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State guide

Start and run a trucking company in Arkansas

Arkansas splits trucking paperwork between two departments. ARDOT issues the intrastate permit for for-hire carriers and runs oversize and overweight permits through the Arkansas Highway Police, while the Department of Finance and Administration handles apportioned plates, IFTA, and commercial driver licenses. The pages below walk each piece with its agency source.

By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Sep 27, 2026

The short answer

State authority
Required

Weight trigger 26,000 lb GVWR, among others

State filing fee
From $25

Issued by Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT), Legal Division, acting for the Arkansas State Highway Commission

Credential Arkansas Intrastate Operating Authority (Arkansas intrastate permit)

What these terms cover

State filing fee: General freight, mobile home, and house movers pay a $25 application (processing) fee; household goods movers and passenger carriers pay $50. Every carrier also pays a $5 insurance filing fee per vehicle operated in Arkansas intrastate commerce, by a separate cashier's check or money order. Ark. Code Ann. § 23-13-265 fixes the $25 processing fee and the $5 per-vehicle fee for property carriers. The yearly renewal is the $5 per-vehicle fee, which a carrier already paying UCR fees for those vehicles does not pay again.

Every figure above is a sourced agency fact, checked Sep 27, 2026.How we verify

Everything Arkansas requires, in order

Each step is its own page, with the Arkansas figures read from the agency that publishes them.

First, the federal side

Identical in every state, and not part of the Arkansas sequence below: get your own authority, USDOT number, Form 2290, and what it all costs.

Before you file

  1. Start a trucking companyFederal steps plus this state, in order
  2. DOT numberState USDOT triggers and carrier numbers
  3. CDLLicense fees, testing, endorsements

State credentials

  1. Intrastate authorityState operating authority: rule, agency, fee
  2. Insurance requirementsState liability minimums and insurer filings

Plates, fuel tax and trip permits

  1. IRP registrationApportioned plates and cab cards
  2. IFTAFuel tax license, decals, filing
  3. Trip and fuel permitsTemporary IRP and IFTA permits

Permits and state taxes

  1. Trucking permitsEvery state permit a carrier may need
  2. Oversize permitsLegal limits, permit fees, escorts

How Arkansas organizes trucking compliance

Two departments share the work. The Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) Legal Division issues the intrastate permit to for-hire carriers, and the Arkansas Highway Police Permit Section, part of ARDOT, sells oversize and overweight permits through ARPARS. The Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) runs apportioned registration through its Office of Motor Vehicle IRP Unit and IFTA through its Motor Fuel Tax Section.

Expect a mix of paper and portals. The intrastate permit is still a mailed application with a cashier's check or money order. Apportioned plates start in MyDMV, IFTA returns go through the Arkansas Motor Carrier System (AMCS), and permits and routing live in ARPARS.

What you will find here

The intrastate authority page owns the ARDOT permit answer: who needs it, the weight line, the fee schedule, insurance, and the yearly renewal. The permits pages cover legal size and weight limits, special permit fees, escorts, and travel restrictions. The IFTA and IRP pages cover licensing, quarterly returns, and apportioned plates, and the CDL, DOT number, insurance, and trip permit guides fill in the rest.

Every figure on those pages is a data field tied to the ARDOT, DFA, or statute page it came from. Where an agency leaves a fact unpublished, we say so plainly instead of guessing.

Arkansas filing walkthroughs

Step-by-step articles for the recurring Arkansas filings, written against the same sourced records as the pages above.

Free calculators that cover Arkansas

Frequently asked questions

Does Arkansas require its own operating authority?

Yes, for for-hire carriers. ARDOT requires every for-hire carrier hauling property or passengers wholly within Arkansas to register, and holding federal interstate authority does not replace it. General freight carriers get an annual permit without a hearing; household goods and passenger carriers go before the State Highway Commission.

Which agencies handle trucking compliance in Arkansas?

ARDOT handles the intrastate permit through its Legal Division and oversize and overweight permits through the Arkansas Highway Police. DFA handles apportioned registration, IFTA, and commercial driver licenses, and the Arkansas State Police gives the CDL tests.

Does Arkansas require a USDOT Number for intrastate trucking?

Arkansas is not on FMCSA's list of states that require one for intrastate registrants. You will still need one to register apportioned plates or license for IFTA in Arkansas, and federal rules require it for interstate commercial vehicles.

Where do the numbers on these Arkansas pages come from?

Every fee, limit, and deadline is a data field tied to the ARDOT, DFA, State Police, or statute page it was read from, with a source marker you can open. Anything the agencies leave unpublished is labeled as unconfirmed rather than guessed at.

Sources

The official sources used on this page. Check the current instructions before you file or pay.

  1. Arkansas Intrastate Authority · Arkansas Department of Transportation, Legal Division
  2. Frequently Asked Questions, Arkansas Intrastate Operating Authority (with Motor Carrier Fees table) · Arkansas Department of Transportation
  3. Intrastate application packet for general freight carriers (corporation): instructions, Form AR RS 1 and Form AR-RS2 · Arkansas Department of Transportation, Legal Division
  4. Ark. Code Ann. § 23-13-265, Exempt motor carrier to possess annual receipt · State of Arkansas, issued by authority of the Arkansas Department of Transportation and the Department of Finance and Administration (Arkansas Motor Vehicle and Traffic Laws and State Highway Commission Regulations, 2025 Edition)

Haul Handbook publishes educational information about trucking registration and compliance requirements. This is not legal, financial, or tax advice. Rules, fees, and deadlines change; confirm with the agency before you file or pay.