State reference table
Truck Insurance Requirements by State
Truck insurance requirements come in two layers: the federal liability floor that follows interstate authority everywhere, and each state's own intrastate minimums. This table covers all 51 jurisdictions, prints a state figure only where we verified it on a primary source, and says so plainly where we have not.
By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Jul 22, 2026
The federal floor that applies everywhere
Before any state layer, an interstate for-hire carrier must have liability (BIPD) coverage on file with FMCSA at or above the floor set for its commodity. These amounts come from the federal record and do not change by state:
Your insurer sends the proof to FMCSA for you; the mechanics live in the BMC-91 and BMC-34 filings. What these minimums translate to in premium, and what those minimums cost in premium for a new carrier, is the cost pillar's job.
State liability minimums, all jurisdictions
The intrastate layer, one row per jurisdiction. Verified rows link to the full state insurance guide; each source marker opens the agency page or statute we checked.
| State | Intrastate liability minimum | Intrastate cargo minimum | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Alaska | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Arizona | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Arkansas | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| California | $750,000 | Not published | Verified on a primary source |
| Colorado | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Connecticut | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Delaware | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| District of Columbia | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Florida | Tiered by weight | Not published | Verified on a primary source |
| Georgia | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Hawaii | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Idaho | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Illinois | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Indiana | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Iowa | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Kansas | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Kentucky | Not published | Not published | Verified on a primary source |
| Louisiana | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Maine | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Maryland | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Massachusetts | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Michigan | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Minnesota | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Mississippi | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Missouri | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Montana | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Nebraska | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Nevada | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| New Hampshire | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| New Jersey | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| New Mexico | Not published | Not published | Verified on a primary source |
| New York | Not published | Not published | Verified on a primary source |
| North Carolina | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| North Dakota | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Ohio | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Oklahoma | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Oregon | $750,000 | $10,000 | Verified on a primary source |
| Pennsylvania | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Rhode Island | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| South Carolina | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| South Dakota | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Tennessee | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Texas | $500,000 | Not published | Verified on a primary source |
| Utah | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Vermont | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Virginia | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Washington | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| West Virginia | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Wisconsin | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
| Wyoming | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | Pending verification |
The verified states in detail
A single cell rarely tells the whole story: several states tier the minimum by vehicle weight or commodity, and several publish the filing requirement without a dollar amount. The verified notes, in the agencies' own terms:
California trucking insurance requirements
750,000 dollars combined single limit is the requirement for the standard case (property other than hazardous materials in vehicles of 10,001 lb GVWR or more). For-hire carriers using vehicles of 10,000 lb GVWR or less need 300,000 dollars. Hazmat classes require 1,000,000 to 5,000,000 dollars; bulk petroleum products require 1,200,000 dollars. See liability_table.
The MCP program requires liability insurance and workers compensation only; no cargo insurance minimum appears in the MCP Handbook insurance chapter.
Florida trucking insurance requirements
Florida sets tiered combined bodily injury and property damage liability minimums by gross vehicle weight under s. 627.7415, F.S. (see liability_by_weight). A single statewide number does not exist, so liability_usd is null by design.
No state cargo insurance minimum was found on FLHSMV, FDOT, or statute primary sources. Unconfirmed, recorded as null rather than invented.
Kentucky trucking insurance requirements
An insurance carrier authorized to transact business in Kentucky must file a Form E (Uniform Motor Carrier Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability Certificate) proving liability coverage that complies with KRS 281.655. The specific minimum dollar amount is set by KRS 281.655 and is not stated on the authority page; recorded as null rather than invented.
No state cargo insurance minimum is published on the Division of Motor Carriers authority page; recorded as null rather than invented.
New Mexico trucking insurance requirements
The fetched bureau pages reference authorized insurance companies and insurance filing requirements but do not publish the minimum liability or cargo limits by carrier type, so no amounts are recorded. Section 66-7-413 NMSA 1978 separately requires private motor carriers seeking oversize/overweight permits to carry at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident bodily injury and $25,000 property damage; that permit-specific minimum is recorded in permits.json.
New York trucking insurance requirements
New York requires a liability insurance filing on Form E from an insurer authorized by the New York State Department of Financial Services to write coverage in New York; the NYSDOT registration page does not state a dollar minimum on the page (federal financial-responsibility minimums apply to the underlying operation).
Cargo insurance on Form H is required of household goods carriers; it is not required of general property carriers.
Oregon trucking insurance requirements
Oregon intrastate for-hire carriers operating vehicles over 26,000 pounds must have a minimum $750,000 liability insurance policy on file with CCD, filed by the insurer on Form E (Uniform Proof of Liability Insurance). Proof of liability insurance is not required for carriers operating only vehicles of 26,000 pounds or less.
Oregon intrastate for-hire carriers must have a minimum $10,000 cargo insurance policy on file with CCD, filed by the insurer on Form H (Uniform Proof of Cargo Insurance). The cargo requirement is waived for service limited to commodities not subject to material damage in normal transport (logs, sand/gravel, lumber, water, waste, etc.).
Texas trucking insurance requirements
$500,000 is the minimum liability coverage for general freight vehicles over 26,000 pounds. Full schedule by operation type is in insurance_by_operation.
Cargo insurance is required only for household goods movers: $5,000 per vehicle for loss to a single shipper and $10,000 aggregate for loss to multiple shippers on one vehicle, filed on Forms H and I.
How to read the table
- Intrastate liability minimumis the state's own floor for loads that never leave the state. "Tiered by weight" means the state sets more than one figure; the detail card above carries the tiers.
- Not published means the agency source we verified states the filing requirement without a dollar amount on that page, so we record the requirement and leave the number blank.
- Pending verification means we have not yet verified that state against its primary sources. The federal floor above still governs its interstate carriers; nothing in a pending row means the state has no rules.
- Whether a state requires its own intrastate credential at all is a separate question, mapped in intrastate authority by state.
Frequently asked questions
What insurance is required to run a trucking company in my state?
- Two layers apply. Interstate loads run under the federal liability minimums in 49 CFR Part 387, which FMCSA enforces through the insurance filing on your docket, the same in every state. Loads that start and end inside one state run under that state's own intrastate minimums, which the state sets and which can sit above or below the federal floor. The table on this page records the state layer where we have verified it.
How many states are verified in this table?
- 7 of the 51 jurisdictions carry state figures verified against a primary agency or statute source, each linked to a full state insurance guide. The remaining rows say so plainly instead of guessing; they gain figures as each state guide is verified.
Do state minimums matter if I have federal authority?
- Yes, when you take intrastate loads. Federal authority covers freight that crosses state lines. The moment you haul a load that stays inside one state, that state's intrastate rules and insurance filings can apply on top of your federal coverage, and several states run their own filing forms through your insurer.
Why do some verified states show no dollar figure?
- Because the agency page we checked publishes the filing requirement but not a dollar amount on that page. We record what the source says and nothing more, so those rows carry the filing fact and an honest blank rather than a number pulled from a third-party site.
How current is this table?
- The table was last assembled on Jul 22, 2026, and every filled cell carries a source marker that opens the agency page or statute we verified, with the date we checked it.
Sources
Primary statutes and official agency pages this guide relies on. Laws and fees change, so confirm against the current source before you act.
- Insurance Filing Requirements · Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), U.S. DOT
- MC 500 M California Motor Carrier Permit (MCP) Handbook · California Department of Motor Vehicles
- Section 627.7415, Florida Statutes, Commercial motor vehicles; additional liability insurance coverage · Florida Legislature (Online Sunshine)
- Inter/Intrastate Carriers (operating authority) · Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Division of Motor Carriers
- Transportation Regulation Bureau, Forms and Information · New Mexico Department of Transportation
- Motor Carrier Registration and Licensing (NYS operating authority, USDOT number, IRP, IFTA, HUT) · New York State Department of Transportation, Office of Modal Safety & Security
- Application for Class 1A Permit (form 735-9745) · Oregon Department of Transportation, Commerce and Compliance Division
- TxDMV Number (Motor Carrier Registration) · Texas Department of Motor Vehicles
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.