Amazon Relay requires carriers to hold auto liability, cargo, and commercial general liability coverage, plus workers’ compensation if you have employees, with limits commonly cited as standard minimums for each coverage type. Verify current figures on the Relay carrier portal before you apply, since limits can vary by freight type. Your insurer, not you, must have the MCS-90 endorsement and BMC filings on record with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration before Amazon will approve you to haul loads.
TL;DR:
- Carriers must have insurance policies with specifically confirmed filings and endorsements, including the MCS-90 and BMC-91/BMC-91X, properly documented and verified with the insurer.
- The insurer must directly handle FMCSA filings and provide written confirmation that these filings are on record, ensuring no delays or disqualifications during onboarding.
- Certificates of insurance must explicitly include Amazon as the certificate holder, with exact wording and correct policy details; missing or wrong wording causes rejection.
- Common disqualification causes include policy lapses, missing filings, incorrect COI wording, or safety and authority issues, so carriers should prioritize paperwork review and proper documentation before applying.
Table of Contents
- What Insurance Does Amazon Relay Actually Require?
- How Do FMCSA Filings and Endorsements Actually Work?
- How Do You Submit Proof of Insurance to Amazon Relay?
- What Compliance Failures Get Carriers Disqualified?
- How Can Carriers Get Compliant Coverage Fast?
- What Should Carriers Prioritize First?
- Get Instant Trucking Quotes and Compliant COIs Through Diamondbackins
- Sources
- FAQ
What Insurance Does Amazon Relay Actually Require?
Carriers get tripped up less by the coverage types themselves and more by the gap between what FMCSA requires as a federal floor and what Amazon Relay expects as a platform condition. The two overlap, but they’re not identical, and treating them as interchangeable is how carriers end up rejected at onboarding.
Amazon Relay’s own FAQ page lists the coverage types and limits carriers need before hauling loads for the platform, and those numbers tend to sit above the federal minimum for standard freight. Here’s how the two frameworks compare:
| Coverage type | Amazon Relay’s commonly cited minimum | FMCSA minimum (standard freight) | Typical form or endorsement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auto liability | $1,000,000 | $750,000 (up to $5,000,000 for hazmat/passenger) | MCS-90 endorsement, BMC-91/BMC-91X |
| Cargo insurance | $100,000 | Not federally mandated for most for-hire carriers | Carrier-specific cargo policy |
| Commercial general liability | $1,000,000 | Not federally mandated | Standard CGL policy |
| Workers’ compensation | Required if you employ drivers | Governed by state law, not FMCSA | State-specific policy |
Before you submit anything to Amazon, run through this quick checklist:
- Confirm your policy numbers match across your declarations page and your certificate of insurance.
- Request written confirmation from your insurer that MCS-90 and BMC-91/BMC-91X filings are on file with FMCSA.
- Check that effective and expiration dates leave no gap in coverage.
- Verify Amazon is named correctly as certificate holder, using the exact wording Relay specifies.
A few exceptions matter here. Hazmat haulers, household goods movers, and any carrier running passenger operations face higher FMCSA financial responsibility schedules, sometimes reaching $5,000,000. If your operation touches any of those categories, don’t assume the standard Relay limits apply to you. Confirm directly with your insurer and the Relay onboarding team.
How Do FMCSA Filings and Endorsements Actually Work?
The MCS-90 endorsement is the piece of paper that trips up more carriers than any single coverage limit. It’s required under 49 CFR § 387.15, and it attaches to your motor carrier liability policy as a whole, not to individual trucks. That distinction matters when you’re adding or swapping vehicles, because the endorsement doesn’t need to be reissued per unit. It simply needs to stay attached to the underlying policy.
Statistic Callout: FMCSA financial responsibility minimums under 49 CFR Part 387 can reach $5,000,000 for hazardous materials or passenger carriage, well above the $750,000 floor for general freight and above Amazon Relay’s standard $1,000,000 figure.
BMC-91 and BMC-91X forms serve a related but distinct purpose. These are the documents that prove bodily injury and property damage coverage exists, and they’re what your insurer actually transmits to FMCSA to demonstrate financial responsibility. Here’s the part carriers frequently get wrong: you don’t file these yourself. FMCSA’s insurance filing requirements place that obligation squarely on the insurance company or surety, and most insurers handle it electronically as a routine part of binding your policy.
That said, “routine” doesn’t mean automatic in every case. Some smaller or non-admitted carriers’ insurers are slower to file, and a delay on their end becomes your onboarding delay with Amazon. FMCSA’s own guidance confirms that the insurance company files the required forms, which means your leverage as the policyholder is simply to ask, in writing, for proof.
Three verification steps protect you here:
- Ask your insurer directly for a filing confirmation or receipt showing MCS-90 and BMC-91/BMC-91X were submitted.
- Check your operating authority status on FMCSA’s registration and SAFER resources to confirm filings are reflected on your record.
- Keep copies of every filing confirmation at your principal place of business, since FMCSA can request proof of financial responsibility at any time.
If your insurer can’t produce a filing confirmation within a reasonable window, that’s a warning sign worth escalating before it becomes an Amazon Relay rejection. Our guide on verifying insurance filings for U.S. fleets walks through the verification process step by step if you want a deeper reference.
How Do You Submit Proof of Insurance to Amazon Relay?
Amazon Relay doesn’t accept just any certificate of insurance. The COI needs specific language, specific naming, and specific supporting documentation, and missing any one piece is the single most common reason carriers get stuck in onboarding limbo.
Your COI needs to show, at minimum: policy type and number for each coverage (auto liability, cargo, CGL, and workers’ compensation if applicable), the limits for each, effective and expiration dates, your legal carrier name matching your MC number exactly, and Amazon named as certificate holder using the exact language specified in the Relay FAQ.
Here’s the sequence that gets you from “need coverage” to “approved on the portal” with the fewest headaches:
- Request a COI from your insurer that explicitly includes the MCS-90 endorsement language and correct policy limits for each coverage type.
- Confirm in writing that your insurer will file the BMC-91/BMC-91X and MCS-90 forms with FMCSA, not just issue the policy.
- Obtain the finished COI as a PDF, checking every field against your policy declarations before you move forward.
- Upload the COI to the Amazon Relay carrier portal under the insurance documentation section.
- Confirm acceptance status in the portal, and follow up immediately if it shows pending beyond a few business days.
Pro Tip: Before you upload anything, cross-check the certificate holder line word for word against what Amazon’s FAQ specifies. A COI that lists “Amazon.com” instead of the exact required entity name gets kicked back, and that single typo can cost you a week of onboarding time.
The most common missteps are avoidable. Carriers sometimes try to run loads on a personal auto policy, which almost never satisfies Amazon’s commercial coverage requirements. Others submit a COI missing the MCS-90 language entirely, or one where the certificate holder field is blank or worded incorrectly. Expired effective dates are another frequent snag, especially when a policy renews mid-application.
Workers’ compensation deserves its own note. If you’re a true owner-operator with no employees, many states don’t mandate a policy, though some require coverage even for sole owners depending on your entity structure. If you employ drivers, workers’ compensation becomes mandatory in nearly every state, and the requirement doesn’t disappear just because your drivers are classified as independent contractors on paper. State labor departments scrutinize that classification closely, so confirm your status before assuming you’re exempt.
What Compliance Failures Get Carriers Disqualified?
Amazon Relay’s disqualification triggers cluster around a handful of predictable failures, and most of them are preventable with basic policy hygiene.
- Lapsed or canceled coverage. A missed premium payment that cancels your policy, even temporarily, breaks your compliance status immediately and Amazon’s system typically catches it fast.
- Missing or rejected filings. If your insurer never actually submits the MCS-90 or BMC-91/BMC-91X forms, you can hold a valid policy and still fail FMCSA’s financial responsibility check.
- Incomplete COIs. Certificates that omit a required coverage type, list the wrong limits, or fail to name Amazon correctly as certificate holder get flagged during document review.
- Wrong policy type for the operation. Personal auto policies, or commercial policies using vehicle symbols that don’t cover for-hire freight hauling, don’t satisfy Amazon’s requirements even if the declarations page looks similar to what’s needed.
- Safety rating or authority problems. A downgraded FMCSA safety rating or a lapse in active operating authority removes eligibility regardless of your insurance status.
Most of these failures share a root cause: nobody double-checked the paperwork against the actual requirement before submitting it. A five-minute review against Amazon’s stated COI language catches the majority of these before they become a rejection.
How Can Carriers Get Compliant Coverage Fast?
Getting from “I need Relay-compliant insurance” to “I’m approved on the portal” doesn’t have to take weeks, but the sequence matters. Skip a step and you’ll be redoing paperwork later.
- Gather your operational details first. Vehicle VINs, driver information, your MC number, and your intended freight type (general freight versus hazmat versus household goods) all affect what limits you’ll need.
- Request specific limits and the MCS-90 endorsement by name. Don’t assume a standard commercial auto quote includes it. Ask your insurer directly and get it confirmed in writing.
- Confirm your insurer will handle BMC/MCS filings. This should be a standard part of binding the policy, but a written confirmation protects you if there’s a delay.
- Request your COI with Amazon named correctly as certificate holder. Get this in the same request as your policy, not as an afterthought weeks later.
- Upload to the Relay portal and verify acceptance. Don’t assume upload equals approval. Check the status and follow up if it sits pending too long.
Timelines vary by insurer, but a straightforward commercial trucking policy with standard limits often binds within a few business days once you’ve provided complete information. Filing confirmations from the insurer to FMCSA typically follow shortly after binding, since most carriers now handle this electronically. Ask your insurer directly what their standard turnaround looks like. If they can’t give you a timeline, that’s worth noting.
Pro Tip: Set a calendar reminder 45 days before your policy renewal date, not 30. Amazon’s system can flag you as noncompliant the moment a policy lapses, even for a single day, and a 45-day buffer gives your insurer enough runway to process a renewal or a carrier switch without creating a coverage gap.
An instant-quote platform can shorten the front end of this process considerably. Rather than calling multiple carriers one by one, comparing tailored trucking quotes side by side lets you see various limits and coverage types in one place, which speeds up the “request specific limits” step significantly. Keep a digital folder of every COI, filing confirmation, and renewal notice at your principal place of business. FMCSA can request that documentation, and Amazon’s portal occasionally requires resubmission during periodic account reviews.
What Should Carriers Prioritize First?
Insurance compliance for Amazon Relay isn’t really about the coverage limits. Most carriers can hit $1,000,000 in auto liability without much trouble. The failure point is almost always the paperwork trail behind the policy, the filing confirmation nobody asked for, the COI wording nobody double checked against Amazon’s exact requirement.
Three priorities matter more than any others when you’re preparing to run Relay loads. First, get written confirmation from your insurer that MCS-90 and BMC filings are actually submitted, not just promised. Second, automate your renewal reminders well ahead of expiration, because a one-day lapse creates the same disqualification risk as a thirty-day one. Third, don’t assume portal upload equals portal acceptance. Verify it.
Carriers who treat these three items as recurring operational tasks, not one-time setup steps, rarely run into Relay compliance problems. The ones who treat insurance as a box checked once at onboarding are the ones who get blindsided at renewal.
— Vladimir
Get Instant Trucking Quotes and Compliant COIs Through Diamondbackins
Diamondbackins gets you a tailored trucking quote in minutes instead of days, so you’re not waiting on callbacks while your Amazon Relay onboarding deadline gets closer. The platform pulls quotes from multiple insurers, lets you compare auto liability, cargo, and general liability options side by side, and moves you toward a bound policy without the usual broker back and forth.
Once you’re ready to move, requesting the right coverage is the first step toward getting a COI that Amazon actually accepts on the first submission. Diamondbackins can help you compare trucking insurance options built around the auto liability and CGL limits Relay expects, and pair that with dedicated cargo and property damage coverage sized to the $100,000 minimum carriers commonly need. If you employ drivers, you can also compare workers’ compensation quotes in the same session rather than shopping that separately.
Start by requesting a trucking insurance quote today, and get your Amazon Relay documentation moving before your next load is on the line.
This article is general information, not a substitute for advice from a qualified financial advisor. Consult a qualified financial professional about your own circumstances before acting on anything here.
FAQ
What Are Amazon’s Insurance Requirements for Relay Carriers?
Amazon Relay commonly requires auto liability at $1,000,000, cargo coverage at $100,000, and commercial general liability at $1,000,000, plus workers’ compensation if you employ drivers. Confirm exact current figures on the Relay FAQ page, since requirements can vary by freight type.
What Are the Compliance Requirements for Amazon Relay?
Beyond holding the correct policy limits, carriers need MCS-90 and BMC-91/BMC-91X filings on record with FMCSA, a COI naming Amazon correctly as certificate holder, and active operating authority with a clean safety rating. Missing any one of these can block approval even with valid coverage in place.
What Type of Insurance Do I Need for Amazon Delivery?
For most Relay operations, you need commercial auto liability, cargo insurance, and commercial general liability, plus workers’ compensation if you have employees. A personal auto policy does not satisfy these requirements even if the coverage amounts look similar on paper.
What Disqualifies You From Driving for Amazon Relay?
Lapsed or canceled insurance, missing MCS-90 or BMC filings, an incomplete or incorrectly worded COI, and safety rating or operating authority problems are the most common disqualifiers. Reviewing your paperwork against Amazon’s exact requirements before submission prevents most of these issues. Getting a tailored trucking quote with the correct limits and endorsement built in from the start is one of the more direct ways to avoid this entirely.