---
title: "BMC-85 trust fund"
url: https://carrierkyc.com/glossary/bmc-85
description: "A BMC-85 is the FMCSA form that evidences a broker's or freight forwarder's $75,000 trust fund agreement, the alternative to a BMC-84 surety bond."
---

# BMC-85 trust fund

**Definition:** A BMC-85 is the FMCSA form that evidences a broker's or freight forwarder's $75,000 trust fund agreement, the alternative to a BMC-84 surety bond.

Also called: BMC-85, Broker trust fund, Trust fund agreement. Category: FMCSA & freight.

Instead of buying a [BMC-84](https://carrierkyc.com/glossary/bmc-84) bond, a broker can place $75,000 in trust with a financial institution and file Form BMC-85. Since 2026-01-16, 49 CFR 387.307 requires the trust's assets to be convertible to cash within 7 calendar days and limits them to cash, irrevocable letters of credit from federally insured depository institutions, and Treasury bonds.

The same immediate-suspension process applies as for bonds. If payments drop the trust below $75,000, the institution notifies FMCSA, and the broker has 7 business days from FMCSA's notice to restore it or show the claims were resolved. Freight forwarders must keep a bond or trust at the same $75,000 level (49 CFR 387.403 and 387.405).

For a factor, a debtor's trust is checked the same way as a bond: is it on file, is a cancellation pending, and is the trustee a real financial institution. The 2023 final rule that took effect on 2026-01-16 also addressed which entities may provide BMC-85 trust funds.

> **Red flag: Red flags** A trust cancellation pending on a debtor. A broker that describes its trust vaguely or names a trustee you can't find.

## Related

- [BMC-84 surety bond](https://carrierkyc.com/glossary/bmc-84)
- [Freight broker](https://carrierkyc.com/glossary/freight-broker)
- [Freight forwarder](https://carrierkyc.com/glossary/freight-forwarder)
- [How to verify a freight broker before you fund their loads](https://carrierkyc.com/guides/how-to-verify-a-freight-broker)
- [Carrier risk check](https://carrierkyc.com/tools/carrier-check)

## Sources

- [49 CFR 387.307: Property broker surety bond or trust fund](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/section-387.307) (eCFR)
- [49 CFR 387.403: Freight forwarders, general requirements](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/section-387.403) (eCFR)
- [49 CFR 387.405: Freight forwarders, limits of liability](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/section-387.405) (eCFR)
- [Federal Register: Broker and Freight Forwarder Financial Responsibility (final rule)](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/11/16/2023-25312/broker-and-freight-forwarder-financial-responsibility) (FMCSA, 2023-11-16)