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Utah trucking

Utah trucking insurance requirements

What Utah 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 26, 2026

What Utah requires

These are the state-level rules attached to Utah 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 $750,000; the operation-type table below lists each class
Cargo minimum
R909-1-4 sets liability minimums only; no intrastate cargo insurance minimum appears in the rule or on the UDOT Motor Carrier Insurance Requirements & MCS-90 page.
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.

Utah minimum liability coverage by operation type
Operation typeMinimum liability
Intrastate private motor carrier, any cargo$750,000
Interstate and intrastate, for-hire and private, any quantity of oil listed in 49 CFR 172.101 or hazardous waste, hazardous material, or hazardous substances defined in 49 CFR 171.8$1,000,000
Licensed childcare provider, intrastate passenger vehicle seating up to 20 passengers$1,000,000
Licensed childcare provider, intrastate passenger vehicle seating up to 30 passengers$1,500,000

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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
R909-1-4(3) requires an MCS-90 endorsement maintained at the principal place of business for the hazmat classes it covers; the UDOT Motor Carrier Insurance Requirements & MCS-90 page points carriers to the 49 CFR 387 schedules and to R909-1-4 for private intrastate or interstate motor carriers.

No state insurance filing form (an E-form or equivalent) is named on the primary sources read this pass.

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

Frequently asked questions

Does Utah set its own trucking insurance minimums?

Yes. Utah 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 an Utah 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 Utah 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.