By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Aug 5, 2026
What South Carolina requires
These are the state-level rules attached to South Carolina intrastate operating authority. A field reading "Not confirmed" means the agency publishes no figure; the note explains what the agency does say.
- Cargo minimum
- $5,000 (Cargo insurance is required only of Certificate of Compliance holders in Class E-LC and of Public Service Commission Class E carriers. The SCDMV limit is $5,000 for loss or damage to property carried on any one motor vehicle. The Commission's Class E cargo minimums under S.C. Code Ann. Regs. 103-173 are $2,500 for loss or damage to property carried on any one motor vehicle and $5,000 for losses occurring at any one time and place, and a Class E carrier's intrastate valuation must meet the minimum set by the Surface Transportation Board's interstate rules.)
Minimum liability by operation type
General freight is not the floor for every carrier; buy against the row that matches what you haul.
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Minimum liability by gross vehicle weight
$750,000 per incident is the Certificate of Compliance minimum for a freight vehicle of 10,000 pounds GVWR or more carrying non-hazardous material. Below 10,000 pounds GVWR the SCDMV schedule drops to $300,000 per incident. Note the one real conflict in South Carolina's paperwork: the Public Service Commission's own schedule at S.C. Code Ann. Regs. 103-172 sets $500,000, not $300,000, for freight vehicles under 10,000 pounds GVWR. The regulation governs Commission-certificated carriers; the SCDMV Exhibit A governs Certificate of Compliance holders. Both figures are recorded below against the document that sets them rather than reconciled into one number.
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The $750,000 figure matches the federal for-hire interstate floor for non-hazardous property in 49 CFR 387.9, but South Carolina applies it to purely intrastate operation through the Certificate of Compliance rather than through federal law. The hazardous material tiers are written by direct reference to the federal definitions in 49 CFR 171.8, 172.101, and 173.403.
Who files the proof of insurance
Your insurance company makes these filings with the state, not you. Ask for them by form name when you bind coverage.
- Liability proof
- Form E, Uniform Motor Carrier Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability Certificate of Insurance, with Form F endorsement attached to the policy itself. Form G is the surety bond equivalent. A self-insured carrier has SCDMV submit a self-insurance certificate instead.
- Cargo proof
- Form H, Uniform Motor Carrier Cargo Certificate of Insurance, with Form I endorsement attached to the cargo policy itself. Form J is the cargo surety bond equivalent.
- Household goods cargo
- Form H, filed with the Office of Regulatory Staff by a Class E household goods or hazardous waste for disposal carrier
- If coverage lapses
- Failure to file evidence of insurance, self-insurance, or a surety bond is just cause for the Commission to suspend its order granting authority or the certificate itself without further evidence or hearing. Failure to keep coverage in full force results in automatic suspension on receipt of an affidavit from the Office of Regulatory Staff, operative as of the effective date of cancellation.S.C. Code Ann. Regs. 103-175
Filings are made by the insurance company, not the agent, and SCDMV states plainly that it does not accept an ACORD certificate of insurance. A policy or a copy of it is not accepted in place of Form E or Form H.
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.
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Where insurance fits in the South Carolina 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 South Carolina intrastate authority page. For the full order of operations, work through start a trucking company in South Carolina.
Frequently asked questions
Does South Carolina set its own trucking insurance minimums?
- Yes. South Carolina 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 South Carolina 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 South Carolina 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.