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Delaware trucking

Delaware trucking insurance requirements

What Delaware requires in trucking insurance before it grants intrastate operating authority: the liability minimums the state publishes, the cargo coverage rules, and the forms your insurer files, shown next to the federal minimums so you can see where the state differs. Every figure carries its official source.

By Haul Handbook editorial team· Updated Oct 5, 2026

What Delaware requires

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

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.
Cargo minimum
No Delaware cargo insurance requirement appears in 21 Del. C. ch. 47 or 2 Del. C. ch. 18, so no amount is recorded.
Differs from federal
No

Minimum liability by operation type

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

Delaware minimum liability coverage by operation type
Operation typeMinimum liabilityLimit applies toSet byNotes
Intrastate property carriers over 26,000 pounds, or placarded hazmat at any weight (adopted 49 CFR Part 387)See note21 Del. C. 4702Delaware adopts Part 387 without amendment and sets no dollar figure of its own, so none is recorded here; 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 holding a Delaware certificate (taxicab, limousine, motor bus)$1,000,000Death, bodily injury and property damage, plus $1,000,000 uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage2 Del. C. 1802(p)Lower limits apply to a taxicab owner running no more than 2 cabs.

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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)
OperationVehicleLiability minimum
For-hire property carrier, non-hazardousGVWR 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 materialsAny$1,000,000
For-hire and private carriers of explosives, poison gas, or radioactive materialsAny$5,000,000
For-hire carrier of household goodsGVWR 10,001 lb or more$750,000
For-hire carrier of passengers15 or fewer passengers$1,500,000
For-hire carrier of passengers16 or more passengers$5,000,000
Broker of property or household goodsNoneNone
Freight forwarder of propertyNoneNone
Freight forwarder of household goodsNoneNone

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Where insurance fits in the Delaware 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 Delaware intrastate authority page. For the full order of operations, work through start a trucking company in Delaware.

Frequently asked questions

Does Delaware set its own trucking insurance minimums?

Delaware's published pages do not confirm a standalone intrastate minimum for every case. Where the state publishes no figure, this page says so instead of guessing, and the note beside each field explains what the state does require.

Do federal insurance minimums still apply to a Delaware 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 Delaware 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.

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.