Starting a trucking company, filing by filing

Which rules apply to your truck?

Calculators

• Startup cost calculatorAdd up the federal fees to start a trucking company, plus your own quotes.
• Form 2290 tax calculatorYour heavy vehicle use tax by weight and month of first use, with the due date.
• Cost-per-mile calculatorYour cost per mile and the break-even rate per loaded mile.
• MCS-150 due date finderWhen your biennial update is due, from your USDOT number.
• UCR fee calculatorYour 2027 Unified Carrier Registration fee by fleet size.

Starting out

• How to start a trucking company, step by stepThe filings a new interstate trucking company needs, in order, with official fees and deadlines, plus a startup cost calculator. Updated for FMCSA's Motus.
• Hot shot trucking requirements: CDL, USDOT number, medical card and logsWhat you need to start hot shot trucking legally - when a pickup and trailer need a Class A CDL, plus the USDOT number, medical card, ELD and tax rules.
• Starting a box truck business: CDL, USDOT number and other requirementsWhat a box truck business needs: the 26,000 vs 26,001 lb CDL line, USDOT number and medical card at 10,001 lbs, hours of service, ELDs and state taxes.

DOT number & authority

• FMCSA Motus: the new USDOT registration system, explainedWhat FMCSA's Motus system is, when it replaced URS, how Login.gov and identity checks work, how to claim your USDOT number, and what didn't change.
• How to get a USDOT number, and whether you need oneWho needs a USDOT number, which states require one for intrastate trucks, what it costs (nothing), and how to apply in FMCSA's Motus system.
• How to get an MC number (operating authority)Who needs FMCSA operating authority (an MC number), the $300 fee, the 10-day protest period, and the 20-day deadline for insurance and BOC-3 filings.
• BOC-3: designating your process agentsWhat a BOC-3 is, who needs process agents and in which states, who can file the form (FMCSA's pages disagree), and the 20-day deadline for new authority.
• UCR registration: 2027 fees and who has to registerThe 2027 Unified Carrier Registration fees by fleet size, who must register, how to count vehicles, and when to pay. Fee calculator included.

Safety compliance

• MCS-150 biennial update: when it's due and how to fileFind your MCS-150 biennial update due date from your USDOT number, see how to file it free in Motus, and what happens if you miss it.
• DOT drug and alcohol testing for a new carrier or owner-operatorDOT drug and alcohol testing for new carriers: who's covered, the pre-employment drug test, consortium random pools, and 2026 random rates of 50% and 10%.
• Hours-of-service rules for property-carrying driversFederal hours-of-service limits for truck drivers hauling freight: 11 hours driving, the 14-hour window, 30-minute break, 60/70 hours, short-haul.
• FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse: what a new carrier has to doHow new carriers and owner-operators register in the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, pick a C/TPA, buy $1.25 queries and run the required checks.
• The ELD mandate: who needs an ELD, the exemptions, and approved devicesWho has to use an electronic logging device, the four main ELD exemptions, how to check FMCSA's registered ELD list, and what to do if a device fails.
• The New Entrant safety audit: what to expect in your first 18 monthsHow FMCSA's New Entrant program works: the 18-month monitoring period, when the safety audit happens, the 16 automatic failures and corrective-action deadlines.
• Driver qualification file: what goes in it and how to keep it currentA checklist of what a DOT driver qualification (DQ) file must hold, the 30-day hiring checks, the annual MVR and review, and how long to keep the file.
• DOT physical and medical card: what a new carrier needs to knowWho needs a DOT physical (10,001 lb interstate CMV drivers, CDL or not), how long a medical card lasts, the National Registry and the June 2025 change.

Fuel & road taxes

• Form 2290 heavy vehicle use tax: calculator and due datesWork out your 2026-27 Form 2290 heavy vehicle use tax by weight and month of first use, see your due date, and learn who has to file and how.
• IFTA: who needs a fuel tax license, and when returns are dueWho needs an IFTA license, how your base jurisdiction works, decals, quarterly return due dates, late penalties, record keeping, and the 2027 renewal deadline.
• IRP apportioned registration: one plate for interstate trucksHow IRP apportioned registration works, which trucks need apportioned plates, what a base jurisdiction requires, how fees are figured, and what records to keep.
• State weight-distance and highway-use taxes for trucksCompare the state highway-use taxes on trucks: New York HUT, Kentucky KYU, New Mexico WDT, Oregon weight-mile tax and Connecticut's Highway Use Fee.
• New York Highway Use Tax (HUT): who needs it, cost, filing and ratesWho needs a New York HUT certificate and decal, what it costs, the $25 trip certificate, how often returns are due, and sample per-mile rates.
• Kentucky KYU number and weight-distance taxWho needs a Kentucky KYU number, how to apply online, the 2.85-cent per-mile rate, quarterly returns, and the $500 fee for missing a zero-mile return.

Insurance

• Trucking insurance requirements: the federal minimumsFederal liability minimums for trucking companies ($750,000 and up), the filings FMCSA needs, what the MCS-90 does, and what happens if coverage lapses.
• Insurance requirements by truck type: semi, box truck, dump truck, hot shot and cargo vanFederal insurance minimums for semi, box truck, dump truck, hot shot and cargo van carriers: when $750,000 or $300,000 applies, plus CDL, IFTA and 2290.
• How much trucking insurance costs, according to neutral dataWhat truck insurance costs per mile by fleet size, from ATRI's 2024 data: small fleets paid up to $0.213 a mile, over twice the $0.102 average.
• Types of trucking insurance, in plain EnglishWhat primary liability, cargo, physical damage, bobtail, occupational accident, general liability and trailer interchange coverage mean, in plain English.
• Motor truck cargo insurance: what the law requiresFMCSA doesn't require cargo insurance for general freight, but carriers are liable for the freight they haul. Household goods carriers need $5,000/$10,000.

Data

• New trucking companies by monthNew USDOT numbers by month and state, from FMCSA's Company Census File.