How to Start a Trucking Company (2026 Guide)

The 10 steps to start a trucking company

Steps 2 through 6 happen in FMCSA’s Motus system and with your insurer, and they depend on each other: your authority stays inactive until the BOC-3 and insurance filing are on record.

New trucking company requirements

1. Form your business: State fee; EIN free; Register an LLC, corporation or sole proprietorship with your state and get an EIN from the IRS.
2. USDOT number: Free; Apply in FMCSA’s Motus system. USDOT numbers
3. MC operating authority: $300; Needed to haul regulated freight for pay across state lines. MC numbers
4. BOC-3: Filing service fee; A blanket company names your process agents in every state. BOC-3 filing
5. Insurance: $750,000 minimum for most freight; Your insurer files a BMC-91X with FMCSA. Insurance requirements
6. UCR: From $55; Yearly registration for interstate carriers. UCR registration
7. IRP plates and IFTA: Varies by state; Through your base state, for trucks over 26,000 pounds or with three or more axles that cross state lines.
8. Heavy vehicle use tax: Up to $550 per truck a year; IRS Form 2290 for each truck with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more.
9. Drug and alcohol program: Testing provider fees; For CDL drivers: a written policy, a negative pre-employment test, random testing and Clearinghouse queries.
10. Driver qualification files: Your time, or ours; One for every driver, including you: application, MVR, medical card and more.

Getting your own authority in Motus

Since May 2026, new USDOT numbers and operating authority go through Motus, FMCSA’s new registration system. The company official signs in with Login.gov and verifies their identity with a photo ID and a phone before starting the application. A filing service can then complete the application for you once you name it as your service provider; you review and sign it.

After FMCSA reviews your application, it publishes it in the FMCSA Register. Anyone may protest during the next 10 days. Your insurance and BOC-3 must be on file within 90 days of applying, or FMCSA dismisses the application and keeps the $300 fee.

Starting a hotshot trucking business

Hotshot carriers usually pull a flatbed or gooseneck trailer with a heavy-duty pickup. Federal rules turn on weight, not on the kind of truck:

10,001 pounds: a truck and trailer rated at 10,001 pounds or more in interstate commerce is a commercial motor vehicle. You need a USDOT number, a DOT medical card, hours-of-service records and a driver qualification file. 49 CFR 390.5
26,001 pounds: a combination rated at 26,001 pounds or more, with a trailer over 10,000 pounds, needs a Class A CDL, and then drug and alcohol testing applies. 49 CFR 383.91
Insurance: $750,000 for general freight. The $300,000 minimum applies only when every vehicle in your fleet is under 10,001 pounds, and most one-ton dually pickups are rated above that on their own. 49 CFR 387.303

For-hire hotshot loads across state lines need MC authority, a BOC-3 and UCR like any other carrier.

How to become an owner-operator

You own or lease your truck and either lease onto a carrier or run under your own authority.

Leased on: you haul under the carrier’s authority and insurance, and the carrier usually runs your drug testing. You trade a share of the revenue for less paperwork.
Your own authority: you are the carrier. You need every filing above, you find your own freight, and you carry the employer duties for yourself: pre-employment and random testing through a consortium, a Clearinghouse C/TPA, and your own driver qualification file. 49 CFR 382.305

Our owner-operator DOT compliance checklist covers the employer side in detail.

Your first 18 months: the new entrant program

Every new carrier is monitored for 18 months, and FMCSA runs a safety audit within the first 12. Set up your driver files, testing program, hours-of-service and maintenance records before your first load, not before the audit. 49 CFR 385.307

Read the new entrant safety audit guide for what auditors check and the violations that fail you on their own.

Starting a trucking company FAQ

How much does it cost to start a trucking company?

The federal filings are modest: $300 for operating authority, nothing for a USDOT number or BOC-3 beyond a filing service fee, and a 2027 UCR fee from $55. Insurance, the truck, IRP plates and state taxes cost far more. Insurance for a new authority is usually the biggest monthly bill.

How long does it take to start a trucking company?

Plan on 4 to 7 weeks from your authority application to being active. Line up insurance, IRP plates and IFTA during that wait so you can haul the day your authority goes active.

Do I need a CDL to start a trucking company?

Not to own one. You need a CDL to drive a vehicle that requires one, such as a combination over 26,000 pounds with a trailer over 10,000 pounds. Every driver you put in that vehicle needs one too.

Can I start a trucking company with one truck?

Yes. Most motor carriers in the US run fewer than ten trucks, and many start with one owner-operator. The filings are the same whether you run one truck or twenty.

Do I need an LLC?

FMCSA does not require one; sole proprietors can register. Many owners form an LLC or corporation to separate business and personal liability. Ask an accountant or attorney which fits you.

What is the new entrant safety audit?

For your first 18 months FMCSA treats you as a new entrant, and within your first 12 months it audits your driver files, drug and alcohol testing, hours of service and maintenance records. Some violations fail the audit on their own.

Primary sources

Disclaimer: This guide summarizes federal requirements and is not legal or tax advice. Your state, cargo and operation may add requirements.