BOC-3 filing for Amazon Relay carriers
Amazon Relay onboarding checks SAFER to confirm your FMCSA authority reads AUTHORIZED FOR Property - and brand-new authority does not flip to AUTHORIZED until a BOC-3 process-agent designation is on file (49 CFR Part 366). A missing BOC-3 silently stalls your Relay account even when every other document is ready. Your BOC-3 is filed soon after you order for $75 flat, one-time, lifetime.
Why a missing BOC-3 blocks Amazon Relay onboarding
Amazon Relay does not ask you to upload a BOC-3 - which is exactly why carriers get caught out. Relay verifies your interstate authority by pulling your FMCSA record, and your authority cannot reach the status it checks for until the BOC-3 is filed. Here is the chain that trips up new carriers.
Relay verifies AUTHORIZED status on SAFER
Amazon Relay onboarding for independent carriers pulls your FMCSA Company Snapshot / SAFER record and requires your operating authority to read AUTHORIZED FOR Property. A status of NONE, PENDING, or NOT AUTHORIZED fails the check.
Authority will not activate without a BOC-3
To grant common or contract authority, the FMCSA requires a BOC-3 process-agent designation under 49 CFR Part 366 plus proof of insurance under 49 CFR Part 387. Until both land, your authority stays pending - and SAFER never reads AUTHORIZED.
File the BOC-3 first, then your status clears the check
Get the BOC-3 on file early so it is never the thing holding up onboarding. It is the cheapest filing in the stack - $75 one-time - and the one most often skipped. Read the full mechanics in our BOC-3 process-agent designation guide.
Where the BOC-3 fits in your Amazon Relay setup
Onboarding to Amazon Relay as an independent for-hire carrier means standing up the same federal authority stack as any new trucking company - then connecting it to your Relay account. The BOC-3 is the cheap line item that gates the whole sequence.
- 1
USDOT number + interstate operating authority (MC)
File through the FMCSA registration portal (Motus, at motus.dot.gov, since May 2026). Your for-hire MC authority is what Amazon Relay ultimately verifies on SAFER.
- 2
BOC-3 designation - $75 one-time with us
Filed by an FMCSA-registered blanket process-agent provider. Lifetime, no annual renewal. One of the two filings (with insurance) that flips your authority to AUTHORIZED.
- 3
Insurance on file (49 CFR Part 387)
Your insurer files proof of financial responsibility (typically the BMC-91 form) directly with the FMCSA. Amazon Relay also requires you to maintain specific auto-liability and cargo limits to keep your account active.
- 4
Connect SAFER-verified authority to your Relay account
Once your authority reads AUTHORIZED, finish the Relay carrier profile, accept the carrier terms, and link your equipment. Need to confirm your status first? See how to check your BOC-3.
Common Amazon Relay BOC-3 mistakes
Waiting for Amazon to flag your SAFER status before filing
Because Relay never asks for a BOC-3 by name, carriers assume it is not needed - then onboarding stalls on a NOT AUTHORIZED status with no obvious cause. File the BOC-3 as soon as you apply for authority, not after Relay rejects your status.
Confusing an Amazon DSP role with an independent Relay carrier
Last-mile drivers running under a Delivery Service Partner’s authority do not hold their own MC number and do not file a BOC-3. Independent Relay carriers with their own authority do. Know which model you are in before you spend on filings you may not need.
Filing the BOC-3 in a name that does not match your authority
The legal entity on the BOC-3 must match the legal entity on your FMCSA authority exactly - the same name Amazon Relay sees on SAFER. A mismatch can leave your authority pending. We catch most of these on intake.
Amazon Relay BOC-3 questions
Does Amazon Relay require a BOC-3?
Not as a named document - but in practice, yes. Amazon Relay onboarding for middle-mile and over-the-road partners requires your FMCSA interstate operating authority to show as AUTHORIZED for property on SAFER. Brand-new MC authority does not flip to AUTHORIZED until a BOC-3 process-agent designation is on file under 49 CFR Part 366, alongside your insurance filing. So Amazon never asks you to upload a BOC-3, but a missing one keeps your authority pending and blocks the onboarding check.
Amazon Relay says my SAFER status is not AUTHORIZED. Is the BOC-3 the problem?
It is one of the two most common causes for a brand-new carrier. To grant common or contract authority, the FMCSA needs both a BOC-3 process-agent designation (49 CFR Part 366) and proof of insurance on file (49 CFR Part 387). If either is missing, your authority stays in a pending or "not authorized" state and SAFER will not read AUTHORIZED FOR Property - which is exactly what Amazon Relay verifies. Confirm both filings landed. Your BOC-3 shows in FMCSA’s Motus public search (search your USDOT number or company name), not on SAFER.
I already deliver Amazon packages with my own van. Do I need a BOC-3?
It depends on how you operate. If you run last-mile routes for an Amazon Delivery Service Partner (DSP) as their employee or subcontractor under the DSP's authority, you typically do not hold your own MC number and do not file a BOC-3. But if you onboard to Amazon Relay as an independent for-hire carrier with your own interstate authority - your own MC number, your own trucks - then you need a BOC-3, because the BOC-3 requirement attaches to FMCSA operating authority, not to the load board you haul for.
How fast can I get the BOC-3 filed so my Relay onboarding is not held up?
Your BOC-3 is filed with FMCSA promptly after you order. The filing is electronic; what takes longer is FMCSA updating your record and SAFER showing AUTHORIZED, which follows once your BOC-3 and insurance are both on record and FMCSA has finished its review. Filing the BOC-3 early - rather than waiting until Amazon flags your status - is the single best way to avoid a stalled onboarding.
Can my company be its own process agent to save the fee for Amazon Relay?
No. A motor carrier operating commercial motor vehicles cannot designate itself as its own process agent. In practice the BOC-3 is filed by an FMCSA-registered blanket process-agent provider whose filed agent list covers the states you operate in or travel through (49 CFR 366.5T). The self-filing option on FMCSA’s Form BOC-3 page is only for brokers and freight forwarders that operate no commercial motor vehicles - which does not include a carrier hauling for Amazon Relay.
Is the Amazon Relay BOC-3 any different from a normal carrier BOC-3?
No. It is the same Form BOC-3, the same blanket process-agent network, the same $75 flat fee, and the same lifetime designation. There is no Amazon-specific version. The BOC-3 designates your legal entity for service of legal process in every state; it does not reference Amazon, any load board, or any specific shipper.
Hauling for digital load boards too? See do I need a BOC-3 for load boards? or confirm your live status with how to check your BOC-3.
File your BOC-3 before Relay checks your status
$75 flat, one-time. Filed with the FMCSA soon after you order. The cheap filing that lets your authority read AUTHORIZED on SAFER - so Amazon Relay onboarding clears.
Start Filing for $75