Amazon Relay for new carriers: what it takes to get approved and what it is worth
Amazon Relay puts freight directly in front of carriers, with no broker in the middle. Getting approved takes more than a sign-up, and the requirements you meet to get in are the same ones that keep you in.
Written by Gabriel Gonzalez
Relay at a glance
To haul Amazon Relay loads, you need interstate authority with a DOT number active for at least 180 days, a valid MC number, a Satisfactory, None, or Not Rated safety rating, BASIC scores under Amazon's thresholds, and an insurance stack that includes workers' compensation.
Those requirements are public and specific, which makes Relay unusually easy to plan for. The harder question is the business one: whether Relay freight fits your lanes, your cash flow, and the rest of your customer base.
I have spent more than 22 years at Simplex, most of them running operations, and the carriers I have seen grow profitably treat a program like Relay as one channel in a plan rather than the plan itself. This guide covers the requirements, what they cost you to meet, and how to decide whether the freight is worth it.
Key takeaways
Your authority must be 180 days old
Amazon requires a DOT number with interstate authority active for at least 180 days and a valid MC number, though you can apply before you reach 180 days.
Your safety rating has a floor
Relay accepts an FMCSA safety rating of Satisfactory, None, or Not Rated.
Five BASICs have hard cutoffs
Unsafe Driving and HOS Compliance must be below 60%, and Vehicle Maintenance, Controlled Substances/Alcohol, and Driver Fitness must be below 75%.
The insurance stack goes beyond auto liability
Amazon requires general liability, auto liability with trailer replacement coverage, $100,000 in cargo, workers' compensation, and employer liability.
Pay runs weekly
Loads completed by 11:59 p.m. Saturday are paid the following Friday, and Relay generates your invoices automatically.
Relay loads come only through Relay
Amazon does not tender loads through third-party load boards, so treat an Amazon load offered anywhere else with suspicion.
In this articleContents
What are the Amazon Relay requirements?
The Amazon Relay requirements are the minimum authority, safety, and insurance standards a carrier must meet before Amazon will let it book loads through the Relay load board. Amazon publishes them in its Relay FAQ, and they are the same for every carrier.
| Requirement | Amazon's minimum |
|---|---|
| DOT authority | Interstate authority active for at least 180 days, plus a valid MC number |
| Entity type | Carrier, authorized for property and for hire |
| FMCSA safety rating | Satisfactory, None, or Not Rated |
| Unsafe Driving BASIC | Below 60% |
| HOS Compliance BASIC | Below 60% |
| Vehicle Maintenance BASIC | Below 75% |
| Controlled Substances/Alcohol BASIC | Below 75% |
| Driver Fitness BASIC | Below 75% |
| Driver violation rate | At or below 35% |
| Vehicle violation rate | At or below 50% |
Amazon encourages carriers to apply before their authority reaches 180 days. It will start reviewing your information early, so you are ready to onboard as soon as you meet the tenure requirement. If you are still putting your authority together, our trucking authority packages cover the DOT number, MC, BOC-3, and UCR in one place.
What insurance does Amazon Relay require?
Amazon lists five coverages. Check your current policy against every line, not just auto liability and cargo.
| Coverage | Minimum |
|---|---|
| Commercial general liability | $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate |
| Auto liability | $1,000,000 per occurrence, including $50,000 trailer replacement coverage |
| Cargo | $100,000 |
| Workers' compensation | Required in every jurisdiction where you operate |
| Employer liability | $100,000 per occurrence |
General liability, workers' compensation, and employer liability are separate coverages from your auto liability and cargo policies, and a program built for other freight may not include them. Price the full stack before you count on Relay revenue, and talk to a licensed agent about your commercial truck insurance if any line is missing.
How the Relay BASIC thresholds compare with FMCSA's own data
Relay's BASIC thresholds read your scores from FMCSA's Safety Measurement System (SMS), where higher percentiles indicate worse performance. So a limit of "below 60%" means your company must rank better than the bottom 40% of comparable carriers in that category.
Look at where Amazon set its tightest cutoffs. Unsafe Driving and Hours-of-Service Compliance are held to 60%, while the other three BASICs are held to 75%. FMCSA's own methodology names Unsafe Driving and HOS Compliance, along with the Crash Indicator, as the BASICs most strongly associated with crash risk. Amazon is holding you to its strictest standard on the two driving behaviors that data links most closely to crashes.
SMS also uses two years of inspection and crash data, so a bad stretch keeps counting against you long after the inspection. For a closer look at the violations behind the Unsafe Driving score, see our guide to unsafe driving violations and CSA scores.
Is Amazon Relay worth it for a new carrier?
For many carriers, yes, as long as Relay is one part of the revenue plan and not all of it. Here is how I would weigh it.
What works in your favor
- No broker in between. Relay freight comes straight from Amazon.
- Rates you can see before you commit. Relay shows the base rate, fuel, and tolls up front, so you know what a load pays before you book it.
- Weekly pay. Loads completed by 11:59 p.m. Saturday are paid the following Friday, and invoices are generated for you.
- Safety rewards. Amazon advertises an extra $0.01 to $0.04 per mile through its safety rewards program.
What it costs you
- The first 180 days. You cannot onboard until your authority is 180 days old, so your first six months of revenue have to come from somewhere else.
- The insurance stack. General liability, workers' compensation, and employer liability add cost on top of auto liability and cargo.
- Ongoing thresholds. The BASIC and violation-rate limits are requirements to carry Amazon loads, so treat them as a standard you meet every month, not a hurdle you clear once.
The concentration question
Profitable growth sometimes means knowing which revenue not to pursue. The risk with any single large customer is not the freight itself. It is what happens to your business when one customer's rules, rates, or volume change and most of your trucks depend on them. Measure every Relay lane on revenue per mile, including the deadhead to get there, and compare it with your other customers before you move more trucks onto it.
How to get approved for Amazon Relay
None of these steps are complicated, but doing them in order saves you a rejected application.
Step 1: Confirm your authority dates
Check when your interstate authority became active and count forward 180 days. If you are close, apply now. Amazon will begin reviewing your file so you can onboard once you qualify.
Step 2: Pull your BASICs and violation rates
Log in to FMCSA's SMS website to see your complete results, then compare each BASIC with Amazon's thresholds. Pay the most attention to Unsafe Driving and HOS Compliance, where the cutoff is 60%.
Step 3: Close your insurance gaps
Line up your certificates against all five coverages Amazon lists. Missing general liability or workers' compensation is easier to fix before you apply than after.
Step 4: Challenge data that is wrong
If an inspection or violation on your record is incomplete or incorrect, request a review through FMCSA's DataQs system before it weighs on your scores.
Step 5: Apply, then keep watching the thresholds
Once you are approved, keep tracking your BASICs as SMS updates each month. Our compliance programs include CSA monitoring for exactly this reason.
How Simplex helps carriers get Relay-ready
Authority, insurance, and safety scores are the three things Relay checks. We handle all three under one roof.
Authority, set up right
Our authority packages cover your DOT number, MC, BOC-3, authority letter, and UCR, and we can get you ready for your new entrant safety audit.
Insurance that matches the list
As a broker, we quote and place commercial truck insurance, from liability to cargo and physical damage, and a licensed agent can check your coverage against Amazon's requirements.
Scores you can see coming
Our compliance programs include CSA monitoring, driver qualification file management, mock audits, and HOS management.
Frequently asked questions
How long does my authority need to be active for Amazon Relay?+
What BASIC scores do I need for Amazon Relay?+
How much insurance do I need for Amazon Relay?+
How often does Amazon Relay pay carriers?+
Do I need to send invoices to Amazon Relay?+
Can I book Amazon loads on other load boards?+
Where this information comes from
Amazon sets the Relay requirements, and FMCSA sets the safety data behind them. The figures in this article come from the official sources below, checked on September 18, 2026.
-
1
Amazon Relay — Frequently Asked Questions
Carrier requirements, BASIC thresholds, insurance minimums, the DOT tenure rule, payment timing, invoicing, and load board policy.
-
2
Amazon Relay — Homepage
Upfront rates, weekly pay, and the $0.01 to $0.04 per mile safety rewards.
-
3
FMCSA — SMS Methodology (PDF)
How BASIC percentiles work, and which BASICs FMCSA associates most strongly with crash risk.
-
4
FMCSA — DataQs
How to request a review of safety data you believe is incomplete or incorrect.
Written by
Gabriel Gonzalez
Chief Revenue Officer, Simplex Group
Chief Revenue Officer at Simplex Group, with more than 22 years at the company, including nearly 16 years as Chief Operating Officer. His background combines revenue strategy with deep operational experience, giving him a strong perspective on how compliance, risk, permits, cash flow, and operational readiness affect a carrier's ability to grow profitably.
Published
Related articles and services
Grow with Amazon Relay without betting the business on it
Relay rewards carriers who arrive with clean authority, complete insurance, and scores well inside the thresholds, and it keeps rewarding the ones who stay that way. Treat it as a strong channel in a balanced book of business and it can do a lot for your revenue.
If you want help getting your authority, insurance, and safety scores Relay-ready, talk to our team.