This article explains the three status values a carrier can have in polt.ai and what each one means operationally. Status is shown in the top-left of the carrier record next to the carrier's name and on the Carriers dashboard.
Status vs. Assessment Result: these are two different concepts.
Status describes how the carrier should be treated in polt.ai (Active, Inactive, Do not use)
Assessment Result describes the carrier's current vetting outcome from Highway, MCP, RMIS (Pass, Partial pass, Fail, Incomplete, Unknown)
A carrier can be Active in polt.ai but have a Fail Assessment Result — and you should not assign loads to them either way.
Status reference
Active
The carrier is in good standing and available for load assignment, subject to Assessment Result checks.
What to do: Assignable, provided Assessment Result is Pass or Partial pass and other checks (insurance, authority) are satisfied.
Inactive
The carrier was Active at one point but something about their assessment rules in Highway has now caused them to fail vetting. The status changes to Inactive automatically when this happens.
What to do: Do not assign new loads. The carrier needs to resolve their Highway issue and re-pass assessment before they can be moved back to Active.
See Onboarding a new carrier through Highway for what causes vetting failures.
Do not use
The carrier is on an explicit blacklist. This is a deliberate action — meaning someone on your team has flagged this carrier for serious reasons (claims history, payment disputes, safety concerns, etc.).
What to do: Do not assign loads under any circumstances. If you believe a carrier should be removed from Do not use, escalate to your team — don't try to override.
How status changes
Active → Inactive — automatic, when Highway re-assessment fails
Inactive → Active — automatic, when Highway re-assessment passes again
Active → Do not use — manual, set deliberately by your team
Do not use → Active — manual, only by team escalation