By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Jul 29, 2026
The Michigan requirements table
- Agency
- Michigan State Police, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division (MSP/CVED), Regulatory and Credentialing Section
- Application
- Online application in the CVED Authority Portal (CAP), reached through MiLogin at milogin.michigan.gov. MSP/CVED states that all applications for CVED Authority must be submitted online; there is no paper form. A staff member reviews the application and follows up by email if more is needed. Processing can take up to 30 days.
- Renewal
- Annual, on a fixed statewide calendar. A certificate granted to an intrastate-only motor carrier of general commodities or a motor carrier of household goods terminates on December 31 of the calendar year in which it was issued. The renewal application window runs October 1 through December 1; MSP/CVED mails renewal notices in the fall. Filing after December 1 draws a $50 penalty for each month or partial month the application is late. Failure to renew by January 1 revokes the CVED Authority, and on expiration the carrier is prohibited from operating any vehicle on Michigan highways. Interstate carriers transporting only general commodities are not required to renew as long as they stay current on UCR fees; carriers of household goods, all intrastate-only carriers including wrecker companies, and all interstate wrecker companies conducting police-initiated tows must renew every year regardless.
Authority fee schedule
Michigan charges a fixed amount per filing rather than pricing registration by term. Each charge below is set by its own statute or rule section.
Scroll sideways to see every column.
Who the requirement covers
- GVWR threshold
- Not confirmedCVED Authority is not weight-triggered. It attaches to for-hire transportation of property on any public highway in Michigan at any vehicle weight. The separate USDOT number requirement is weight-triggered: MSP/CVED lists a valid USDOT number application as an approval requirement when the vehicle GVWR is over 26,001 pounds.
- For-hire only
- YesMCL 476.1 reaches only for-hire transportation by a motor carrier of general commodities, and MCL 475.1(r) defines that carrier as an authorized for-hire motor carrier of property other than household goods. MSP/CVED states the requirement the same way: all intrastate for-hire carriers must obtain CVED Authority. A private carrier hauling its own property is outside the certificate scheme.
- Passenger carriers
- Passengers are also excluded from the definition of a general commodity in MCL 475.1(j). The MSP/CVED regulatory pages checked for this pass describe intrastate operating authority for property and household goods carriers only and do not describe a passenger-carrier credential, so none is recorded here.
- Household goods
- A motor carrier of household goods needs its own certificate of authority under MCL 477.1 and cannot operate without one. MSP/CVED requires household goods carriers to file a Form H from the insurance company, a copy of any continuous contracts, and tariff membership if traveling more than 40 miles and not operating under a continuous contract. Household goods carriers renew annually whether they operate intrastate or interstate.
- Hazmat
- Hazardous materials sit outside the general-commodity certificate: MCL 475.1(j) defines a general commodity as any property other than household goods, hazardous materials, or passengers. Michigan instead adopts the federal hazardous materials regulations at 49 CFR parts 105 through 180 for intrastate transportation through MCL 480.11a(1)(a), enforced by the Department of State Police.
Michigan 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 (Michigan does not publish a separate intrastate dollar figure. It adopts the federal minimums instead. MCL 480.11a(1)(b) adopts 49 CFR part 387 among the federal motor carrier safety regulations, and MCL 480.11a(1)(b)(ii) directs that where the federal text says interstate it means intrastate or interstate, or both, as applicable. The federal part 387 general-freight minimum of $750,000 therefore governs Michigan intrastate for-hire property carriage, with the higher part 387 hazardous-materials tiers applying by commodity. MCL 480.11a(3) carves out a vehicle that is not a commercial motor vehicle as defined in 49 CFR 383.5 and is operated in intrastate commerce, which stays subject to 49 CFR parts 391 through 393 but not to the part 387 adoption.)
- Cargo minimum
- Two different answers, and an earlier pass recorded only the missing half. GENERAL FREIGHT: Michigan sets no intrastate cargo minimum, so cargo_usd stays blank as a sourced negative. HOUSEHOLD GOODS: the figure is not missing after all. MSP/CVED requires a Form H and publishes no amount itself, but MCL 480.11a(1)(b) adopts 49 CFR part 387 into Michigan law, and 49 CFR 387.303(c) sets household goods cargo liability at $5,000 for loss or damage on any one motor vehicle and $10,000 for an aggregate of losses at any one time and place. Both were read verbatim at eCFR on 2026-07-30, and MCL 480.11a(1)(b) was re-read at legislature.mi.gov the same day to confirm part 387 is inside the adoption list. So a Michigan household goods mover files Form H against those adopted federal limits; the earlier note treated this as an unclosable gap needing a phone call to MSP-CVED-RCS, which it was not.
Who needs CVED Authority
The trigger is for-hire carriage, not weight. A motor carrier of general commodities may not operate any motor vehicle in for-hire transportation on a Michigan public highway without a certificate, and the statute reaches an authorized for-hire carrier of property other than household goods at any vehicle weight. A private carrier hauling its own goods stays outside it.
Household goods carriers hold a separate certificate under their own section, and they carry extra filings: a Form H from the insurance company, copies of any continuous contracts, and tariff membership once a move runs beyond the statutory local distance. Hazardous materials and passengers are carved out of the general-commodity definition altogether, so no general-commodity certificate covers them.
Wreckers are the odd category. A wrecker company doing police-initiated, non-consensual tows must hold CVED Authority, buy decals, and renew every year, and that reaches interstate wrecker companies too.
How the application works
Every application is online. MSP/CVED states that all applications for CVED Authority must be submitted through the portal, reached with a MiLogin account; there is no paper form. New carriers create a carrier record, while carriers migrating off the older ICARS system claim an existing carrier using the name and the PIN MSP/CVED emailed them.
You pick General Commodities or Household Goods, enter every vehicle that needs a decal, and pay through the state's central electronic payment system. A staff member reviews the file and emails you if anything is missing. Later changes, including adding vehicles and short-term permits, are filed as request applications in the same portal.
The fitness test behind the review is published. The department may weigh compliance with the application requirements, the nature and extent of past safety violations, whether the conduct showed knowing disregard, whether the applicant fixed the cause, and any mitigating circumstances. A denied applicant asks the department director for review before appealing.
Fees, and the charge that repeats per truck
Michigan bills the certificate and the fleet separately. One statutory fee covers the application for an original certificate, a smaller one covers a renewal application, and both are kept whether or not the certificate is granted. On top of that sits an annual fee assessed against each self-propelled intrastate motor vehicle you operate.
The per-vehicle line has its own carve-outs: a reduced rate for a vehicle first placed in operation in the second half of the fee year, and a reduced rate for trucks and tractors used only for household goods or for intrastate non-consensual towing by a UCR carrier. Replacement identification, replacement decals and cab cards, a temporary short-term permit, and a monthly late-renewal penalty each carry their own statutory amount.
There is also an exemption route rather than a certificate. A parent corporation that owns all of each participating subsidiary files an annual notice with an affidavit and a fee, and carries a copy of the notice in every cab doing the transportation.
Insurance minimums, filings, and the rescinded rules
Michigan sets no intrastate dollar minimum of its own any more. Part 11 of the Motor Carriers administrative rules, which once carried Michigan's own figures, has no operative text in the current code: most of it is printed as rescinded, and the last rule number appears with a history line and nothing else. The statute still empowers the department to set amounts, but no rule fixes one.
What fills the gap is federal. Michigan adopts the federal financial responsibility part among the motor carrier safety regulations, and directs that where the federal text says interstate it means intrastate or interstate as applicable, so the federal general-freight minimum governs Michigan intrastate for-hire carriage, with the higher hazardous materials tiers applying by commodity.
The paperwork is where Michigan is genuinely its own state. Your insurance company files the Form E, and a Form H for household goods; you supply a Certificate of Liability; and you separately prove workers' compensation coverage or file an approved exclusion. No cargo dollar amount is published anywhere MSP/CVED writes, so this page shows none and points household goods applicants at the Regulatory and Credentialing Section instead.
The renewal window is nine weeks long
A Michigan certificate terminates on the last day of the calendar year in which it was issued, and the renewal application window opens in October and closes at the start of December. MSP/CVED mails renewal notices in the fall. File after the window closes and a penalty attaches for each month or partial month the application is late.
Miss January 1 and the authority is revoked. A carrier whose certificate was canceled has the rest of that year to comply, and on a complete application, fee, proof of insurance, and a satisfactory safety review the department grants short temporary authority to a carrier expired less than a year. Let it run past the next renewal year and you file for an original certificate again.
Who has to renew depends on the operation. Interstate carriers hauling only general commodities are excused as long as they stay current on UCR. Household goods carriers, every intrastate-only carrier, and every interstate wrecker company doing police-initiated tows renew annually regardless.
MPSC or CVED on the door
Two published Michigan texts disagree about what goes on your truck. The Motor Carrier Act still requires the letters MPSC plus the carrier's account number on both sides of every power vehicle, because it was written when the Public Service Commission issued the authority. The administrative rule from the 2018 rule set requires the letters CVED and the CVED number instead.
Both are currently in force, and neither has been withdrawn. Confirm with MSP/CVED at issuance which marking it expects rather than choosing between them yourself. Separately, the act provides that a vehicle already complying with the federal marking requirements satisfies the name-marking subdivision, and the rule sets the letter heights, the unit numbering, and the requirement to remove markings when a vehicle leaves service.
Who the act does not reach
The exemption list is long and oddly specific, and it is worth reading before you assume you need a certificate. It covers government vehicles, mail carriage, raw farm product hauling from farm to market, milk from farm to milk station, fruit and vegetable and grain and seed and nursery stock movement in the raw state, and occasional seasonal transportation of perishables.
It also covers dump trucks under an axle count hauling listed construction materials to or from a construction site, pulpwood and log hauling inside a published radius of the loading point, light vehicles carrying newspapers, feed and chemicals and fertilizer moving directly to a farm for agricultural production, recyclable materials moving to or from a recovery facility, and carriage for a nonprofit charity or a house of worship. The exemptions do not extend to a vehicle entering Michigan from a jurisdiction that does not return the favour.
Where this fits in the Michigan 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 Michigan, 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 Michigan require intrastate operating authority for for-hire trucking?
- Yes. A for-hire motor carrier of general commodities needs a certificate of authority before operating on any Michigan public highway, and household goods carriers hold their own certificate under a separate section. The requirement is not weight-triggered, so it reaches light trucks hauling for pay.
Do I need a USDOT number before CVED Authority?
- Above the published weight line, yes. MSP/CVED lists a valid USDOT number application among the approval requirements for intrastate-only carriers and for wrecker companies doing police-initiated tows, and interstate household goods carriers must hold one outright.
What insurance does Michigan require for intrastate carriers?
- The federal liability minimums, adopted wholesale by statute rather than set by a Michigan rule, filed for you by your insurance company on a Form E. Household goods carriers add a Form H. You also prove workers' compensation coverage or file an approved exclusion, and no cargo dollar amount is published.
When does CVED Authority have to be renewed?
- The certificate terminates at the end of the calendar year it was issued in, and the renewal window runs from October into early December. Late filing draws a monthly penalty, and failing to renew by New Year's Day revokes the authority outright.
What does CVED Authority cost?
- Two charges, both statutory: a fee for the application itself, kept whether or not the certificate is granted, and an annual fee for every self-propelled intrastate vehicle you run. Replacement identification, decals, cab cards, and a short-term permit each carry their own amount, all rendered as sourced fields with their statutes.
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.