Before you work through this, it is worth knowing which parts apply to you, because not all of them will. Our requirements wizard turns four questions into your own short list. Then use the sections below to actually do each one.
1. Initial registrations
These are the one-time (or annual) filings that let you exist as a carrier.
- USDOT number. The federal identifier for your company, required for interstate commercial vehicles rated 10,001 pounds or more, and for placardable hazmat even within one state (49 CFR 390.5T). Registration is free. Details: do I need a USDOT number?
- Operating authority (MC number). For-hire carriers moving regulated freight across state lines need federal operating authority in addition to the USDOT number (49 CFR Part 365). It is a $300 one-time application per authority type (49 CFR 360.3T). A private carrier hauling its own goods does not need it.
- UCR registration. The annual Unified Carrier Registration fee, due for each calendar year for interstate carriers (49 USC 14504a). States enforce it at roadside. Details: UCR registration.
- BOC-3 process agents. A blanket designation of process agents in every state, required for operating authority and filed by a registered process agent, not by you (49 CFR Part 366). FMCSA charges no fee; the agent does. Details: BOC-3 filing.
- IRS Form 2290 (heavy vehicle use tax). Vehicles with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more owe federal highway use tax each July-to-June period (26 USC 4481). The filing is free at irs.gov; the tax runs $100 to $550 per vehicle by weight, and your stamped Schedule 1 is needed to renew your plates.
2. Vehicle credentials
These attach to the trucks and, for the heavier ones, to the states you run.
- IRP apportioned plates. For vehicles over 26,000 pounds (or three or more axles) running interstate, you register once with your base state and it apportions your fees across the states you drive (International Registration Plan). Your base state invoices the exact amount.
- IFTA fuel tax. The same qualified-vehicle test (over 26,000 pounds, or three or more axles) pulls you into quarterly fuel tax reporting to your base state, which many light two-axle trucks are outside of entirely. Details, and a free fleet MPG estimator: IFTA quarterly fuel tax.
- Annual vehicle inspection. Every commercial vehicle passes a periodic inspection each year, with the report kept and a copy or sticker on the vehicle (49 CFR 396.17). An out-of-date inspection is a common roadside out-of-service trigger.
3. Driver qualification files
One file per driver, including yourself if you drive. This is the single most requested set in an audit.
- Driver qualification (DQ) file. Application, a motor vehicle record at hire and annually, a road test or CDL copy, the medical certificate, and the annual review of the driving record (49 CFR 391.51). A missing required document here is an automatic-failure item on the new entrant audit.
- DOT medical certificate. Each driver holds a current certificate from a certified medical examiner (49 CFR 391.41 to 391.45). An expired card invalidates the CDL for interstate work.
- Drug and alcohol testing program. CDL drivers must be in a DOT testing program (49 CFR Part 382), which for a one-driver carrier means joining a consortium, because unannounced random testing cannot work in a pool of one. You also run a Clearinghouse query before hiring and at least annually per driver (49 CFR 382.701). Details: drug and alcohol consortium.
4. Daily operations
The records that get made every day the truck runs, and that roadside inspections check first.
- Hours of service (HOS). A property-carrying driver may drive up to 11 hours within a 14-hour window after 10 hours off, must take a 30-minute break by the 8th hour of driving, and is capped at 60 hours in 7 days or 70 in 8 (49 CFR 395.3). These limits are the backbone of everything else in this section.
- Electronic logging device (ELD). Most drivers who must keep records of duty status have to use a registered ELD that automatically records driving time (49 CFR 395.8, 395.22). A device that is not on FMCSA's registered list, or that is malfunctioning without the paper-log fallback, is a roadside violation.
- Driver vehicle inspection reports (DVIR). Drivers inspect the vehicle and, when a defect that would affect safety is found, prepare a written report; the pre-trip check confirms the last report's defects were corrected (49 CFR 396.11 and 396.13).
Where to start
Two moves make this manageable. First, run the requirements wizard so you are only working through the items that actually apply to your operation. Second, if you already have a USDOT number, look it up on the home page to see your current authority and insurance status from FMCSA's own record, alongside the same checklist personalized to your carrier. New carriers also get a safety audit in the first year: the new entrant audit checklist is the evidence to have ready for it.
A closing note on cost, because it is where new carriers lose the most money. Most of the federal filings above are free or a single modest fee, and anyone presenting a routine filing as a large mandatory government charge is selling you something. When a filing is free, we say so. If a notice has you worried, check whether it is a real obligation first.