How to Start a Trucking Company: The Filing Order for 2026

Answer three questions before you file anything

Every filing on this page depends on three facts about your operation. First, will you cross state lines, or haul freight that started or will finish in another state? That makes you interstate. Second, will you haul other people's freight for pay? That makes you for-hire. Third, what does your truck weigh, by its rating or by its actual loaded weight, whichever is higher?

A for-hire interstate carrier running a truck rated at 10,001 pounds or more goes through every step below. A private carrier hauling its own goods skips operating authority but still needs a USDOT number. A light hotshot setup whose power unit has two axles and runs at 26,000 pounds or less combined may not need IRP plates or IFTA, and the driver may not need a CDL. Settle these answers first, because they decide your insurance minimum, your plates, and your drug testing obligations.

The launch sequence, in filing order

1. Form the business and get an EIN. Register an LLC or corporation with your state, then get a free Employer Identification Number from the IRS. Use the exact same legal name and address on every later filing. FMCSA warns that a mismatch between your state records and your authority application delays the grant.
2. Get a USDOT number in Motus. Since May 2026, FMCSA registration runs through Motus, the new USDOT Registration System at motus.dot.gov. You sign in with Login.gov, pass an identity check with a smartphone and a government-issued ID, and describe your operation. The number is free. It is issued inactive, and you cannot run or letter a truck with it until FMCSA activates it. Details are in our USDOT number guide.
3. Apply for operating authority. For-hire carriers of regulated freight apply for interstate authority in the same Motus application. The fee is $300 per authority type and FMCSA does not refund it. FMCSA still issues MC docket numbers. See MC authority for the timeline.
4. File a BOC-3 through a process agent. A blanket process agent company files one form that names an agent in every state. FMCSA will not activate authority without it. See BOC-3 filing.
5. Bind insurance and have your insurer file it. Your insurer files Form BMC-91 or BMC-91X with FMCSA electronically. The federal floor for general freight in a truck rated 10,001 pounds or more is $750,000 in liability coverage. Brokers and shippers commonly ask for more, plus cargo coverage, so ask your first customers what they require before you buy.
6. Register for UCR. Unified Carrier Registration is an annual fee based on fleet size, paid at ucr.gov. The 2026 fee for 0 to 2 trucks is $46. See UCR registration.
7. Get IRP plates and an IFTA license, if your truck qualifies. Both apply to a power unit with two axles over 26,000 pounds, any power unit with three or more axles, or a combination over 26,000 pounds that runs in more than one jurisdiction. You apply in your base state. IFTA means a fuel tax return every quarter, built from miles by state. Our IFTA reporting guide covers the mileage side.
8. Pay the Heavy Vehicle Use Tax if you run 55,000 pounds or more. File IRS Form 2290 for the tax period that runs July 1 to June 30. It is due by the last day of the month after the month you first put the truck on the road. Your state will ask for the stamped Schedule 1 when you register the truck.
9. Set up drug and alcohol testing and register in the Clearinghouse. This applies when any driver, including you, needs a CDL. Join a consortium so you are in a random pool of two or more drivers, get a verified negative pre-employment drug test before the first trip, and run a full pre-employment query in the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse.
10. Build a driver qualification file for every driver. That includes yourself. The file holds the employment application, motor vehicle records, the road test certificate or an accepted equivalent such as a CDL, the medical examiner's certificate, and the annual review note.
11. Install an ELD before the first load. If your drivers must keep records of duty status, they need a registered ELD from the first mile under your authority. Read ELD for a new authority for the setup order.
12. Prepare for the new entrant safety audit. FMCSA monitors every new carrier for 18 months and conducts a safety audit, generally within the first 12 months of operation. The audit reviews driver files, duty status records, maintenance, the accident register, and drug and alcohol testing. The new carrier checklist lists what to have ready.

How long it takes from filing to first load

The USDOT number comes first and fastest. Operating authority is the long pole. FMCSA publishes an estimate of 20 to 25 business days for new applicants, and says an application pulled for further review can take another 8 weeks or longer. Part of that wait is fixed by regulation: once your application is published in the FMCSA Register, the public has 10 days to file a protest.

Motus is also new. FMCSA has posted notices about recovery and stabilization work on the system since launch, and it temporarily suspended biennial update enforcement to reduce disruption. Build slack into your plan, and do not sign a truck payment that starts before your authority is likely to be active.

Use the wait. Insurance, the BOC-3, UCR, your consortium, and your ELD can all be in place before FMCSA grants authority, so the day it goes active you can book freight.

What it costs, and what moves the number

Some costs are fixed and published:

• USDOT number: free.
• Operating authority: $300 per authority type, non-refundable.
• UCR: $46 for 0 to 2 vehicles in 2026. The approved 2027 fee for the same bracket is $55.
• HVUT: depends on taxable gross weight, up to $550 a year for the heaviest category.

Other costs depend on you. Insurance is usually the largest line, and it moves with your driving record, CDL experience, cargo, operating radius, equipment value, and where the truck is garaged. IRP fees depend on registered weight and the miles you run in each jurisdiction. Process agents and consortiums set their own prices. On the ELD side, DocuDrive is $149 one time for the PT-40 device and $20 per truck per month, with no contract. You can order the device and start the trial while your authority is pending.

Mistakes that cost new carriers weeks

• Booking a load before authority is active. A grant letter in the mail is not the test. Brokers check FMCSA's records, and so should you.
• Paying a website for a free USDOT number. Third-party services can help, but the number itself costs nothing from FMCSA.
• Letting the insurance filing lapse. FMCSA starts revocation when the filing drops off, even if you meant to renew.
• Skipping the consortium. Having no random testing program is an automatic failure on the new entrant safety audit.
• Running paper logs out of habit. Paper logs are allowed only under narrow exceptions. Check the ELD exemptions before you assume you qualify.