California Car Shipping Companies: FMCSA-Verified Brokers & Carriers

Published October 24, 2026 · Updated October 25, 2026

California sends and receives a huge share of the country's shipped cars, and a lot of the companies selling car shipping online are based in Southern California. This page lists California-headquartered auto transport carriers and brokers whose federal records checked out on SAFER, with FMCSA data as of 10/22/2026. Every USDOT number below links to the company's live FMCSA record so you can check it yourself.

Being listed here isn't an endorsement. We don't take money from any company on this page. A clean FMCSA record is the minimum, not proof of good service. How we verify.

California by the numbers (FMCSA census)

• 12,579 California-based companies have an active USDOT number and list "Motor Vehicles" as a cargo type in FMCSA's census file. That count includes tow trucks, dealers, rental fleets, and contractors, not just car shippers.
• 338 of those have an MC docket number and a name containing "auto transport," "auto shipping," or "car shipping."
• 523 of the motor-vehicle companies are registered purely as brokers, meaning they don't run their own trucks.

California auto transport carriers (largest by power units)

Carriers own or run the trucks. We took California-based companies with "auto transport" style names, Motor Vehicles cargo, and an MC number, ranked them by power units (trucks) reported to FMCSA, and kept the top 12 that showed USDOT Status ACTIVE and AUTHORIZED FOR Motor Carrier of Property on SAFER. Of the 25 largest we checked, three had active USDOT numbers but NOT AUTHORIZED status, and one held broker authority only, so they're not in this table.

Power units are what each company self-reports to FMCSA, so treat them as approximate. A big fleet often hauls for dealers, auctions, and manufacturers, so a large carrier may not take single-car household moves. Ask.

California auto transport brokers (longest-registered)

Brokers arrange the move and assign a carrier. These are California-based companies with "auto transport" style names and an MC number, registered as brokers, with an FMCSA filing (MCS-150) updated in 2024 or later, first registered before mid-2025, and AUTHORIZED FOR Broker of Property on SAFER. They're listed from oldest registration to newest. Brokers must keep a $75,000 bond or trust fund on file, which you can check on FMCSA's L&I search.

¹ Mid Valley Auto Transport lists several entity types on SAFER, but its only active authority on the date we checked was Broker of Property, so it's listed here and not with the carriers.

While building this list, 11 of the 22 California broker registrations we checked showed NOT AUTHORIZED on SAFER even though their USDOT numbers were active. Every one of those was first registered in 2024 or 2025. New companies aren't automatically bad, but an unauthorized broker can't legally arrange your interstate move, so check before you pay a deposit.

How to use this list

1. Ask which one you're booking. If you get a quote from a broker, ask in writing for the assigned carrier's name, MC, and USDOT number before pickup, then check that carrier too. Our 5-minute check walks through it.
2. Match the phone number. FMCSA's fraud guidance suggests confirming phone numbers against SAFER. If the number you were given doesn't match, call the SAFER number and ask.
3. Check insurance and bond on L&I. SAFER shows authority; FMCSA's Licensing & Insurance site shows the bond (brokers) and liability filing (carriers).
4. Read the deposit and cancellation terms. People regularly report losing a deposit after cancelling. A low quote with a non-refundable deposit is a known pattern, so read how the lowball-quote deposit pattern works before you pay.

Shipping somewhere warmer for the winter? See our Florida car shipping companies list too. Moving between California and Texas? See our Texas car shipping companies list (a California-to-Texas route guide is on our list).