Eight questions that separate driver vetting tools

Most driver vetting tools now check a driver's ID. What separates them is everything around that check: whether the pickup number stays locked until the driver passes, whether anyone looks at the truck, and whether the result becomes a record your team can stand behind.

We built E3's Driver Authentication around those three things. Most driver authentication tools check who's holding the phone; Driver Authentication holds the pickup number until the driver, the credential and the truck all pass, then leaves a logged record in the channels your team, your shipper and your insurer already use.

The eight questions below are the ones we'd ask of any tool in this category. Each comes with how Driver Authentication answers it and, where we have one, a case from our own loads.

Carrier vetting tells you who owns the truck, not who's driving it

Carrier-level checks confirm the MC number, the insurance and the account owner. That work matters, and it answers one question well: is this a real, compliant carrier? It doesn't tell you who shows up at the dock under that carrier's name.

In a deceptive pickup the carrier record is usually clean. The thief isn't inventing a company. They're borrowing a legitimate one for the length of a single load, and every carrier check passes because the carrier is real.

The cost of missing that handoff keeps rising. Verisk CargoNet counted $725 million in reported cargo theft losses in 2025. The documentation bar is rising with it.

On May 14, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II that federal law does not preempt state negligent-hiring claims against brokers when those claims concern motor vehicle safety. Twelve days later, the Court declined to hear TQL v. Cox on the same question. The case is about carrier selection and safety, not theft, but it points one way: brokers should expect to be asked what they checked, and when.

Driver-level authentication is becoming the baseline. The eight questions below separate the tools that do it well from the ones that stop at a face.

Eight questions, and how Driver Authentication answers each

If several tools now check the driver's ID, what actually differs between them?

The ID check is the common part. Most tools in this category compare a live selfie to a government ID in some form.

The difference is what surrounds that check. Is the pickup number gated behind it? Are the truck and the credential checked alongside the face, and does the result land as an SOP-logged record your shipper can see before the truck arrives? The next six questions test each of those.

Is the pickup number held until the driver passes, on every load?

With Driver Authentication, the driver doesn't receive the pickup number until they pass authentication. On a pass, Driver Authentication releases it automatically, so dispatch isn't waiting on someone to press a button. It runs on every load, not once at onboarding.

Driver Authentication also re-checks at pickup. In one case, a different person arrived at the dock than the one who had authenticated for the load, and the pickup re-check caught the switch before the freight moved.

Tools built on a one-time onboarding check confirm a driver once, then trust that identity on every load after. That leaves the handoff itself unchecked, and the handoff is where deceptive pickups happen.

Does it catch fraud on the truck and the credential, not just the face?

Driver Authentication's patent pending vision models, built in-house, cross-check the driver's license, the side of the truck and the cab card against each other and against the load. A face match can't tell you the truck is wrong. Reading the truck can.

Some of our clearest catches have come from the truck, not the driver. Driver Authentication has flagged paper taped over a DOT number, a VIN that didn't match the cab card, and truck photos that were AI-generated rather than taken at the dock.

Driver Authentication also checks the domicile status of the driver at pickup, on every load. FMCSA's non-domiciled CDL final rule took effect March 16, 2026, limiting eligibility to specific employment-based statuses.

Driver Authentication can also check for English language proficiency. The driver records a short audio answering a question and Driver Authentication scores their spoken English. Every result is logged to the load's audit trail, so brokers have a record of what was checked and when, built into their normal process.

Carrier-level screening can look at who holds the carrier account. It doesn't look at the credential of the person driving this load today.

Does it work without carriers enrolling their drivers first?

Yes. Driver Authentication reaches the driver through a text link, with no app to download and no carrier account to set up. It works on the first load with a carrier you've never used.

Drivers finish it. Driver Authentication's driver completion rate is 96%. With the 4% that does not complete the Authentication process often showing early indications of potential fraud.

Enrollment-dependent tools work once a carrier has registered its drivers. On a spot load with a new carrier, that is often where coverage runs out.

Does the go/no-go land where your team already works, as an SOP-logged record?

Driver Authentication posts the go/no-go into Slack, Microsoft Teams or Google Chat, where your operations team already works. Each step follows your SOP rather than a fixed workflow of ours, and each step is logged. Your team keeps the final say on every load. TMS integrations can go live in under 24 hours.

The log is what turns a result into a record. It shows which checks ran on the driver, the credential and the truck, under which SOP, and who made the call. After Montgomery, that is the kind of documentation a broker will want on hand for a shipper, an insurer or counsel.

Tools that stop at pass or fail tell you the driver matched. They don't show that your process was followed.

Does your shipper see who's coming before the truck arrives?

With Driver Authentication, the shipper receives the expected driver's selfie and truck photo before pickup. Their dock team knows who should pull in and what the truck should look like.

That answers something we hear from shippers often. They own the freight and carry the loss, yet they can't see who's standing at their own dock.

Dock-scan systems move the check to the shipper's gate. That means hardware or staff at every facility, and a check that happens only after the truck has arrived.

Was it designed so drivers want to finish it?

Drivers are often victims in these schemes. A thief posing as a driver is trading on a real person's name, license and record.

Today many drivers email photos of their CDL to broker after broker, leaving copies in inboxes they don't control. Driver Authentication replaces that with one secure process, through a text link, that protects the real driver's identity from being borrowed.

That design is part of why completion stays high. A process drivers resent is a process they skip.

Does it replace carrier vetting or sit alongside it?

It sits alongside it. Carrier-identity tools answer one question: is this a real carrier? Driver Authentication answers another: is this the authenticated driver and truck for this load, right now?

Many brokers run both. If you already use a carrier-identity tool, Driver Authentication covers the part of the load it can't reach, which is the pickup.

How the approaches compare

Most approaches check one point in the load. Driver Authentication gates the pickup and records each step, from the driver to the truck to the shipper's dock.

Table 1. Driver Authentication answers all six questions before the truck reaches the dock; the other approaches each cover one stage. Capabilities vary by vendor; columns describe typical approaches, not specific products.

Zero stolen loads across 650,000+ authenticated

Across more than 650,000 loads authenticated with Driver Authentication, there have been zero stolen loads. That is the number we hold ourselves to.

Driver Authentication authenticates more than 5,000 drivers a day, draws on 50+ fraud signals, and returns a result in under 60 seconds. Its photo authentication is patent-pending.

We stand behind our authentication with our own accountability, not an insurance product. Backed by our 100% fee-refund promise. If a theft occurs on an E3-authenticated shipment, we refund every fee paid to date.

Frequently asked questions

What happens to the pickup number if a driver fails authentication?

The pickup number stays withheld, and Driver Authentication posts a no-go with the flagged signals to your team in Slack, Teams or Google Chat. Your team makes the final call under your own SOP. Every step is logged, so the load record shows what was checked and why the number stayed locked.

Do drivers need an app or a carrier account?

1. Driver Authentication reaches drivers through a text link, with no app to install and no carrier account or driver enrollment required. That means it works on the first load with a carrier you've never used, not only with carriers that have already signed up for a platform.

How does Driver Authentication handle non-domiciled CDLs?

Driver Authentication checks the domicile status of the driver at pickup, on every load. Since FMCSA's final rule took effect on March 16, 2026, non-domiciled CDL eligibility has been limited to specific employment-based statuses. Driver Authentication flags credentials that don't fit, and the result is logged with the rest of the load record.

Your last flagged load is the best test

Pull the last load your team flagged and walk it through these eight questions. Would your current tool have held the pickup number, read the truck, told your shipper who was coming, and left a record that follows your SOP?

Wherever the answer is no, that's the gap to close first.

Bring us your pickup SOP and your last flagged load. We'll show you what Driver Authentication would have caught. Reach out here.

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Aqil Naeem is Co-Founder and CEO of E3 Group. Caleb Sirak is Co-Founder and President of E3 Group.