How do I know a hauler is legitimate?

Start with what the approval on this site is, because the rest only makes sense after it: a person at HaulHand reads every hauler signup and approves it before that account can bid. That is a human filter against the obviously wrong, and it is deliberately slow. It is not a background check. We do not verify identity, we do not collect or read insurance certificates, and we do not confirm anybody's operating authority. Assume no check has happened beyond somebody reading what they typed.

The real record is public, free, and better than anything a marketplace could tell you. Ask the hauler for their USDOT or MC number and look it up with the link below. It shows whether their operating authority is active, whether they have insurance on file, and their inspection and crash history. A carrier who will not give you that number has answered the question.

Then ask about the equipment and the cargo, because those are where experience shows. Livestock, vehicles, equipment and household goods each want a different trailer and a different set of habits, and somebody who hauls cars well may never have loaded cattle. Ask what they have moved that resembles your load.

Ask for a certificate of insurance, and read the cargo limit rather than the fact that a certificate exists.

What protects you regardless of all this is when the money moves. Your card is authorized when you book and charged after you confirm the load arrived. A hauler who does not show up, or does not deliver, does not get paid — and that does not depend on us having judged them correctly in advance, which is the part of every other platform's promise that quietly rests on their own screening being good.

We also keep the record: the bid and any note that came with it, the booking and its timestamps, and the amounts. If something goes wrong and you need it, it is yours.

Finally, talk to them. A five-minute phone call before you accept a bid tells most people more than a badge on a profile would.