The Two New Rules Killing Relay Accounts in 2025

It is November 24th. The "Turkey 5" rush is underway. The absolute worst thing that can happen to your fleet right now is a sudden deactivation.

Yet, carriers are finding themselves locked out of the Relay load board not because of a bad load, but because of new, silent compliance triggers that took effect in 2025.

Amazon has quietly decoupled its standards from the federal minimums, creating a "Shadow Compliance" tier.

Here are the two specific updates you need to check immediately to ensure your trucks stay running through December.

The "Amazon Premium": Why 'Federal Legal' is No Longer Enough

For years, if you were green with the FMCSA, you were green with Amazon. That rule is dead.

In 2025, Amazon enforced a policy known as the "Amazon Premium." They now require your BASIC safety scores to be 5% better than the federal intervention threshold.

This means you can be perfectly legal to drive on the highway, yet banned from an Amazon facility.

The New Hard Decks:

According to the official carrier requirements, the new "safe" isn't 100%, it's better than the federal average:

• Unsafe Driving & HOS: You must be below 60%. (Federal alert is typically 65%).

• Vehicle Maintenance: You must be below 75%. (Federal alert is 80%).

The Trap: If your Unsafe Driving score hits 61%, you are still safe in the eyes of the DOT, but Amazon’s algorithm will auto-flag your account for suspension.

Because these scores refresh weekly, a single speeding ticket during Peak Season can end your Amazon contract overnight.

The $50,000 "Trailer Replacement" Trap

If you run Power Only loads (using Amazon's blue trailers), your insurance policy has a new, non-negotiable line item that many budget brokers miss.

Previously, general "Non-Owned Trailer" coverage was often accepted. Now, the Relay onboarding bot specifically scans your Certificate of Insurance (COI) for a $50,000 limit explicitly labeled for Trailer Replacement Coverage.

The Trap: As detailed in the official insurance requirements, standard auto liability policies often cap this specific liability at $25,000 or bundle it vaguely under general liability.

Amazon’s system is binary: if it does not see "$50,000" next to "Trailer Replacement," your onboarding halts, or your active status is paused.

The Algorithm Doesn't Negotiate

Compliance in 2025 isn't about being legal; it's about matching Amazon's specific algorithm.

Check your SMS scores and your COI today. If you are hovering at 59% on HOS or missing that $50k trailer clause, you are one inspection or one audit away from losing your Peak Season revenue.

Stop Letting the Algorithm Dispatch Your Fleet.

Is your "Post A Truck" strategy leaving money on the table? In 2025, Amazon’s AI negotiates in seconds.

If you aren't watching the board 24/7, you're missing the "shaking bubble" loads, the urgent, high-rate freight that disappears before your driver even wakes up.

Don't rely on passive auto-booking. Our dispatch team specializes in the 2025 Relay ecosystem:

Your Trucks Drive. We Strategize. Stop guessing if you're profitable. Let us handle the negotiations, the route planning, and the headaches.

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