Who Must Participate in the National Motor Freight Classification®?
Transportation companies that use or reference in their contracts, rate schedules or tariffs any provision of the National Motor Freight Classification—including commodity descriptions, classes, rules, packaging specifications and bills of lading—must participate in the NMFC®. The provisions of the NMFC have no application for transportation companies that do not participate.
Participation in the NMFC is established by the completion of a license agreement and payment of an annual fee. Participants are issued a certificate of participation by NMFTA. Purchase of the National Motor Freight Classification, or assignment of a Standard Carrier Alpha Code (SCAC®), does not satisfy the requirement for participation.
For more information on NMFC participation or to become a participant, please contact NMFTA Customer Service at 866-411-6632.
How can I verify a company’s participation in the NMFC?
In view of the requirement for participation, it is important for shippers and others, such as motor carrier interline partners, brokers and freight forwarders, to be able to verify a transportation company’s participation in the NMFC. For instance, the discovery that freight charges based on the NMFC were billed by a nonparticipating carrier would create uncertainty in the applicable amount of the freight charges due and could lead to confusion, disputes and possibly litigation.
For this reason, NMFTA provides a list of NMFC participants. NMFTA also has a toll-free telephone number—1-866-411-6632—to answer questions concerning a company's participation.
