By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Aug 9, 2026
Indiana runs two separate intrastate regimes out of one agency. Every carrier operating only inside Indiana files State Form IOA-1 with the Department of Revenue's Motor Carrier Services to obtain or renew an intrastate USDOT number, or an Indiana ID Number where its vehicles rate under 10,000 pounds. On top of that, a carrier hauling passengers or household goods for hire must hold a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity under IC 8-2.1-22 before it moves anything. General freight carriers do not need a certificate; they need the IOA-1 registration and, if they haul for hire or carry hazardous materials, an insurance Form E on file.
The Indiana requirements table
- Program name
- Intrastate Operating Authority (Form IOA-1 registration), plus a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for carriers of passengers or household goods
- Application
- State Form IOA-1 (46918), Intrastate Operating Authority, obtains or renews the intrastate USDOT number or Indiana ID Number; renewals may instead use the preprinted Form IOA-1A. A carrier applying for passenger or household goods authority adds State Form IOA-2 (50215), Application for Permanent Authority to Transport Passengers or Household Goods, and State Form IOAP-SUP (57381), Carrier Application Support Statement, then files its tariff with State Form IOA-T (57867) after approval.
- Filing fee
- The Form IOA-1 intrastate registration itself carries no fee: none is stated on the Department of Revenue checklist, none appears on the form or in its instructions, and IC 8-2.1-24, the chapter governing intrastate property-carrier certification, sets no fee. The money is in the passenger and household goods regime, where IC 8-2.1-22-40(b) fixes a $100 filing fee for an application for a certificate to operate motor vehicles intrastate and the Department of Revenue describes the same amount as a $100 non-refundable application fee. The full statutory fee list is in the fee schedule.
- Renewal
- Annual, on a November 30 deadline with a December 31 expiry. Form IOA-1 is marked Renewal (Due November 30th) and is filed for a calendar year. IC 8-2.1-24-15 makes an intrastate acknowledgment effective until December 31 of the year it is issued, and IC 8-2.1-24-16 lets a renewal application be received any time after September 30 of the preceding year but requires it before November 30. An intrastate private carrier hauling nonhazardous materials has no renewal process at all. Passenger and household goods authority renews every year by November 30, and Motor Carrier Services no longer mails renewal information to carriers.
Authority fee schedule
Indiana charges a fixed amount per filing rather than pricing registration by term. Each charge below is set by its own statute or rule section.
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Who the requirement covers
- GVWR threshold
- NoneIndiana sets no weight floor on the intrastate registration. The Department of Revenue's own checklist routes intrastate for-hire carriers whose vehicles rate under 10,000 pounds to the same Form IOA-1, for an Indiana ID Number rather than a USDOT number, so the smallest intrastate operator still files. Form IOA-1 asks the applicant to check every gross vehicle weight rating band from under 10,000 pounds up through 26,001 pounds and over.
- For-hire only
- NoThe registration is not limited to for-hire carriers. A new intrastate private carrier hauling its own nonhazardous property files Form IOA-1 as well, with no insurance filing and no renewal process. A new intrastate for-hire carrier, or a private carrier of hazardous materials, files Form IOA-1 plus an insurance Form E. The separate Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity under IC 8-2.1-22 is for-hire only: it applies to common and contract carriers of passengers or household goods for compensation and to brokers of that transportation.
- Property carriers
- YesA carrier of property that operates only inside Indiana needs the Form IOA-1 acknowledgment, not a certificate. IC 8-2.1-24-15 bars intrastate transportation of property until the department has issued that acknowledgment.
- Passenger carriers
- A for-hire intrastate passenger carrier needs a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity from the Department of Revenue under IC 8-2.1-22. The authority carries a restriction set by how many passengers the vehicle is designed for or used to transport: eight or fewer including the driver, 15 or fewer including the driver, or 16 or more including the driver. Changing the restriction after authority is granted requires a new application.
- Household goods
- A carrier transporting household goods for hire needs the same Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity under IC 8-2.1-22, and must file a tariff with the department before the certificate issues.
- Hazmat
- A private carrier of hazardous materials operating only in Indiana files Form IOA-1 and an insurance Form E, the same route as an intrastate for-hire carrier. A private carrier of nonhazardous materials files Form IOA-1 alone and has no renewal obligation.
- Freight brokers
- A broker of intrastate passenger transportation is regulated under IC 8-2.1-22 and holds a broker's license. IC 8-2.1-22-31 sets the broker's license fee at $100, payable when the application is made, and the license remains valid until surrendered or revoked. Form IOA-1 carries a Broker Intrastate Passenger operation classification.
- Carriers already filed under UCR
- IC 8-2.1-24-20 requires a motor carrier engaged in the transportation of property or passengers for compensation to be properly registered under the Unified Carrier Registration system before operating a motor vehicle on a public highway providing intrastate transportation. That section does not apply to a person exclusively engaged in the private transportation of nonhazardous property. IC 8-2.1-22-33 imposes the same UCR registration duty on a person engaged in intrastate transportation of passengers or household goods.
- Intrastate-only carriers
- Interstate carriers do not use Form IOA-1. A new interstate carrier, broker, leasing company or freight forwarder files federal Form MCS-150 and registers through the UCR registration portal instead.
- Interstate carriers
- IC 8-2.1-22-32 applies the passenger and household goods chapter to persons transporting passengers or household goods over the public highways whether the transportation is interstate or intrastate, except to the extent that doing so would contravene the Constitution or the laws of the United States.
Indiana 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 ($750,000 is the public liability figure an Indiana intrastate carrier of nonhazardous materials certifies to on Form IOA-1. A carrier operating only vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less certifies to $300,000. Hazardous materials carriers certify to $1,000,000 or $5,000,000 depending on the divisions hauled, and passenger carriers to $1,500,000 or $5,000,000 by seating capacity. The full grid is in the operation-type table.)
- Cargo minimum
- Every proof-of-security option on Form IOA-1 is a public liability figure filed in accordance with 49 CFR Part 1043. The form states no cargo insurance amount, the intrastate authority pages state none, and IC 8-2.1-24-17 leaves the amount to departmental rule rather than fixing a figure, so no cargo minimum is recorded here. Household goods applicants are told to see Form IOA-1 for their insurance requirements, and Form IOA-1 lists no separate household goods cargo line.
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.
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Other Indiana insurance requirements
Insurance filing forms
Your insurance company makes these filings with the state, not you.
- Who files
- The insurance company files it, not the carrier. Form IOA-1 records the policy number, effective date and insurer name, and the certification of which coverage tier applies.
- When required
- Intrastate for-hire carriers and private hazardous materials carriers must file a Form E Indiana insurance filing with the initial application. A renewal application requires no new insurance filing. A private carrier of nonhazardous materials, and a private carrier of passengers, is not required to file proof of insurance with the form.
More Indiana authority rules
- State carrier number detail: who gets it
- An intrastate for-hire carrier hauling someone else's property whose vehicles have a gross vehicle weight rating or combined gross vehicle weight rating of less than 10,000 pounds files Form IOA-1 for an Indiana ID Number instead of a USDOT number. Every other intrastate carrier uses the same form to obtain or renew a USDOT number.
- State carrier number detail: display rule
- IC 8-2.1-22-42 requires an intrastate motor carrier regulated under that chapter to display identification, in the method prescribed by the department's rules, on each motor vehicle it operates, and makes a violation a Class C misdemeanor. IC 8-2.1-24-21 requires a motor carrier to display a United States Department of Transportation number, or any other identification the department requires, on or in each motor vehicle it operates.
- Application requirements: registration
- Form IOA-1 asks for the legal and DBA names, physical and mailing addresses, Indiana taxpayer identification number, FEIN or SSN, USDOT or Indiana ID number, any FMCSA MC number, the carrier operation type (intrastate hazardous or nonhazardous), the operation classification, cargo classifications, hazardous materials carried or shipped, equipment counts, driver counts, the gross vehicle weight rating bands operated, the business entity type, and the proof of public liability security.
- Application requirements: certificate
- A new passenger or household goods authority application needs Form IOA-1, Form IOA-2, Form IOAP-SUP, verification of a valid USDOT number where applicable, and for an LLC, LLP or corporation: verification of the FEIN (IRS Letter 147C or Notice CP575), verification of registration with the Indiana Secretary of State, and a bank statement in the business's legal name no more than 60 days old on the financial institution's letterhead showing a positive balance. The $100 non-refundable application fee is paid by check, money order, or the Credit Card Payment Authorization Form.
- Application requirements: incomplete applications
- All incomplete passenger and household goods applications are returned. If an issue is found after receipt, the whole application is returned for correction and must be resubmitted complete.
- USDOT prerequisite: note
- Indiana does not make a USDOT number a precondition of the intrastate filing. Form IOA-1 is itself the route by which an Indiana intrastate carrier obtains and renews a USDOT number, or an Indiana ID Number where its vehicles rate under 10,000 pounds. A passenger or household goods certificate applicant must supply verification of a valid USDOT number if one applies to it.
- Certificate process: summary
- Per IC 8-2.1-22, a carrier transporting household goods or passengers for hire must obtain a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity from the Indiana Department of Revenue. Applications take 30 to 60 days to process and the applicant is not authorized to transport during that time.
- Certificate process: after approval
- An approved applicant is granted Permanent Indiana Operating Authority and has 60 days to submit proof of insurance, filed by its insurance company as a Form E, and its business tariff with State Form IOA-T. Once both are received the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity is granted and the carrier may begin operating.
- Certificate process: temporary authority
- Temporary Authority is valid for 180 days and Emergency Temporary Authority for 30 days. Either may be requested alongside permanent authority by checking the additional boxes on State Form IOA-2 and submitting the tariff at the time of application.
- Certificate process: rejection
- A rejected applicant may reapply up to three times per year. After three consecutive rejections within 365 days the applicant must wait until the following year to reapply.
- Certificate process: tariff
- IC 8-2.1-22-23 requires every intrastate common carrier by motor vehicle to file its tariff with the department and keep it printed and open to public inspection, showing all rates, fares and charges for the transportation of passengers or household goods in intrastate commerce. The carrier may not charge a greater, lesser or different amount than the tariff in effect, and no change may be made in any fare, charge, rule or practice except after 30 days notice of the proposed change. The department may reject a non-compliant tariff, in which case the tariff is void and its use unlawful. Form IOA-T records the applicant's acknowledgement that its filing conforms to IC 8-2.1-22 and to the form and content requirements in 45 IAC 16.
- Certificate process: enforcement
- IC 8-2.1-22-29 lets the department or the state police apply to an administrative law judge or a court to impound a motor vehicle offered to the general public for the transportation of passengers for hire when the carrier has not obtained the required authority. The carrier cannot get the vehicle back until it obtains that authority.
- Exemptions: summary
- IC 8-2.1-22-2.1 lists the operations the passenger and household goods certificate chapter does not reach.
- Exemptions: listed
- Motor vehicles used as school buses while transporting students under the supervision, control and direction of school authorities; Motor vehicles used exclusively as taxicabs; Motor vehicles operated under the control, direction and supervision of the United States government, the state, a political subdivision, or the board of trustees of a state institution; Motor vehicles providing limited transportation in conjunction with a hotel, campground or food service facility and not used as a common carrier, subject to a 25 mile equipment-point condition and to carrying the financial responsibility required of common carriers under IC 8-2.1-22-46; Motor vehicles used to provide regular route intercity passenger service; Motor vehicles used primarily for van pooling or other ride-sharing programs on a nonprofit basis; Motor vehicles providing passenger transportation by a nonprofit corporation that receives revenue for the service from federal, state or local government; Commuter van service vehicles with a capacity of at least 7 and not more than 40 persons carrying employees between home and their employer's place of business in a single daily round trip; Motor vehicles certified as ambulances by the Indiana emergency medical services commission under IC 16-31; Casual, occasional or reciprocal transportation of household effects or furniture for compensation by a person not otherwise in that business
- Renewal detail: channel
- Renewals may be filed online at the Motor Carrier Services site or by mail. Motor Carrier Services began accepting Intrastate Operating Authority renewals online and stopped mailing renewal information to carriers.
- Contact: mailing address
- Indiana Department of Revenue, Motor Carrier Services, P.O. Box 6075, Indianapolis, IN 46206-6075
- Contact: USDOT UCR email
- [email protected]
- Contact: passenger household goods
- 317-615-7200, option 3, then option 1, or [email protected]
Who files what
Start with the cargo. A carrier of property that operates only inside Indiana files Form IOA-1 and receives an acknowledgment; IC 8-2.1-24-15 bars intrastate transportation of property until that acknowledgment issues. No certificate is involved.
A carrier of passengers or household goods for compensation sits under a different chapter, IC 8-2.1-22, and needs a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity. Passenger authority carries a restriction set by how many passengers the vehicle is designed for or used to carry, and changing that restriction later means a fresh application. Household goods movers file a tariff before the certificate issues.
There is no weight floor on the filing itself. An intrastate for-hire carrier hauling someone else's property in the lightest equipment uses the same form for an Indiana ID Number rather than a USDOT number.
Private carriers get the shortest path
A private carrier hauling its own nonhazardous property files Form IOA-1, files no insurance proof with it, and has no renewal process. The Indiana Code agrees: the Unified Carrier Registration duty in IC 8-2.1-24-20 does not reach a person exclusively engaged in the private transportation of nonhazardous property.
Add hazardous materials and the picture changes. A private carrier of hazardous materials files the same form plus an insurance Form E, the same route a for-hire carrier takes.
Fees and the certificate process
The registration filing carries no published fee. Nothing on the Department of Revenue checklist, on the form or in the property-carrier chapter of the Indiana Code sets one.
The money sits in the passenger and household goods regime, where IC 8-2.1-22-40 fixes the filing fees and the department describes the same application charge as non-refundable. Reinstatement, alteration, a name change and a broker license each carry their own statutory amount, all listed in the sourced fee table below.
The process is slow by design. The department states a processing window in weeks, during which the applicant may not transport. Approval produces a permanent order, after which the carrier has a fixed window to have its insurer lodge Form E and to file its tariff; missing that window dismisses the authority. Temporary and emergency temporary authority can be requested alongside the permanent application. A rejected applicant may reapply a limited number of times per year before having to wait for the next one.
Insurance minimums and filings
Indiana certifies coverage on the face of Form IOA-1. The applicant checks the tier that matches its operation, and the figures step up from the lightest property equipment through general freight, hazardous materials by division, and passenger work by seating capacity. Self-insurance is an option where the carrier holds an approved plan and has lodged the order with the registration state.
Your insurance company makes the filing, not you: liability proof goes in as an Indiana Form E. Renewals need no new insurance filing. All for-hire carriers must use an insurer registered with the Indiana Department of Insurance.
One honest gap. Every proof-of-security option on the form is a public liability figure, and neither the form nor the department's pages set an intrastate cargo minimum, so none is recorded.
The November renewal cycle
Indiana runs its intrastate credential on the calendar year. IC 8-2.1-24-15 makes the acknowledgment effective until the end of the year it was issued, and IC 8-2.1-24-16 opens the renewal window after the end of September and closes it before the end of November.
Two details catch carriers out. Motor Carrier Services no longer mails renewal information, so the date has to live in your own calendar. And renewals can now be filed online rather than by mail, which is the faster route.
Where this fits in the Indiana 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 Indiana, 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.
Frequently asked questions
Does Indiana require intrastate operating authority for for-hire trucking?
- Yes. A for-hire carrier of property files Form IOA-1 and cannot transport in intrastate commerce until the department issues its acknowledgment. A for-hire carrier of passengers or household goods needs a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity on top of that, and operating without one exposes the vehicle to impoundment.
Do I need a USDOT number before filing Form IOA-1?
- No. The form is itself how an Indiana intrastate carrier obtains or renews a USDOT number. A passenger or household goods certificate applicant does have to supply verification of a valid USDOT number where one applies to it.
What insurance does Indiana require for intrastate carriers?
- Public liability at the tier matching your operation, certified on the application and filed by your insurance company as an Indiana Form E. The tiers rise from the lightest property equipment through general freight, hazardous materials and passenger work. The sourced grid below carries each amount.
Is there a fee to register intrastate operating authority in Indiana?
- Not for the registration filing itself. No fee appears on the department's checklist, on the form or in the property-carrier chapter of the Indiana Code, so none is recorded. The certificate regime for passengers and household goods is where the statutory filing fees sit.
When does Indiana intrastate authority expire?
- At the end of the calendar year in which it was issued, with the renewal window opening after the end of September and closing before the end of November. A private carrier of nonhazardous materials has no renewal process at all. Motor Carrier Services stopped mailing renewal notices, so calendar it yourself.
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.