Logistics compliance has changed. Prove your vetting, load by load.
Since the Supreme Court’s May 2026 ruling, how you chose a carrier is harder to keep out of court. The Cairn File gives you a timestamped record of the checks behind each load, ready when someone asks.
How a carrier was chosen is now a question that can be asked in court.
The Supreme Court held that state negligent-hiring claims against freight brokers are not preempted by federal law. Carrier selection is now something your business may have to explain, and explain in writing.
The Cairn File puts that explanation on record for every load, before anyone asks.
Every load comes with the file.
The Cairn File is a timestamped record of how you vetted and selected your carrier, sealed as a PDF you keep. If anyone ever asks how your carrier was chosen, the answer is already in writing.
Recorded at the moment of booking
Authority, safety data and insurance are captured as they stood when the carrier was selected, not reconstructed later.
Identity checks, on record
Record your callback to the number on the FMCSA record, and whether the certificate came straight from the carrier's agent.
Matched to the load
When a load has special requirements, such as securement or oversize permits, the matching certifications and permits go in the file too.
Your record
Each file belongs to you. Keep it with your records and produce it whenever you're asked. Cairn doesn't keep a copy.
Your decision, documented.
You choose your carriers. The Cairn File records and timestamps the information you relied on, so if your selection is ever questioned, you have a record to stand on.
- 01
Select your carrier
Choose a carrier the way you normally do. Your process stays yours.
- 02
Record what you checked
Pull the carrier's FMCSA data and record your insurance and identity checks, each timestamped as it happens.
- 03
Record your reasoning
Note why you selected this carrier, at the time you made the call.
- 04
Keep the file
Seal it and download a tamper-evident PDF to keep with your records.
Built for the people who move freight.
Cairn serves the people and organizations who keep freight moving. Each of them makes carrier decisions, and each can be asked to explain one.
Freight brokers
A timestamped selection record for every load you cover, ready to produce when a shipper, insurer or attorney asks.
3PLs
One consistent carrier selection record across every lane, customer and team member.
Carriers
Documented proof of your authority, insurance and certifications at the moment you were booked, to share with the brokers and shippers you work with.
Our first focus is close to home: the freight behind North Carolina's industrial and data center buildout, from electrical and mechanical subcontractors to steel fabricators, precast producers and modular builders. It's where we're starting, not the limit of who we serve.
Need a written standard? Start with ours.
A sample carrier vetting checklist: hard disqualifiers, identity checks, banking-change protocol and record keeping. Use it as a starting point for your company's own standard. The Cairn File records your evaluation against whatever standard you set.
PDF · Version 1.0 · September 2026 · Free to adapt
What you get with every file
Seven guided steps
Load details, carrier lookup, insurance, identity, your standards, your rationale, then review and seal.
FMCSA data at the time of selection
The carrier's FMCSA record is pulled and saved with the time it was retrieved.
Timestamped as it happens
Every check, callback and upload is stamped by Cairn's server clock, not your computer's.
Your standard, your decision
Record your company's minimums and how the carrier compared. You choose your carriers; the file records what you checked.
Tamper-evident sealed PDF
Each file is sealed with a fingerprint and an independent timestamp. Anyone can check later that it hasn't changed.
Your file, not ours
You download the sealed file, with your supporting documents inside, and keep it. Cairn deletes its working copy and keeps only the fingerprint.
Why brokers, 3PLs and carriers use the Cairn File
- Why do I need a Cairn File?
- Since the Supreme Court's May 2026 ruling, how you chose a carrier is a question that can be asked in court, often months after the load delivered. By then the answer is scattered across emails, screenshots and memory. A Cairn File keeps it in one place: what you checked, what you relied on, and when you recorded it, written down for that load at the time you chose the carrier.
- We already vet carriers. Isn't that enough?
- Vetting is the work; the Cairn File is the record of it. Your onboarding tools and monitoring services check carriers. The Cairn File records what you saw and decided for this load, including your own reasons, and you can log your vetting platform's result in it. Without a record, good vetting is hard to show later.
- What does a sealed file show?
- The carrier's FMCSA record as it was when you pulled it, the insurance and identity checks you made, how the carrier compared with your written standard, your reasons, and the supporting documents you attached, each step stamped with the time it was recorded. Sealing makes it tamper-evident: anyone can check later that nothing in it has changed.
- What doesn't it do?
- It doesn't vet, rate or approve carriers, and it doesn't guarantee any outcome. It records what you did. Cairn doesn't set your standard or make your decisions, and the Cairn File isn't legal advice.
- How long does a file take?
- Seven guided steps. Enter a USDOT or MC number and the carrier's FMCSA record is pulled for you; you record the checks you made and why you chose the carrier, then seal.
- What happens when someone asks how we chose a carrier?
- You hand over the sealed PDF for that load. Anyone can confirm it's unchanged on our public verification page, without signing in and without uploading the file.
- Does Cairn keep a copy of my files?
- No. You download each sealed file, with your supporting documents inside, and keep it with the load's records. Cairn keeps only its fingerprint, so the file can be verified later.
- Who is it for?
- Freight brokers and 3PLs documenting carrier selection, and carriers who want a record of their authority, insurance and certifications at the moment they were booked.
See pricing: $99 a month for your first user, $19 for each additional user, with a 14-day free trial. This is a limited-time launch rate: sign up by December 31, 2026 to keep it.
A record for every load, before anyone asks.
The Cairn File gives you a written, timestamped record to stand on if your carrier selection is ever questioned.