How do the USDOT number and PUC authority differ?

They are separate. The USDOT number follows the State Patrol's commercial vehicle definition and applies to freight carriers. PUC authority applies only to the services the PUC still regulates.

What insurance does Colorado require for intrastate carriers?

The federal property-carrier liability minimums, which the State Patrol applies to intrastate carriers, plus a Colorado cargo minimum per vehicle unless the shipper agrees in writing to less. The amounts are in the table on this page.

What does Colorado authority cost?

Nothing for general freight, because none is required. PUC permit and stamp fees apply only to towing, moving and passenger carriers.

Colorado Intrastate Operating Authority

By Haul Handbook editorial team· Updated Oct 6, 2026

Colorado requires no state operating authority for intrastate general freight. Since HB 11-1198 took effect on August 10, 2011, C.R.S. 40-10.1-105(1)(i) has placed the transportation of property outside PUC regulation, except towing and moving. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission still issues permits to towing carriers, household goods movers and passenger carriers. A general-freight carrier still needs a USDOT number once its vehicle meets the Colorado commercial vehicle definition (16,001 lbs and up, an apportioned plate, a tow vehicle or placarded hazmat), and it carries the liability insurance the State Patrol rules adopt from 49 CFR Part 387.

The Colorado requirements table

Authority required: No
Agency: Colorado Public Utilities Commission (towing carriers, household goods movers and passenger carriers only)
Program name: Not confirmed
State carrier number: No Colorado carrier number exists for general freight. The PUC issues permits and vehicle stamps only to the services it regulates.
Application: General-freight carriers file no Colorado authority application. Towing carriers, movers and passenger carriers apply for or renew their annual PUC permit through the PUC online services.
Recorded fee: No general-freight authority fee exists because Colorado requires no general-freight authority. The PUC sets permit and vehicle stamp fees for the services it regulates and adjusted several of them effective November 1, 2025.
Renewal: No renewal applies to general freight carriers, because Colorado issues them no state operating authority. C.R.S. 40-10.1-105(1)(i) exempts 'transportation of property, except transportation provided by a towing carrier or a mover' from PUC regulation (enacted by HB 11-1198, effective August 10, 2011). Towing carriers, household goods movers and passenger carriers hold PUC permits and renew them under those programs.
Statute: C.R.S. 40-10.1-105(1)(i)

Recorded fee schedule by authority type

Colorado records fees by authority type. Read each row and its notes for the fee basis, recurrence, vehicle unit and exemptions; a listed amount is not necessarily an application fee.

Colorado recorded motor carrier fees by authority type
Authority type	Recorded fee	Recurring	Notes
Intrastate general freight (no authority required)	Not applicable	One time	Property transportation other than towing and moving is not subject to PUC regulation, so there is no filing fee.

Scroll sideways to see every column.

Who the requirement covers

GVWR threshold: 16,001 lb or moreThere is no authority threshold for general freight because there is no authority. 16,001 lbs is where the Colorado intrastate commercial vehicle definition starts (C.R.S. 42-4-235(1)(a)), which brings the USDOT number, marking and the adopted federal safety and insurance rules.
For-hire only: NoFor-hire status alone does not trigger PUC authority. General-freight carriers, for hire or private, are outside PUC regulation; only towing carriers, household goods movers and passenger carriers need PUC authority.
Property carriers: NoTransportation of property is not subject to PUC regulation except towing and moving (C.R.S. 40-10.1-105(1)(i)).
Passenger carriers: Yes
Household goods: Yes
Hazmat: Not confirmedThe PUC authority statute read does not single out hazardous materials. Placarded hazmat carriers fall inside the State Patrol commercial vehicle definition at any weight and need a USDOT number.

Colorado insurance minimums

State minimums can differ from the federal filing levels; the federal side is covered in our insurance filings guide.

Liability minimum: $750,000 (Colorado applies the federal property-carrier minimums of 49 CFR 387.9 to intrastate carriers through the State Patrol rules, except that the item covering nonhazardous property in vehicles under 10,001 lbs applies only to interstate and foreign commerce. For general freight that is $750,000. Oil and listed hazardous materials carry $1,000,000 and the highest-risk hazmat $5,000,000 under the same section.)
By operation type: See the operation-type table below
Cargo minimum: $10,000 (Intrastate carriers carry cargo liability of $10,000 for loss of or damage to property on any one vehicle, or the value of the property carried if lower, unless the shipper and carrier agree in a written contract to a lower amount.)
Differs from federal: Yes

Minimum liability by operation type

General freight is not the floor for every carrier. Hazmat and larger passenger operations carry higher minimums; buy against the row that matches what you haul.

Colorado minimum liability coverage by operation type
Operation type	Minimum liability
General freight (nonhazardous property)	$750,000
Oil, hazardous waste and other listed hazardous materials (49 CFR 387.9)	$1,000,000
Highest-risk hazardous materials (49 CFR 387.9)	$5,000,000

Scroll sideways to see every column.

Other Colorado insurance requirements

Cargo scope: All intrastate motor carriers subject to the State Patrol rules

Insurance filing forms

Your insurance company makes these filings with the state, not you.

Liability proof: No PUC insurance filing for general freight. The State Patrol rules require carriers to hold the coverage; the PUC runs an insurance portal only for the carriers it regulates.
Note: The State Patrol insurance page links the MCS-90 and MCS-82 endorsement and surety forms for property carriers.

More Colorado authority rules

USDOT prerequisite: value: Yes
USDOT prerequisite: note: The USDOT requirement is separate from PUC authority: Colorado requires a USDOT number for any intrastate vehicle meeting its commercial vehicle definition, starting at 16,001 lbs.

Who still needs a PUC permit

C.R.S. 40-10.1-105(1)(i) lists the transportation of property, except by a towing carrier or a mover, among the services article 10.1 does not regulate. The PUC transportation page lists what it still covers: towing, household goods movers, transportation network companies and passenger carriers. If you haul freight for hire or your own goods, no PUC filing applies.

Filing and fees

General freight has no application and no fee. The PUC sells annual permits and vehicle stamps online to the carriers it regulates, and it adjusted several of those fees in November 2025.

Insurance minimums

The exemption covers authority, not insurance. The State Patrol applies the federal property-carrier minimums to intrastate carriers, and Colorado adds a cargo requirement that federal rules lack. Higher limits apply to oil and hazardous materials. No insurance filing goes to the PUC for general freight.

Renewal

With no authority there is nothing to renew. Towing carriers, movers and passenger carriers renew their PUC permit each year online.

Where this fits in the Colorado launch

A cell reading "Not confirmed" means the stored record does not confirm the value. It does not establish that the agency publishes none. Read the field note and source for scope and exceptions. For the full launch order, work through start a trucking company in Colorado, then line up IRP registration and IFTA if you run beyond state lines. To compare every state at once, see the national intrastate authority table.