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Massachusetts trucking

Massachusetts trucking insurance requirements

What Massachusetts 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 Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Sep 27, 2026

What Massachusetts requires

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

Liability minimum
Massachusetts publishes no separate dollar liability minimum for intrastate freight carriers. 540 CMR 14.03 incorporates 49 CFR Part 387 as Registry regulations for both intrastate and interstate commerce, and 540 CMR 14.04(3)(a) requires every carrier to keep records complying with Part 387. By its own terms, Table 1 of 49 CFR 387.9 sets $750,000 for for-hire carriage of nonhazardous property in interstate or foreign commerce at 10,001 pounds GVWR or more, and reaches intrastate commerce only for bulk hazardous cargo: $5,000,000 for the listed bulk hazardous substances and explosives, $1,000,000 for oil and other hazardous materials in bulk. No Massachusetts figure for intrastate general freight is recorded rather than extending the interstate row by inference.
Cargo minimum
220 CMR 260.01(1) bars the DPU from issuing a common carrier certificate unless it is satisfied the applicant is adequately insured for loss of or damage to property transported, and 260.01(3) requires the policy to carry a 20-day written cancellation notice to the Department. Neither the regulation nor the DPU application pages state a dollar amount, so none is recorded.
Differs from federal
Not confirmed

Minimum liability by operation type

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

Massachusetts minimum liability coverage by operation type
Operation typeMinimum liability
Hazardous substances, bulk Division 1.1, 1.2 or 1.3 explosives, bulk Division 2.3 or 6.1 Zone A, bulk Division 2.1 or 2.2, or highway route controlled Class 7, in intrastate or interstate commerce, 10,001 pounds GVWR or more (49 CFR 387.9 Table 1 row 2, incorporated by 540 CMR 14.03)$5,000,000
Oil and other listed hazardous materials, in intrastate commerce in bulk only, 10,001 pounds GVWR or more (49 CFR 387.9 Table 1 row 3, incorporated by 540 CMR 14.03)$1,000,000
For-hire nonhazardous property in interstate or foreign commerce, 10,001 pounds GVWR or more (49 CFR 387.9 Table 1 row 1)$750,000

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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 Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts intrastate authority page. For the full order of operations, work through start a trucking company in Massachusetts.

Frequently asked questions

Does Massachusetts set its own trucking insurance minimums?

Massachusetts'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 Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts 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.