How to switch dispatcher without losing a load, a login or a broker

Carriers who switch dispatchers often wait too long. The rates got thin months ago, the check calls stopped, a forced load or two slipped through, and still the switch feels like a hassle. It doesn't have to be. Done in the right order, you can switch dispatcher in a week without losing a load, a login or a broker relationship.

The order matters. Access first, because whoever controls the email that receives rate cons controls your freight. Then loads in progress, then documents, then the new desk.

The handover roster: one unit at a time

Work through the list for each truck. A fleet of three trucks has three sets of open loads, three ELD accounts and sometimes three different email setups. Ticking them per unit stops one from slipping.

EXAMPLE A four-truck fleet gives notice on a Monday. Units 101 and 102 have loads delivering Wednesday, unit 103 is between loads, and unit 104 has a load booked for Friday pickup. The owner changes the load board and broker portal passwords that afternoon, moves rate con email to an address only they control, and agrees in writing that the old dispatcher's fee applies to the three booked loads only. Unit 103 starts with the new desk on Tuesday. By the next Monday all four are switched.

Read the agreement before you send notice

Three clauses decide how the switch goes.

• Notice period. How many days' written notice, and from when. Notice periods vary from agreement to agreement; some allow a week, ours is 30 days.
• Fees after notice. Whether the fee applies to loads booked before notice, loads delivered after it, or both.
• Non-solicitation or exclusivity. Some agreements try to stop you from working with brokers the dispatcher introduced. Your broker setups are still yours, but read what you signed.

If the agreement has a penalty for leaving, an auto-renewal you didn't notice, or a fee on loads you book yourself, that's worth knowing before the conversation, not during it. This is general information, not legal advice. A transportation attorney can read a specific contract.

Access to take back

This is the step people skip, and it's the one that causes real damage. A dispatcher who still has your load board login can book loads under your MC. One who still receives your rate cons can see every rate you're paid.

• Load boards and broker portals. Change passwords on every board and every broker portal, even ones you rarely use.
• ELD and tracking. Remove the old dispatcher's user from your ELD and any tracking apps that share truck location with brokers.
• Email. If rate cons, remittances or factoring notices go to an address the dispatcher set up or can read, move them to one only you control, and tell your brokers.
• Factoring portal. If you factor, make sure only you and people you choose can submit invoices or see payments.
• Phone numbers. If brokers have the dispatcher's number as your contact, update your carrier packets.

Documents to collect

Ask for these in writing, with a date. A good dispatcher hands them over without a fight.

• Rate cons, BOLs and PODs for every load in progress or not yet paid
• A list of brokers you're set up with, with contacts and setup dates
• Any detention, layover or TONU claims still open, with the supporting messages
• Weekly reports or load history per truck, if they kept them

Your broker relationships belong to your MC. The broker approved your authority, your insurance and your payment details, not the dispatcher's. Your new desk can book with the same brokers immediately.

Starting with a new desk

Before you sign with anyone new, ask the questions you wish you'd asked the first time, and make sure the desk works for you rather than brokering your loads; our page on dispatcher vs broker explains the difference. Who approves each load? Where does the rate con go? What's the notice period, and is there any fee on loads you book yourself? Can you see every offer, including the ones they pass on?

Here's how we answer them. You approve every load before it's booked. The broker sends the rate con straight to you. There's no contract term, no setup fee and no minimum; you can leave with 30 days notice. The fee is 5% for one truck, 4% per truck for two or more, and 7% while your MC is under 6 months old, charged only on loads you accept and haul. Full details are on our dispatch rates page.

What the new desk needs from you on day one: your carrier packet (authority, insurance certificate, W-9), a list of units with equipment and drivers, each unit's floor rate and home time rules, and your preferred lanes. For fleets, our small fleet dispatch page shows how each unit gets its own rules card.

Our view: switch the whole fleet at once if you can. Running two dispatchers on different trucks for a month sounds safe, but it splits your broker relationships and doubles the confusion when a driver calls with a problem. Pick a Monday, do the access step that weekend, and move.

Switching dispatchers is one of the systems questions that comes up as a fleet grows. The guide to growing a trucking company covers the rest of them, stage by stage.