Does Arkansas set its own trucking insurance minimums?

Yes. Arkansas publishes its own financial-responsibility rules for intrastate carriers, and they are not a copy of the federal levels. Each figure the state publishes renders in the tables here with the official source beside it.

Do federal insurance minimums still apply to an Arkansas carrier?

Interstate operations file proof of coverage with FMCSA under 49 CFR Part 387 no matter which state the carrier is based in. The state rules on this page govern intrastate-only operations; the federal table shows the levels an interstate filing must meet.

What insurance does a new Arkansas carrier line up first?

Primary liability comes first: the state and federal filings both ride on an active liability policy. Cargo coverage follows where the state or your shippers require it, and physical damage on the truck is a lender requirement rather than a state rule.

Where do these figures come from?

Every dollar amount renders from the state agency publication or statute cited beside it, or from the federal regulation for the contrast table. When an agency publishes no figure, the field reads "Not confirmed" with a note on what the agency does say.

Arkansas Trucking Insurance Requirements (2026)

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

What Arkansas requires

These are the state-level rules attached to Arkansas intrastate operating authority. A field reading "Not confirmed" means the agency publishes no figure; the note explains what the agency does say.

Liability minimum: Arkansas sets split limits rather than a single combined figure. For each vehicle hauling property, 27 CAR § 110-1301 (State Highway Commission Rule 13.1) requires $50,000 for bodily injury to or death of one person, $100,000 for all persons in one accident, and $30,000 for property damage in one accident, which ARDOT's application states as $50,000/$100,000/$30,000. Passenger vehicles carry the same $50,000 and $30,000 figures with a per-accident bodily injury limit of $80,000 to $200,000 by seating capacity, and hazardous materials carriers carry $1 million or $5 million.
Cargo minimum: $5,000 (The rule requires all common carriers of property by motor vehicle to file cargo insurance with minimum liability of $5,000 and a cargo endorsement. ARDOT's general freight application packet asks only for proof of public liability and property damage insurance and does not list a cargo filing.)
Differs from federal: Yes

Minimum liability by operation type

General freight is not the floor for every carrier; buy against the row that matches what you haul.

Arkansas minimum liability coverage by operation type
Operation type	Minimum liability
Hazardous materials: oil, and hazardous materials, wastes, and substances not in the $5 million class (intrastate carriage in bulk only), vehicles of 10,000 lb GVWR or more	$1,000,000
Hazardous materials: hazardous substances in cargo tanks, portable tanks, or hoppers over 3,500 water gallons, bulk Class A or B explosives, poison gas, or compressed gas, or highway route-controlled radioactive materials, vehicles of 10,000 lb GVWR or more	$5,000,000

Scroll sideways to see every column.

Who files the proof of insurance

Your insurance company makes these filings with the state, not you. Ask for them by form name when you bind coverage.

Liability proof: Certificate of insurance or ACORD form showing public liability and property damage coverage, filed with the application and again with every annual renewal even if the insurer filed previously.

27 CAR § 110-1301(a) calls for insurance or a certificate of insurance on the State Highway Commission's form with the Arkansas public liability and property damage endorsement attached.

The federal minimums, for contrast

Cross a state line for hire and the federal financial-responsibility levels take over, filed with FMCSA by your insurer. The amounts below render from 49 CFR Part 387 (property carriers 387.303, brokers and freight forwarders 387.307, endorsements 387.15), as displayed on FMCSA's insurance filing requirements page; the filing mechanics live in our BMC-91 and BMC-34 insurance filings guide.

Federal minimum public liability levels by operation (49 CFR Part 387)
Operation	Vehicle	Liability minimum
For-hire property carrier, non-hazardous	GVWR under 10,001 lb	$300,000
For-hire property carrier, non-hazardous (general freight)	GVWR 10,001 lb or more	$750,000
For-hire carrier of certain hazardous materials	Any	$1,000,000
For-hire and private carriers of explosives, poison gas, or radioactive materials	Any	$5,000,000
For-hire carrier of household goods	GVWR 10,001 lb or more	$750,000
For-hire carrier of passengers	15 or fewer passengers	$1,500,000
For-hire carrier of passengers	16 or more passengers	$5,000,000
Broker of property or household goods	None	None
Freight forwarder of property	None	None
Freight forwarder of household goods	None	None

Scroll sideways to see every column.

Where insurance fits in the Arkansas launch

Coverage sits early in the sequence: the federal filing sequence needs your insurer's proof of coverage on file before authority activates, and the state rules above attach to the credential covered on the Arkansas intrastate authority page. For the full order of operations, work through start a trucking company in Arkansas.