---
title: "Process agent"
url: https://carrierkyc.com/glossary/process-agent
description: "A process agent is a person or company designated to accept court papers and legal notices for a carrier, broker or freight forwarder in a particular state."
---

# Process agent

**Definition:** A process agent is a person or company designated to accept court papers and legal notices for a carrier, broker or freight forwarder in a particular state.

Also called: BOC-3 agent, Blanket agent. Category: FMCSA & freight.

Registered carriers, brokers and freight forwarders designate process agents on a [BOC-3](https://carrierkyc.com/glossary/boc-3) filing: carriers for each state they operate in or cross, brokers for each state where they have offices or write contracts (49 CFR 366.4T). Blanket companies offer a single filing that covers every state. Changes to a designation must be reported to FMCSA within 30 days, and in some cases an entity acts as its own agent.

For a factor, the process agent is where legal papers go if you sue a client or a debtor broker. It is also a weak but real data point. Large blanket agents serve very many carriers, so sharing one means little, while a small local agent shared by a cluster of new authorities can be one thread linking [related entities](https://carrierkyc.com/glossary/chameleon-carrier).

> **Red flag: Red flags** No active process agent filing on an otherwise active carrier. A change of agent at the same time as new officers and contacts. A self-designated agent at a mail-drop address.

The [carrier check](https://carrierkyc.com/tools/carrier-check) shows the agent on file with the rest of the carrier's record.

## Related

- [BOC-3](https://carrierkyc.com/glossary/boc-3)
- [Operating authority](https://carrierkyc.com/glossary/operating-authority)
- [Revocation](https://carrierkyc.com/glossary/revocation)
- [Chameleon carrier](https://carrierkyc.com/glossary/chameleon-carrier)
- [Carrier risk check](https://carrierkyc.com/tools/carrier-check)

## Sources

- [49 CFR 366.4T: Process agents, required states](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/section-366.4T) (eCFR)
- [49 CFR part 366: Designation of process agents](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-366) (eCFR)
- [FMCSA BOC3, All With History (legacy L&I)](https://data.transportation.gov/Trucking-and-Motorcoaches/BOC3-All-With-History/2emp-mxtb) (data.transportation.gov, last refreshed 2026-05-14)