By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Jul 30, 2026
The Tennessee requirements table
- Application
- Application for Intrastate Authority (Form RV-F1315501), filed online through the Tennessee Taxpayer Access Point (TNTAP) or mailed to the Department of Revenue, Vehicle Services Division, 500 Deaderick Street, Nashville, TN 37242. New applicants also file the Motor Carrier Processing Agent form (RV-F1310001) naming a Tennessee agent for service of process, and have their insurance company furnish Form E and, where required, Form H.
- Renewal
- Renewals are filed through TNTAP, or on the same Application for Intrastate Authority with the renewal box checked. The renewal carries the $8.00 per-vehicle fee; the $50.00 application fee is one time. The renewal application asks only for the number of vehicles, the total amount due, and a signature and date.
Authority fee schedule
Tennessee 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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Who the requirement covers
- GVWR threshold
- Not confirmedTennessee publishes no gross weight threshold for intrastate authority itself. The Department of Revenue page and the Motor Carrier Education Guide define the requirement by the kind of operation, not by vehicle weight. Weight only enters through the insurance schedule, which splits at 10,001 pounds. Left blank rather than inventing a weight trigger.
- For-hire only
- YesThe program covers for-hire motor carriers plus one private category, private towing and wrecker services. No other private carrier operation is listed on the Department of Revenue intrastate authority page or in the Motor Carrier Education Guide.
- Passenger carriers
- Intrastate authority covers the transportation of persons as well as property. Bus accounts applying for intrastate authority must also file Form H, and the insurance schedule sets separate minimums for vehicles seating 15 or fewer and 16 or more passengers including the driver.
- Household goods
- Carriers hauling household goods must have their insurer file Form H, the Uniform Motor Carrier Cargo Certificate of Insurance, in addition to Form E. The same requirement applies to general freight and mobile homes.
- Hazmat
- Hazardous materials carriers are covered by the same authority, at higher liability minimums: $5 million for bulk hazardous substance, explosive, poison gas, compressed gas, and radioactive material, and $1 million for other hazardous waste and materials.
Tennessee insurance minimums
State minimums can differ from the federal filing levels; the federal side is covered in our insurance filings guide.
- Cargo minimum
- The schedule adds $5,000 per vehicle and $10,000 per occurrence to the $750,000 liability minimum for household goods cargo. Cargo coverage is filed by the insurer on Form H, which is required for carriers hauling general freight, household goods, or mobile homes, and for all bus accounts.
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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Minimum liability by gross vehicle weight
Tennessee sets intrastate liability minimums on a schedule printed on the Application for Intrastate Authority rather than as one statewide figure, so no single figure is shown, by design (see the weight-tier table and the operation-type table). The form's own weight labels overlap: it prints 10,001 pounds or less against the $300,000 tier and 10,001 pounds or more against the $750,000 tier. Both labels are recorded exactly as the state prints them rather than silently corrected.
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The $750,000 minimum for non-hazardous freight over 10,001 pounds matches the federal minimum for general freight. The $300,000 tier for lighter vehicles, the $1.5 million and $5 million passenger tiers, and the household goods cargo add-ons are Tennessee's own intrastate schedule.
Who needs Tennessee intrastate authority
The trigger is the kind of operation, not the weight of the truck. Intrastate authority lets for-hire motor carriers use Tennessee public highways to move persons or property inside the state, and it reaches one private category as well: towing and wrecker services need it even though they are not hauling for hire.
Tennessee publishes no gross weight threshold for the authority itself, which is unusual. Weight enters only through the insurance schedule, which splits its liability minimums at a stated pounds line. Passenger work is covered too, with separate minimums for smaller and larger seating capacities, and every bus account has to add the cargo certificate.
One exemption is worth checking before you file. A vehicle already filed under the Unified Carrier Registration Agreement does not have to file for intrastate authority, so an interstate carrier may already be covered on the trucks in question.
How to apply and what it costs
Everything goes through the Tennessee Taxpayer Access Point, and the paper route mails to the Vehicle Services Division in Nashville. Three things travel with a new application: the Application for Intrastate Authority itself, the Designated Agent for Service of Process form naming a Tennessee representative who can accept court papers, and proof of insurance furnished by your insurance company rather than by you.
The money side has two lines. A one-time application fee, whose amount is fixed by statute rather than set by the department, and a per vehicle fee charged on new applications and again at renewal. Reopening a closed account costs the same as a new application. The fee table on this page carries each amount from the state's own form.
Renewal is the lighter transaction. It runs through TNTAP, or on the same application form with the renewal box checked, and asks only for the number of vehicles, the total due, and a signature.
Insurance minimums and filings
Tennessee prints its liability schedule on the application form rather than publishing one statewide figure, so there is no single number to quote. The schedule steps up by operation: lighter general freight, heavier general freight, hazardous materials at two different tiers depending on what is in the tank, and passenger vehicles at two tiers depending on seating capacity. Household goods carriers add cargo coverage per vehicle and per occurrence on top of the freight minimum.
Heavier non-hazardous freight matches the federal figure. Everything else on the schedule is Tennessee's own, so a carrier that assumes its federal filing settles the state is likely to be short somewhere.
Your insurance company makes the filings, not you. Liability proof goes in on Form E and cargo coverage on Form H, and Form H is required for general freight, household goods, and mobile homes as well as for every bus account. Tennessee charges no separate insurance filing fee.
One honesty note about the schedule itself: the form's weight labels overlap, printing the same pounds figure against both the lower and the higher tier. Both labels are recorded exactly as the state prints them rather than silently corrected.
What you get: the Intrastate Permit Card
Tennessee issues no marketed state carrier number. There is no Tennessee equivalent of a CA number or a TxDMV number to display on the door, and searching for one is a dead end.
What the state issues is an Intrastate Permit Card, one for each vehicle registered on the authority account. Our Tennessee DOT number page covers the same ground from the federal direction, including why an intrastate-only Tennessee carrier is not pushed onto a USDOT number the way its neighbors' carriers are.
The statute and the penalty for skipping it
The permit requirement sits in the Tennessee Code, in a section whose catchline reads Interstate permits even though the subsection reaches intrastate commerce as well. It makes highway use without a departmental permit unlawful for motor carriers, contract haulers, and exempt for-hire carriers alike. Two neighboring sections carry the application payment and the insurance filing condition.
Operating without the permit is a Class B misdemeanor, with escalating minimum fines by offense set in its own section. The statute fields on this page carry each citation with the section heading we read at the source.
Where this fits in the Tennessee 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 Tennessee, 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 a private fleet need Tennessee intrastate authority?
- The program covers for-hire motor carriers plus private towing and wrecker services. No other private carrier operation is listed on the Department of Revenue page or in the Motor Carrier Education Guide, so a company hauling only its own goods is outside what Tennessee publishes as the requirement.
How much does Tennessee intrastate authority cost?
- A one-time application fee plus a per vehicle fee charged on both new applications and renewals, with reopening a closed account priced the same as a new one. The fee table on this page carries each amount, and the application payment is the one Tennessee fixes by statute rather than by department policy.
What insurance does Tennessee require for intrastate carriers?
- A liability minimum set by operation type on the schedule printed on the application, filed by your insurer on Form E. Household goods, general freight, mobile home, and bus accounts also need cargo coverage on Form H. The sourced table on this page lists each operation and its amount, and Tennessee charges no filing fee.
Does Tennessee issue a state carrier number?
- No. Tennessee markets nothing like a CA number or a TxDMV number. What it issues after approval is an Intrastate Permit Card for each vehicle registered on the account, which is a credential to carry rather than a number to display.
What happens if I haul for hire in Tennessee without the permit?
- It is a Class B misdemeanor. The Tennessee Code sets escalating minimum fines by offense, with a higher floor for a second violation than a first. The penalty field on this page carries the citation and the section heading read at the source.
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.