How to check a freight forwarder before you book

Company register entry

Start with the company register. Every Lithuanian company has a company code in the Register of Legal Entities, kept by Registrų centras. You can search the register free of charge by name or code. Check four things: the code, the status, the date the company was registered and its registered activity.

Sites such as rekvizitai.lt show the same register data on one page, with debts, vehicles and annual reports. For a forwarder from another EU country, use the business register of that country.

VAT number in VIES

Check the VAT number in VIES, the free VAT check of the European Commission. Choose the country, type the number and press Verify. A valid number shows the word “Valid”. Some EU countries also show the company name or address. Compare these details with the register and the offer.

An invalid number is a reason to stop and ask why.

Transport licence: carrier or forwarder

The licence depends on what the company does. A carrier that runs trucks for hire needs a licence. An EU Community licence gives the right to carry goods for hire on international routes. In Lithuania, freight forwarding is not a licensed activity. A forwarder without trucks has no transport licence to show.

The Lithuanian Transport Safety Administration (LTSA) issues licences for ten years. The LTSA website links to a list of licensed companies.

Tax and social insurance debts

Check if the company owes money to the State Tax Inspectorate (VMI) or to Sodra, the social insurance fund. Debts can show cash problems. A forwarder with cash problems may not pay the carrier. An unpaid carrier may then hold your goods. Sites such as rekvizitai.lt show VMI and Sodra debts by company code.

Look at the history, not only today. A small debt paid within a few days says little. A large debt that stays for months is a warning sign.

Address, phone and email domain

Compare the contact details in the offer with the register data. The company name, address and phone number should match. The email should use the company’s own domain, the same as on its website. An email address that differs by one letter or one ending belongs to another domain.

Call the company on a number from the register or its own website, not only on the number in the email. Check the email address and the phone number before each order, also with partners you know.

Insurance certificate and order terms

Ask for the insurance certificate before the first load. Check the insurer, the company name on the policy, the cover limit and the end date. Then check what the policy covers. A forwarder liability policy and a CMR carrier liability policy cover different risks. If a detail differs from the register, call the insurer to confirm the policy.

Some forwarder liability policies exclude claims under the CMR Convention and damage that the road carrier causes. The CMR Convention limits the carrier’s liability to 8.33 SDR per kilogram of gross weight, about 10 euros per kilogram. For valuable goods, ask about cargo insurance for the full value.

Then read the order confirmation. It should give the legal name and company code of the forwarder. It should state the route, the dates, the goods, the weight, the price and the payment terms. Check what it says about subcontracting.

Details that must match before loading

Before loading, the company details in the offer, the register and the order confirmation should match. Check seven details: the company name, the company code, the VAT number, the licence, the bank account holder, the email domain and the phone number. At loading, the truck and trailer plates should match the plates you got.

If one detail differs, stop and confirm it by phone on a number you already know. Do the same when a partner sends new bank details, a new email address or a change to the carrier, the address or the route. A change often has a simple reason, and one phone call confirms it before loading.

AI reports, exchange ratings and references

Many logistics managers ask an AI tool for a report on a new forwarder before they reply. Others read its rating on a freight exchange or ask for references. We check every carrier before every load. For a new company, we also read an AI report and its exchange rating. These checks add context, and the register and VIES confirm the facts.

For an AI report, give the tool the legal name, the company code and the country. Ask for the status, the date registered, debts, risk signals and reviews, with the source of each line. The tool writes from what it finds online. Two companies can have similar names, and an older page can show older data. So we confirm every line of the report in the register and in VIES before we rely on it.

A freight exchange rating shows how other users of that exchange rate the company. Their reviews say how the work went, and the profile can show if the company pays on time. The exchanges we use open an account only after the company sends proof that it is a registered transport company, with its licences. A rating covers one exchange, and a new company has few reviews. A rating also does not show which truck comes to your loading.

For references, ask the forwarder for three companies that can recommend it. Find the phone number of each company in the register or on its own website, and call it. Ask what they moved with the forwarder, on which route and since when. Ask if the documents and the payments came on time.

How to check RNJ Transport

RNJ Transport is a road freight and forwarding company in Klaipėda. You can run every check in this guide on us. Our company code is 305801389 and our VAT code is LT100014156213. We hold EU Community licence LIC-008592-EBKR, valid to 19 July 2031. Our Company facts page lists the register links.

We check every partner carrier before every load. Our How we work page lists each check. You can also ask an AI tool about RNJ Transport and compare its answer with the register links on our Company facts page.

1. 1

   Search the register

   Search for company code 305801389 in the Register of Legal Entities or on rekvizitai.lt. You should find an active company, registered on 17 June 2021.

2. 2

   Check the VAT number

   In VIES, choose Lithuania and check VAT number LT100014156213. The result should be valid.

3. 3

   Check the licence

   Find licence LIC-008592-EBKR on our Company facts page or in the LTSA list. It is valid to 19 July 2031.

4. 4

   Check the debts

   Open the debts page for code 305801389 on rekvizitai.lt. On 19 October 2026, it showed no debts to VMI or Sodra.

5. 5

   Call us

   Call the number in our register data. Ask us for any document you need before the first load.

Freight forwarder checklist

Use this checklist for every new forwarder. Use it again when its contact or bank details change.