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North Dakota trucking

North Dakota trucking insurance requirements

What North Dakota 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 North Dakota requires

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

Liability minimum
From $25,000; the operation-type table below lists each class
Cargo minimum
No state cargo insurance minimum was found in the Highway Patrol handbook, NDDOT registration pages, or NDCC chapters 39-04, 39-08, and 39-16.1, so none is recorded rather than guessed.
Differs from federal
Yes

Minimum liability by operation type

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

North Dakota minimum liability coverage by operation type
Operation typeMinimum liability
Any registered motor vehicle (general financial responsibility)$25,000
Hazardous materials carrier, interstate or intrastateNot applicable
Seasonal permit holder (commercial hay, fertilizer spreader, chemical applicator, forage harvester, grain cleaner, hay grinder moves)$300,000
Manufactured home single-trip permit (power unit)$100,000

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

Frequently asked questions

Does North Dakota set its own trucking insurance minimums?

Yes. North Dakota publishes its own financial-responsibility rules for intrastate carriers, and they are not a copy of the federal levels. Each figure the state publishes renders in the tables here with the official source beside it.

Do federal insurance minimums still apply to a North Dakota 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 North Dakota 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.