By Haul Handbook editorial team· Updated Oct 5, 2026
Delaware has no intrastate operating authority for trucking companies hauling property. The state certificate of public convenience and necessity in 2 Del. C. ch. 18 applies only to public carriers of passengers (taxicab, limousine, motor bus and similar services). What does reach an intrastate truck is safety law: 21 Del. C. 4702 adopts the federal motor carrier safety regulations, including Part 387 (financial responsibility) and Part 390, as Delaware law, and 4702(b) exempts intrastate vehicles of 26,000 pounds or less unless they carry placarded hazardous materials or seat 16 or more.
The Delaware requirements table
- Application
- There is no state authority application for a property carrier. The DMV Motor Carrier new-account checklist (for IRP and IFTA) asks for an active USDOT number marked interstate and proof of current-year Unified Carrier Registration when the carrier uses its own DOT number.
- Filing fee
- No Delaware authority fee exists for property carriers because there is no authority program.
Who the requirement covers
- GVWR threshold
- 26,001 lbThere is no authority credential behind this number. 21 Del. C. 4702(b) says no requirement of the motor carrier safety chapter applies to a single vehicle or combination in intrastate commerce with a gross vehicle weight rating or gross vehicle weight of 26,000 pounds or less, so the adopted federal safety rules reach intrastate vehicles above that line.
- For-hire only
- NoThe 4702(b) line is written by weight, hazmat placarding and seating, not by for-hire status, so private and for-hire intrastate carriers sit in the same safety regime.
- Passenger carriers
- A vehicle with a seating capacity of 16 or more is covered at any weight under 4702(b)(2). Separately, passenger public carriers (taxicab, limousine, motor bus) need a certificate of public convenience and necessity under 2 Del. C. 1802; that is the only Delaware operating-authority regime.
- Household goods
- Not confirmedNo Delaware intrastate household goods certificate appears in 2 Del. C. ch. 18 (whose public carrier definition lists only passenger services and railways) or on the DMV Motor Carrier pages read this pass. This is how those sources read, not a verified statutory deregulation, so absence is not declared.
- Hazmat
- A vehicle carrying hazardous materials of a type or quantity that must be marked or placarded under the federal rules is covered at any weight under 4702(b)(1).
- Intrastate-only carriers
- Section 4703 amends 49 CFR 390.3 by adding "and intrastate" after "interstate", which extends the adopted federal rules to intrastate commerce within the 4702(b) limits. Section 4704(a) lets an intrastate driver be 18 with at least 1 year of driving experience, against 21 for interstate.
Delaware insurance minimums
State minimums can differ from the federal filing levels; the federal side is covered in our insurance filings guide.
- Liability minimum
- Delaware sets no separate intrastate truck liability floor of its own. Section 4702(a) adopts 49 CFR Part 387 (minimum levels of financial responsibility) as Delaware law, and no section of 21 Del. C. ch. 47 amends Part 387. No dollar figure is recorded here because the Delaware sources do not restate one and whether Part 387 reaches a particular intrastate operation depends on that Part's own applicability rules; the federal schedule is on the national insurance page. Passenger public carriers are different: 2 Del. C. 1802(p) requires $1,000,000 for death, bodily injury and property damage plus $1,000,000 uninsured and underinsured coverage, with lower limits for taxicab owners running no more than 2 cabs.
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.
Scroll sideways to see every column.
More Delaware authority rules
- USDOT prerequisite: note
- No Delaware page read this pass states a stand-alone USDOT number duty for intrastate-only carriers. Section 4702 adopts 49 CFR Part 390 (which contains the federal USDOT registration and marking rules) and 4703 extends it to intrastate commerce above the 26,000-pound line; the DMV Motor Carrier account itself requires a USDOT number marked interstate.
| Title | Detail |
|---|---|
| No authority does not mean no rules | A Delaware intrastate truck over 26,000 pounds owes the adopted federal safety rules (Parts 385 to 387, 390 to 393, 395 to 397) as state law, even though no state authority certificate exists. |
| Adding a passenger van or bus changes the regime | Taxicab, limousine and motor bus service for public use needs a certificate of public convenience and necessity, and operating without one carries a penalty of up to $500 per day for a first finding and up to $1,000 per day after that (2 Del. C. 1802(e)(3)). |
No authority to buy for freight
Delaware's certificate law for public carriers lists railroad, street railway, taxicab, limousine, motor bus and trackless trolley service. Trucks hauling property are not on that list, so there is no application, no fee and nothing to renew.
The DMV Motor Carrier account is the closest thing to a state registration. It opens IRP and IFTA for Delaware-based fleets and is keyed to the federal tax ID and the USDOT number, not to a state carrier number.
Where the safety rules start
Delaware adopts the federal safety regulations, from financial responsibility through hours of service and inspection, as state law, and amends the federal applicability section to reach intrastate commerce. A state exemption then lifts those rules from intrastate vehicles at or under the heavy-vehicle line.
Two cases stay covered at any weight: a vehicle hauling hazmat that must be placarded, and a vehicle with the passenger seating capacity the statute names. The line is written by weight, placarding and seating, not by for-hire status, so private and for-hire fleets sit under the same rules.
Younger drivers for intrastate work
Delaware rewrites the federal driver age rule for intrastate commerce. An intrastate driver may be younger than the interstate minimum if they have prior driving experience, while interstate and hazmat drivers follow the federal age. The same chapter lets a driver who cannot meet the federal physical standard seek an intrastate-only CDL waiver.
The insurance position
Delaware sets no liability floor of its own for property carriers. It adopts the federal financial responsibility rules without changes, so whether a set amount applies depends on the federal rules' own reach, and the federal schedule sits on our national insurance page.
The working rule comes from the DMV. Apportioned plates need an original Delaware-issued insurance card naming the truck and the account, and the DMV will not accept risk retention group, surplus lines, bobtail or non-trucking coverage.
If you add passenger service
Taxicab, limousine and motor bus service for public use needs a certificate of public convenience and necessity, now administered by the Delaware Transit Corporation. Running without one carries a daily penalty that rises after the first finding, and certificated carriers carry their own liability and uninsured motorist minimums.
Where this fits in the Delaware launch
A cell reading "Not confirmed" means the agency did not publish a figure we could verify, so we left it open rather than guessed. For the full launch order, work through start a trucking company in Delaware, 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.