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State guide

Start and run a trucking company in Delaware

Delaware sells no intrastate operating authority and issues no state carrier number to trucking companies. A property hauler working only inside the state answers to the federal safety rules Delaware adopts by statute once a truck is over the heavy-vehicle line. Interstate fleets add IRP plates and an IFTA license from one DMV office in Dover.

By Haul Handbook editorial team· Updated Oct 5, 2026

The short answer

State authority
Not required

Every figure above is a sourced agency fact, checked Oct 5, 2026.How we verify

Everything Delaware requires, in order

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

First, the federal side

Identical in every state, and not part of the Delaware 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 Delaware organizes trucking compliance

Two agencies split the work. The Division of Motor Vehicles, part of the Delaware Department of Transportation, runs Motor Carrier Services in Dover: IRP apportioned plates, IFTA licenses and decals, and UCR for Delaware-based carriers. The DMV also licenses commercial drivers.

DelDOT's Hauling Permit Office sells oversize and overweight permits through its online OSOW Permit System. The safety rules come from state law: Delaware adopts the federal motor carrier safety regulations as its own and extends them to intrastate trucks above the heavy-vehicle line. The one certificate regime left, for taxicab, limousine and bus service, now sits with the Delaware Transit Corporation.

What you will find here

The intrastate authority page explains why there is nothing to buy for freight and where the safety rules start. The permits pages cover Delaware's two weight regimes, the flat single-trip fee plus the overweight charge, escorts, and the holiday blackouts. The IFTA and IRP pages walk through the email-first application, the Delaware office rule and quarterly filing.

Every figure on those pages is a data field tied to the Delaware Code section, DMV page or DelDOT manual it came from. Where an agency leaves a fact unpublished, such as a fuel trip permit price, the page says so.

Delaware filing walkthroughs

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

Free calculators that cover Delaware

Frequently asked questions

Does Delaware require its own trucking authority?

No, for property carriers. Delaware issues no intrastate operating authority and no state carrier number. The only state certificate is for passenger public carriers such as taxicab, limousine and motor bus service, and the Delaware Transit Corporation now handles it.

Which agencies handle trucking compliance in Delaware?

The DMV's Motor Carrier Services Section in Dover handles IRP, IFTA and UCR, and DMV facilities issue commercial driver licenses. DelDOT's Hauling Permit Office issues oversize and overweight permits. Taxicab, limousine and bus certificates sit with the Delaware Transit Corporation.

Do I need a USDOT number if I never leave Delaware?

No Delaware source answers that directly. FMCSA lists Delaware among the states that require the number for intrastate carriers, and Delaware law extends the federal registration rules to intrastate trucks above the heavy-vehicle line. Our DOT number page explains the open point and who to ask.

Where do the numbers on these Delaware pages come from?

Every fee, limit and deadline is a data field tied to the Delaware Code section, DMV page or DelDOT document it was read from, with a source marker you can open. Facts no agency publishes, such as a fuel trip permit price, are marked unpublished instead of filled in from vendor sites.

Sources

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

  1. 2 Del. C. ch. 18, Public Carrier (section 1801 Definitions; section 1802 Regulation of public carriers) · State of Delaware, Delaware Code Online

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.