A Certificate of Insurance is a snapshot of coverage on the day it was issued — it is not proof the policy is in force today. Policies get cancelled mid-term (most often for non-payment), and nobody re-issues the certificate to tell you. Insurers must, however, update the carrier's federal insurance filing with FMCSA when required coverage is cancelled, so a dropped filing catches lapses the printed date can't.

Three things. First, the expiration date you enter from the certificate you hold — you get a countdown and a warning when it's inside 30 days. Second, the carrier's live FMCSA record: whether a liability (BIPD) filing and a cargo filing are currently on file, whether the entity is allowed to operate, and — for brokers/forwarders — whether the BMC-84/85 surety bond is on record. Third, FMCSA's insurance filing feed: if the insurer has filed a cancellation that hasn't taken effect yet, you'll see the exact date coverage drops — the roughly 30-day advance notice insurers must give — along with the insurer of record to compare against the certificate.

FMCSA's Licensing & Insurance system (li-public.fmcsa.dot.gov) is the authoritative source: search the carrier's docket, open the Active/Pending Insurance view, and read the filings — including cancellation notices insurers file roughly 30 days before coverage drops. It works, but it's a clunky manual lookup most small brokerages never do. This tool reads the same federal record in one pass.

No. Green means the certificate date you entered isn't near expiry and the expected filings are on the federal record right now. Filings can trail reality by days, and a filing on record says nothing about whether a specific load or commodity is covered. For anything that matters, verify coverage with the issuing agent listed on the certificate. Draylo's full product re-checks every carrier daily and alerts you when a filing drops.