By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Sep 27, 2026
Nebraska does not require intrastate operating authority for general freight. The Public Service Commission licenses only for-hire household goods movers (250 dollars a year) and for-hire passenger carriers, and it may not require cargo insurance of anyone but movers. An intrastate truck hauling other freight registers at the county treasurer under the weight-based commercial fee in Neb. Rev. Stat. 60-3,147, obtains a USDOT number when it operates vehicles over 10,000 pounds, and follows the federal safety and financial responsibility rules Nebraska adopts for intrastate commerce.
The Nebraska requirements table
- Agency
- Nebraska Public Service Commission, Transportation Department (household goods movers and passenger carriers only)
- Program name
- No general freight program exists. The Commission's regulated programs are the household goods mover license (Neb. Rev. Stat. 75-304.03), passenger common carrier certificates and contract carrier permits (75-309 and 75-311), the railroad crew transportation license (75-304.04), and transportation network company permits.
- Application
- General freight: no authority application exists. Household goods movers file the Commission's HGM License Application Package; passenger carriers file the Common Carrier or Contract Carrier application. The Commission asks that documents be filed electronically to [email protected] and fees paid through its online payment system.
- Filing fee
- There is no authority fee for general freight carriers. What an intrastate property carrier pays the state is commercial vehicle registration at the county treasurer, priced by gross vehicle weight under Neb. Rev. Stat. 60-3,147: 18 dollars at 3 tons or less, rising to 85 dollars at 7 tons, then 25 dollars for each additional ton (for example, a vehicle registered at 40 tons pays 85 dollars plus 33 tons at 25 dollars, 910 dollars). Commission fees apply only to the household goods and passenger regimes.
- Renewal
- No authority to renew for general freight carriers; commercial truck registration renews at the county each registration period. Household goods mover licenses renew annually (250 dollars), and passenger carriers pay annual per-vehicle PSC plate fees due January 1 and delinquent March 1.
- Statute
- Neb. Rev. Stat. 75-301 to 75-322 (Public Service Commission motor carrier regulation, limited to passengers and household goods), chiefly 75-301, 75-302, 75-303, 75-304.03, 75-305, 75-307, 75-309, and 75-311; Title 291 NAC chapter 3; federal safety and financial responsibility regulations adopted for intrastate carriers in 75-363; commercial vehicle registration fees in 60-3,147.
Authority fee schedule
Nebraska 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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Sector licences that still apply
Nebraska licenses some kinds of carrier separately, whatever the general authority answer above. If you move household goods, carry passengers, or haul waste, the licence below is the one that binds you.
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Who the requirement covers
- GVWR threshold
- NoneThe Commission's authority requirements turn on the type of cargo and whether it is carried for hire, not on vehicle weight: a household goods mover needs a license regardless of truck size, and a passenger carrier needs a certificate or permit subject to the exemptions in Neb. Rev. Stat. 75-303. The 10,000 pound figure that does apply to intrastate property carriers belongs to the federal safety regulations and the USDOT number requirement adopted in 75-363, not to any authority program.
- For-hire only
- YesEvery Commission authority regime is for-hire: household goods movers engaged in the intrastate transportation for hire of household goods, and common or contract carriers of passengers for hire. Neb. Rev. Stat. 75-302(18) states that nothing in sections 75-301 to 75-322 applies to private carriers.
- Property carriers
- NoCarriers of general freight need no Commission authority. The Legislature's stated policy in 75-301(2) is to regulate intrastate transportation of passengers and household goods, common and contract carriers are defined in 75-302 as carriers of passengers, and 75-307(3) bars the Commission from compelling any carrier other than a household goods mover to carry cargo insurance.
- Passenger carriers
- YesIntrastate for-hire passenger carriers (taxicabs, open class, special party and charter, limousines) need a certificate of public convenience and necessity or a contract carrier permit from the Commission under 75-309, issued after notice and hearing under 75-311. Neb. Rev. Stat. 75-303 exempts school transportation, ambulances and hearses, transit authorities, qualifying nonprofit and elderly transportation, and other listed services.
- Household goods
- YesSince July 1, 2021 any mover of household goods engaged in intrastate transportation for hire must obtain a Commission license before hauling, at 250 dollars for one year, renewable annually for 250 dollars, with the Nebraska principal place of business identified on the application (Neb. Rev. Stat. 75-304.03). The Commission no longer sets household goods rates; movers file their rates and charges in writing when amended.
- Hazmat
- NoNebraska requires no state hazardous materials or hazardous waste permit beyond the federal requirements; the State Patrol answers that question No. Federal hazardous materials rules (49 CFR parts 107 subparts F and G, 171 to 173, 177, 178, and 180) are adopted for intrastate and interstate carriers alike by Neb. Rev. Stat. 75-364, so PHMSA registration and the FMCSA hazardous materials safety permit apply to intrastate carriers where the federal thresholds are met.
Nebraska insurance minimums
State minimums can differ from the federal filing levels; the federal side is covered in our insurance filings guide.
- Liability minimum
- Nebraska sets no state liability minimum for general freight carriers. Neb. Rev. Stat. 75-363 adopts 49 CFR part 387 (minimum levels of financial responsibility) as Nebraska law and applies the adopted regulations to motor carriers transporting persons or property in intrastate commerce with vehicles over 10,000 pounds, and the State Patrol's applicability chart marks part 387 as applying to intrastate CDL and non-CDL property vehicles; no separate state dollar amount or Commission filing exists for property carriers. The state dollar minimums that do exist are the Commission's: 750,000 dollars for household goods movers and 500,000 to 5,000,000 dollars for passenger carriers by seating capacity.
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 Nebraska insurance requirements
Insurance filing forms
Your insurance company makes these filings with the state, not you.
More Nebraska authority rules
- USDOT prerequisite: note
- Not an authority prerequisite, because general freight carriers file no authority application, but a standalone requirement: the State Patrol's Truck Information Guide states that before beginning operations, motor carriers subject to the regulations (operating vehicles or combinations over 10,000 pounds) must register and obtain a DOT number, and that first-time applicants for either an intrastate or an interstate DOT number apply online. Vehicles registered as Nebraska farm trucks and operated solely in intrastate commerce are excepted from the marking and USDOT number requirements.
Why general freight needs no Nebraska authority
The Legislature's stated policy is to regulate intrastate transportation of passengers and household goods, and the statute defines common and contract carriers as passenger carriers. Private carriers sit outside the Commission's motor carrier law altogether.
The Commission's own Transportation page says the same thing from the other side: it regulates for-hire passengers and household goods. It also may not compel cargo insurance from any carrier but a mover.
Household goods movers: the annual Commission license
Any mover hauling household goods for hire inside Nebraska needs a Commission license before the first job, whatever the truck's size. The application names the mover's Nebraska principal place of business, and the license renews every year. The Commission no longer sets mover rates, but movers file their rates and charges in writing.
Licensed movers carry liability and cargo insurance at the Commission's minimums, filed on its own forms. The license number, in the ML series, is the only state carrier number Nebraska issues.
Passenger carriers: certificates and contract permits
Taxicabs, limousines, charter and special party operators, and other for-hire passenger carriers need a certificate of public convenience and necessity or a contract carrier permit. The Commission issues them only after notice and a hearing, where the applicant proves it is fit, willing, and able, and protestants may contest.
School transportation, ambulances, transit authorities, and several nonprofit services are exempt. Liability minimums step up with seating capacity, and each vehicle carries an annual Commission plate fee.
What a freight carrier still owes the state
No authority does not mean no paperwork. Intrastate trucks register at the county treasurer under a weight-based commercial fee, with discounts for vehicles hauling only farm products and a surcharge on the heaviest trucks that use non-interstate highways.
The USDOT number comes before the first trip for vehicles above the state's weight line, and Nebraska adopts the federal safety, drug testing, and financial responsibility regulations for intrastate carriers. Hazardous materials carriers follow the federal rules too, with no separate state permit.
How to file with the Commission
Movers use the Commission's household goods license application package, and passenger carriers use the common carrier or contract carrier application. The Commission asks for documents by email to its motor filings address and payment through its online payment system.
Renewals follow the regime: movers renew their license each year, and passenger carriers pay per-vehicle plate fees due at the start of the year, delinquent a couple of months later.
Where this fits in the Nebraska 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 Nebraska, 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.