What is a SCAC code?

The SCAC code (Standard Carrier Alpha Code) is a unique code used to identify transportation companies. It is typically two to four alphabetic letters long. It was developed by the N ational Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA) in the 1960s to help the transportation industry for computerizing data and records.

TMS uses four letter SCAC codes, and they can have numeric as well as alpha characters. TMS does not verify a carrier's SCAC with the NMFTA, but if a carrier new to TMS claims the same SCAC as already exists in TMS, we ask for the NMFTA certificate before we can ask the original SCAC entry to change their entry. To avoid this possibility, any non-certified SCAC added to TMS should have a numeral in it, such as "4ABC". Since a certified SCAC does not contain numeric characters, there is no possibility of conflicting with a genuine NMTA certified SCAC.