By Haul Handbook editorial team· Updated Sep 28, 2026
The launch sequence
Federal first, then Connecticut. The federal side is identical in every state and is covered in depth by how to get your own authority; the state facts below come from our sourced Connecticut data.
- Get your USDOT number from FMCSA. Apply online with FMCSA. Connecticut requires the number on every intrastate truck at its own weight line, on placarded hazmat vehicles and on larger passenger vehicles, and it must be updated on FMCSA's biennial schedule.
- Send your insurance proof to the DMV. Intrastate carriers with a truck at the weight line send an Acord certificate of liability insurance to the DMV Compliance Unit once a year. Smaller carriers file a Commercial Affidavit at registration instead.
- Road-test and certify your drivers. Before anyone operates your heavier Connecticut-registered trucks, give them an on-the-road skills test in that vehicle and sign a dated written certification of their skills and fitness.
- Add federal authority and UCR if you haul across state lines. Interstate for-hire carriers need federal operating authority and the insurance filings behind it, and Connecticut law bars interstate carriers from its highways without UCR registration.
- Register your trucks with DRS. Intrastate trucks register for the motor carrier road tax. Interstate carriers license for IFTA in myconneCT, and heavy trucks in the covered federal classes also register for the Highway Use Fee.
- Open an IRP account in Wethersfield if you run interstate. Gather three proofs of your Connecticut place of business, then drop off or mail Form IRP-31 to the DMV IRP Unit and pay the invoice in guaranteed funds.
- Calendar the recurring deadlines. IFTA and Highway Use Fee returns are due the last day of the month after each quarter, the DMV insurance proof comes once a year, and IRP renewals follow your account's staggered expiration month.
The order that works in Connecticut
Federal first. Apply for the USDOT number online with FMCSA, and update it on FMCSA's biennial schedule or right after any change. If you will haul for hire across state lines, add federal operating authority, the insurance filings that go with it, and UCR, which Connecticut law requires of interstate carriers on its highways.
Then the state layer. Send the DMV an Acord certificate of liability insurance once a year if any truck meets the intrastate weight line. Register trucks that run only inside Connecticut with DRS for the motor carrier road tax. If you run interstate, open an IRP account at the DMV IRP Unit in Wethersfield and license for IFTA with DRS in myconneCT. Heavy trucks in the covered federal classes also register for the Highway Use Fee.
Permits come last, and only if your loads need them. Oversize and overweight moves go through the Commercial Vehicle Operations portal.
Where Connecticut differs from other states
Four things catch new carriers. The USDOT and insurance duties start at a weight line of Connecticut's own, between the federal interstate line and the CDL line. A carrier must road-test and certify in writing every driver of its heavier trucks before letting them behind the wheel. Intrastate trucks need DRS road tax markers even though they never touch IFTA.
The fourth is money. The Highway Use Fee adds a per-mile charge on heavy trucks, filed quarterly beside IFTA in the same myconneCT login, and it has no temporary permit. Moving household goods for the public puts you under CTDOT instead, with a certificate, a filed tariff and your certificate number in every printed ad.
The Connecticut facts you will need
- State agency
- Connecticut Department of Transportation, Bureau of Public Transportation, Regulatory and Compliance Unit (household goods carrier certificates); Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles (intrastate USDOT number, insurance reporting and FMCSR enforcement)
- State filing fee
- $0 (General freight owes no Connecticut authority fee, because no authority exists; the USDOT number comes from FMCSA. Household goods carriers pay a nonrefundable $177 application fee (C.G.S. 13b-410c(a)) and $17.50 per vehicle each year for filing proof of insurance (13b-410c(b)).)
The complete tables live on the dedicated pages: intrastate authority, IRP registration, IFTA, and trucking permits.
Budget the launch before you file
The trucking startup cost calculator builds a line-item estimate from the sourced fee data, and the cost pillar explains every line. Neither replaces a quote for your truck and insurance, which are the two biggest variables.
Common mistakes when launching in Connecticut
Assuming the USDOT rule starts at the CDL weight
Connecticut's intrastate USDOT and insurance duties start well below the CDL line, so a mid-size straight truck that needs no CDL can still need a USDOT number and yearly insurance proof.
Skipping the Highway Use Fee return in a quiet quarter
The return is due every quarter, even with no Connecticut miles, and a late or incomplete return owes a penalty plus monthly interest.
Counting on a trip permit to cover the Highway Use Fee
DRS issues no temporary Highway Use Fee permit. A heavy truck in the covered classes that enters on an IRP trip permit still needs the standing Highway Use Fee registration.
Paying IRP fees with a personal or business check
The DMV IRP Unit takes guaranteed funds only: certified check, bank check or money order. Branch offices do not process IRP at all.
Letting a new driver take a heavy truck out untested
Connecticut requires the carrier's own on-the-road skills test and signed written certification before anyone operates its heavier registered trucks.
Planning an oversize move into a holiday weekend
Connecticut's permit bans start at noon before the long weekends and run until daylight after them, around Good Friday, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Adding moving jobs without a CTDOT certificate
A freight carrier that starts moving household goods for the public needs a CTDOT certificate, a filed tariff and its certificate number in every printed ad.