• Trucking Authority: When you are 'For-Hire' and haul loads across state lines for pay, most loads you haul across state lines will require Trucking Authority from the Federal Government in Washington. You will require this Trucking Authority if you haul loads across state lines as a For-Hire carrier and get paid to haul these loads in a van, a pickup truck, pickup truck towing a trailer, straight truck, straight truck towing a trailer, or a semi-tractor and trailer. It doesn't matter which of these vehicles you drive, you will need Trucking Authority to cross state lines.  The main difference in the application for Trucking Authority is the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of a vehicle such as a van, pickup truck or truck, or the Combined Gross Vehicle Weight Ratings (CGVWR) of a power unit and trailer such as a pickup truck pulling a trailer, truck and trailer or semi-tractor and trailer. Where the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR), or Combined Gross Vehicle Weight Ratings (CGVWR) of of the power unit and trailer are 10,000-lbs or under in the application for Trucking Authority, you will need a minimum of $300,000 in Personal Injury / Property Damage liability insurance. If the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of the vehicle, or the Combined Gross Vehicle Weight Ratings (CGVWR) of the vehicles are 10,001-lbs or greater when applying for Trucking Authority, the requirement is for a minimum of $750,000 Personal Injury / Property Damage liability insurance. MC Authority is the official name used for Trucking Authority. In the process of applying for Trucking Authority, you will need a USDOT number. If you already have a USDOT number, you will need a PIN number for the application for Trucking Authority

• Farmer with farm plates:  Trucking Authority not required. A farmer with a farm-plated truck crossing state lines does not need Trucking Authority. A farmer driving a farm-plated van or pickup truck with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of 10,000-lbs or less, or a pickup truck pulling a trailer with Combined gross Vehicle Weight Ratings (CGVWR) of 10,000-lbs or less across state lines is not required to have a USDOT number or register for Trucking Authority. If the truck has a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of 10,001-lbs or more, he will need a USDOT number, but will not need to register for Trucking Authority. If the truck is pulling a trailer, or a semi-tractor pulling a trailer with Combined Gross Vehicle Weight Ratings (CGVWR) of 10,001-lbs or more, he will need a USDOT number, but not Trucking Authority.  In addition to a USDOT number, if the farm-plated truck, or farm plated truck pulling a trailer exceeds 26,000-lbs crossing state lines, you will need to register with the state for IFTA fuel tax but, again, not Trucking Authority. If you have a farm-plated semi-tractor and trailer crossing state lines, you will need to register for a USDOT number and IFTA fuel tax but not Trucking Authority. The state IFTA fuel tax offices ar listed down the left side of this page. 
• Private Carrier hauling their own products:  Trucking Authority is not required. Manufacturers and other businesses hauling their own products across state lines in any vehicle with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of 10,000-lbs or less, or a vehicle pulling a trailer with Combined Gross Vehicle Weight Ratings (CGWR) of 10,000-lbs or less is not required to have a USDOT number or register for Trucking Authority. If the vehicle crossing state lines has a GVWR of 10,001-lbs or more, or the truck or semi-tractor is pulling a trailer with the CGVWR of 10,001-lbs or more, a USDOT number is required but not Trucking Authority.  
• For-Hire Carrier hauling exempt products across state lines:  Trucking Authority is not required. If a Carrier is hauling exempt commodities across state lines such as corn, livestock or logs to a lumber mill, and the truck has a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating - GVWR of 10,000-lbs or less, a USDOT number is not required, and Trucking Authority is also not required. But if the truck has a GVWR of 10,001-lbs or more, or the power unit pulling a trailer have CGVWR of 10,001-lbs or more, the carrier is required to have a USDOT number, but not Trucking Authority.

Trucking Authority Requirements: To obtain Trucking Authority, you will need a USDOT Number, register for the BOC-3 List of Process Agents and carry Personal Injury/Property Damage liability insurance. For Trucking Authority / Common Authority, you will also need Cargo Insurance to cover the value of any cargo you will be carrying. The time span for the application for Trucking Authority is around 21 days. When applying for Authority, a USDOT Number is required. In the application process, a Docket Number will be issued, but Trucking Authority will not be granted until the Feds have the items they need for the Trucking Authority. Once Trucking Authority has been granted, a letter of authority will be issued to carry in the truck or trucks. Once your Trucking Authority has been granted, registration for the Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) process will be required. Once you have your Trucking Authority, you will go through a New Entrant Carrier Safety Audit process.  Typically, a member of the State Police, Motor Carrier section will visit you and spend 3 - 4 hours going over all the items concerning Safety you need to have in place as a Motor Carrier that has been issued Trucking Authority. Within these items concerning safety are 16 Critical Items that need to satisfy the Safety Auditor. If you fail any of these 16 Critical Items, you will fail the Safety Audit. If you fail the Safety Audit, your Trucking Authority will be taken away from you and you will lose it. We are told that half of the truckers that go through the interviews will fail the Safety Audit because they do not have all 16 Critical Items in place. You just need to fail one of these 16 Critical Items and you lose your Trucking Authority.

Trucking Authority Docket Number: When you apply for Trucking Authority, you will be assigned both a USDOT Number and a Docket Number (you may already have a USDOT Number, in which case this number will be used for the application process). This Docket Number will be used as a reference number during the application process. Once you have been granted Trucking Authority, this Docket Number will then be used as your Trucking Authority number. Once your Trucking Authority has been granted, you can legally start hauling loads. Be careful when you start hauling loads. Make sure you have the Letter of Authority (or a copy of the Letter of Authority) with you in your truck, as some scale-masters may penelize you if you cannot show them this letter. If you apply for Trucking Authority / Common Authority, this letter is called a Certificate of Authority. If you apply for Trucking Authority / Contract Authority, the letter is called a Permit. When your Trucking Authority is granted, your letter of authority will take 7 - 10 days to reach you at your mailing address. Again, you will need this letter, or a copy of this letter in your truck to start hauling loads. Many scalemasters do not consider you have Trucking Authority unless they can actually see this letter.  We can arrange for this letter to be faxed to you either on the day your Trucking Authority is granted, or by the following day. 

Personal Injury / Property Damage Liability Insurance required in the Application for Trucking Authority:  In the application for Trucking Authority, if the weight of the loaded vehicle, or the combined weights of both the power unit and the trailer is 10,000-lbs or less and you are hauling non-hazardous loads on a For-Hire basis across state lines, you are required to carry a minimum of $300,000 in Personal Injury / Property Damage liability insurance when you are granted Trucking Authority. If you are applying for Trucking Authority with a truck with a GVWR of 10,001-lbs or more, or a power unit pulling a trailer with CGVWR of 10,001-lbs or more hauling non-hazardous material, for the application for Trucking Authority, you are required to carry a minimum of $750,000 in Personal Injury / Property Damage liability insurance. With Trucking Authority involving hazardous loads at any weight, you will be required to carry between $1 million and $5 million in liability insurance. 

Cargo Insurance required for Trucking Authority:   When an application for Trucking Authority with Common Authority is made, you are required to carry a minimum of $5,000 in Cargo Insurance. In reality, you will need to have sufficient cargo insurance to cover the value of the cargo at the time an application for Trucking Authority is made. When an application for Trucking Authority / Contract Authority is made, you are not required to show proof of Cargo Insurance. You may be hauling sand, gravel, stone etc across state lines and may not need cargo insurance. If you have a dedicated contract with one shipper who will provide cargo insurance on the loads, Contract Authority can be applied for. Otherwise you will need Common Authority in the application for Trucking Authority

The Name of Your Trucking Authority:  Before you apply for Trucking Authority, you need to have a name to use for your Trucking Authority. There are several ways you can name your trucking business and Trucking Authority. The basic way is to have your name as the business name. You can also add a d/b/a (Doing Business As) to your name, and have this d/b/a name showing on the signs on your truck after you get your Trucking Authority. If you go this route, most states require you to register the d/b/a name at your local county courthouse or county offices.  In the process of applying for your Trucking Authority, the d/b/a name needs to be entered.  Your insurance policy associated with the application for Trucking Authority needs to also show your name followed by the d/b/a name, otherwise there will be a conflict in the application process and the application for your Trucking Authority will be held up until both the full application name and the insurance policy name match exactly.

Emloyer Identification Number (EIN) / Federal Identification Number used with your Trucking Authority: You will probably need an EIN number for your Trucking Authority. In addition to the EIN number for your Trucking Authority, you will need this EIN - Employer Identification Number to file the 2290 Federal Highway Use Tax. Most owner-operators who have trucks registered with license plates 55,000-lbs or above have a Federal ID Number to file their annual 2290 Federal Highway Use Tax. If you are going to establish an LLC or a Corporation for your Trucking Authority, you will need a separate EIN Number from the EIN Number you may have in your personal name for the LLC or Corporation as these are different legal entities than you. You may need the same EIN number, or you may need a different EIN number for your Trucking Authority. Call us.

IRP / Apportioned License Plate needed with Trucking Authority:  In the application for Trucking Authority, you will probably cross state lines. When you apply for Trucking Authority and your van, Pickup truck, pickup truck and trailer combination, truck, truck and trailer combination are all 26,000-lbs or under when loaded, you will not need an IRP / Apportioned license plate. Once you have your Trucking Authority, if you have a 3-axle truck that will be crossing state lines at any weight, you will need an Apportioned / IRP license plate for this truck. Again, once you have your Trucking Authority, if you have a truck, or a truck and trailer combination at 26,001-lbs or heavier, or a semi-tractor and trailer crossing state lines, you will need to register for an IRP / Apportioned license plate. If you want to go on your own, you will need Trucking Authority as most states require you to either be a Private Carrier, For-Hire Carrier hauling exempt commodities, For-Hire Registrant leased to a trucking company, or a For-Hire Carrier with your own Trucking Authority before issuing an IRP plate.

IFTA / International Fuel Tax Agreement Needed with Trucking Authority:   With the application for Trucking Authority, you will probably be crossing state lines. If you have an IRP / Apportioned license plate to cross state lines, you will also need to register for IFTA fuel tax. The list of IFTA fuel tax offices is down the left side of this page. Once you have your Trucking Authority and have signed up for IFTA fuel tax, the state will require you to file quarterly IFTA fuel tax reports. We can do the quarterly IFTA fuel tax filings for you. Call us for the application for Trucking Authority and, once you are registered for IFTA fuel tax , we can set you up with the reporting schedule. Once you have your Trucking Authority and are starting to haul loads, the state will require you to keep accurate records of all trips made during each quarter with your truck or trucks. Again, if we register you for Trucking Authority, we can send you trip sheets you can use that will double as records for both the IFTA fuel tax reporting and for your IRP license plate renewals each year.

In Addition to Trucking Authority, Intra-State Trucking Authority:    In addition to obtaining Trucking Authority for hauling loads across state lines, you may need Intra-State Trucking Authority to pick up and deliver loads inside your home state. Look at your home state below to see if you will need Intra-State Trucking Authority for your home state, or for the state next door. Call us if you need that authority.

For Individual State DOT Information and Intra-State Trucking Authority:

• Alabama: DOT Information. State Authority not required 
• Arizona: DOT Information. State Authority is required to haul loads
• Arkansas: DOT Information. State Authority not required
• California: DOT Information. State Authority not required
• Colorado: DOT Information. State Authority is required to haul loads
• Connecticut: DOT Information. State Authority is required to haul loads
• Delaware: DOT Information. State Authority not required
• Florida: DOT Information. State Authority is required for livestock
• Georgia: DOT Information. State Authority is required to haul loads
• Idaho: DOT Information. State Authority is not required
• Illinois: DOT Information. State Authority is required to haul loads
• Iowa: DOT Information. State Authority is required to haul loads
• Kansas: DOT Information. State Authority is required to haul loads
• Kentucky: DOT Information. State Authority is required to haul loads
• Louisiana: DOT Information. State Authority required for certain loads
• Maine: DOT Information. State Authority not required
• Maryland: DOT Information. State Authority is required to haul loads
• Massachusetts: DOT Information. State Authority not required
• Michigan: DOT Information. State Authority is required to haul loads
• Minnesota: DOT Information. State Authority is required to haul loads
• Missouri: DOT Information. State Authority is required to haul loads
• Mississippi: DOT Information. State Authority is required to haul loads
• Montana: DOT Information. State Authority is not required
• Nebraska: DOT Information. State Authority is required to haul loads
• Nevada: DOT Information. State Authority is not required
• New Hampshire: DOT Information. State Authority is not required
• New Jersey: DOT Information. State Authority is not required
• New Mexico: DOT Information. State Authority is required to haul loads
• New York: DOT Information. State Authority is required to haul loads
• North Carolina: DOT Information. State Authority is not required 
• North Dakota: DOT Information. State Authority is required to haul loads
• Ohio: DOT Information. State Authority is required to haul loads
• Oklahoma: DOT Information. State Authority is required to haul loads
• Oregon: DOT Information. State Authority is required to haul loads
• Pennsylvania: DOT Information. State Authority is required to haul loads
• Rhode Island: DOT Information. State Authority is required to haul loads
• South Carolina: DOT Information. State Authority is not required
• South Dakota: DOT Information. State Authority is not required
• Tennessee: DOT Information. State Authority is required to haul loads
• Texas: DOT Information. State Authority is required to haul loads
• Utah: DOT Information. State Authority is required to haul loads
• Vermont: DOT Information. State Authority is not required 
• Virginia: DOT Information. State authority is required to haul loads
• Washington: DOT Information. State Authority is required to haul loads
• Wisconsin: DOT Information. State Authority is required to haul loads
• West Virginia: DOT Information. State Authority is not required
• Wyoming: DOT Information. State Authority is not required