; statewide directory statistics rebuild nightly. One honest caveat: insurance cancellations appear in the federal system only after the underwriter files, which can trail the real-world lapse — on high-value loads, verify coverage with the agent directly.

Limitations — what the score cannot tell you

• Who is actually contacting you. The score describes the registered entity. It can't detect a fraudster impersonating that entity with a spoofed email — identity verification against the federal record's own contact details is still on you (the workflow is in our DOT check guide).
• Financial health. Federal data carries no payment history or solvency signal. A carrier weeks from insolvency can hold a strong score.
• Cargo policy fit. We verify liability filings exist and are active; cargo policy terms and exclusions live in the certificate, which you should request.
• Reporting lag. Self-reported census fields (fleet size, mileage) are only as current as the carrier's last MCS-150; the score penalizes staleness but can't see through it.
• Judgment calls. The verdict bands encode a general risk tolerance. Your freight, lane, and claim exposure may justify stricter cutoffs — which is why every deduction stays visible.

Corrections

If you're a carrier and believe your profile misreads the federal record — or the record itself is stale — email support@mclookup.com with your USDOT number. We re-pull the source data on every lookup, so most discrepancies resolve by re-searching; genuine source errors need correcting with FMCSA, and we'll point you at the right federal process.