Independent contractor
A person or business providing services under a relationship whose legal classification depends on actual facts and applicable law—not the agreement label alone.
Industry glossary
Transportation Terms in Plain Language
Search beginner-friendly definitions for business, motor-carrier, safety, medical courier, and opportunity terminology.
Definitions are simplified educational summaries. Use the governing statute, regulation, contract, or agency definition for a final determination.
Employee
A worker whose relationship with a company meets the applicable legal test for employment. Different laws can apply different tests.
Owner-operator
A commercial driver who owns or leases equipment and operates as a business, often under a carrier lease or their own applicable authority.
Motor carrier
A person or company providing motor-vehicle transportation for compensation or operating commercial vehicles as defined by applicable law.
Freight broker
A person or entity arranging regulated transportation by an authorized motor carrier without operating the transporting vehicle.
Operating authority
FMCSA registration authority that may be required for certain for-hire interstate operations, separate from safety registration.
USDOT number
An identifier used by FMCSA to collect and monitor a regulated entity’s safety information. Applicability depends on operation and law.
MC number
A commonly used name for certain operating-authority identifiers. Not every business with a USDOT number needs authority.
GVWR
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating: the manufacturer’s rated maximum operating weight for one vehicle.
GCWR
Gross Combination Weight Rating: the rated maximum weight for a power unit and connected trailer combination.
CDL
Commercial Driver’s License. Class and endorsement requirements depend on vehicle, combination, passengers, and cargo.
ELD
Electronic logging device used by certain drivers to record hours-of-service information when applicable.
Hours of service
Federal or state limits and recordkeeping rules governing driving and on-duty time for covered operations.
Driver Qualification File
A collection of records that regulated motor carriers may need to maintain for covered drivers.
BOC-3
A federal filing designating process agents for certain regulated entities.
UCR
Unified Carrier Registration, an annual registration program that can apply to specified interstate operations.
IFTA
International Fuel Tax Agreement, a program for reporting motor-fuel use by qualifying interstate vehicles.
IRP
International Registration Plan, an apportioned vehicle-registration program for qualifying interstate fleets.
Chain of custody
A documented record of who possessed an item, when it changed hands, and relevant condition or exception details.
Protected health information
Individually identifiable health information protected by HIPAA when held or transmitted by covered entities or business associates, subject to the rule.
Business associate
A person or entity performing certain functions or services involving protected health information for a covered entity.
Conduit
A limited HIPAA concept for entities providing transmission-only services with only transient or infrequent access to protected health information.
Category A
An infectious substance in a form capable of causing permanent disability or life-threatening or fatal disease upon exposure, as defined by transport regulations.
Category B
An infectious substance that does not meet Category A criteria; when regulated for transport it is associated with UN3373 requirements.
UN3373
The identification number used for “Biological substance, Category B” under applicable hazardous-material transport requirements.
Proof of delivery
A record showing that a delivery was completed, often including time, recipient, signature, scan, or photo subject to privacy rules.
Dedicated route
A recurring route or service pattern assigned or contracted for a defined customer, schedule, or territory.
Final mile
The delivery segment that moves an item from a local facility or hub to its final recipient.
Expedited freight
Time-sensitive freight moved under compressed pickup or delivery expectations.
Deadhead miles
Miles driven without revenue-producing cargo or passengers, which still create cost and time.