By Haul Handbook editorial team· Updated Oct 5, 2026
A carrier hauling freight only inside Vermont buys no operating authority and gets no state number. The vehicle must be registered (in Vermont or under the IRP) and insured to the state's financial responsibility minimum of $25,000 per person, $50,000 per crash and $10,000 property damage. The safety rules still apply: Vermont's guide says the motor carrier safety regulations cover intrastate commerce, starting at 26,001 pounds for intrastate vehicles. Hauling hazardous or solid waste needs a separate permit from the Agency of Natural Resources.
The Vermont requirements table
- Agency
- None for operating authority. Vermont Agency of Transportation, Department of Motor Vehicles: Commercial Vehicle Operations (registration, IRP, IFTA and oversize/overweight permits) and Commercial Vehicle Enforcement (motor carrier safety)
- Application
- No Vermont application exists: there is no intrastate authority to apply for. Interstate carriers obtain a USDOT number from FMCSA through the Unified Registration System.
- Filing fee
- No fee: there is no authority to buy. The carrier pays ordinary registration (or IRP) fees and, for Vermont-registered trucks of 26,001 pounds or more, the diesel fuel user's license described in the state IFTA page.
- Renewal
- Nothing to renew. Vehicle registration, IRP and IFTA credentials renew on their own cycles (see the state IRP page and the state IFTA page).
- Statute
- No statute creates an intrastate operating authority, so none is cited for one. The state rules that govern intrastate trucking are the financial responsibility law (23 V.S.A. § 800) and the DMV's Rules for Motor Carrier Safety Standards (14-050-036); the text of 14-050-036 could not be read (LexisNexis human-verification challenge), so its adoption of specific federal parts is not recorded.
Who the requirement covers
- GVWR threshold
- 26,001 lbThere is no authority threshold because there is no authority. 26,001 pounds is where the DMV guide says an intrastate vehicle becomes a qualifying commercial motor vehicle for the safety regulations (10,001 pounds for interstate operations), along with any vehicle designed to carry 16 or more passengers including the driver and any vehicle hauling placarded hazardous materials.
- For-hire only
- NoThe DMV guide applies the motor carrier safety regulations to all employers, employees and qualifying commercial motor vehicles carrying property or passengers in interstate or intrastate commerce, so private carriers are covered as well as for-hire ones. Nothing additional is required of a for-hire property carrier.
- Passenger carriers
- No passenger certificate was found in the DMV materials read. Title 23 sets separate insurance rules for jitneys (23 V.S.A. ch. 11, subch. 2) and motor buses (subch. 3, amount set by the Transportation Board); those were not researched further because this site covers property carriers.
Vermont insurance minimums
State minimums can differ from the federal filing levels; the federal side is covered in our insurance filings guide.
- Liability minimum
- Vermont sets no truck-specific liability minimum for intrastate property carriers in the sources read. Every registered vehicle must carry at least $25,000 for one person and $50,000 for two or more persons killed or injured, and $10,000 for property damage, in any one crash (23 V.S.A. § 800). Whether Vermont's motor carrier safety rule adopts the federal 49 CFR 387 minimums for intrastate carriers could not be confirmed, because the rule text is only published behind a LexisNexis human-verification check.
More Vermont authority rules
- USDOT prerequisite: note
- Vermont is not on FMCSA's list of states that require intrastate commercial motor vehicle registrants to obtain a USDOT number. A USDOT number is still required for IRP registration and IRP trip permits, and the IFTA application asks for one.
| Title | Detail |
|---|---|
| No authority does not mean no safety rules | An intrastate-only truck of 26,001 pounds or more is a commercial motor vehicle under Vermont's safety rules, so driver qualification, medical certification, hours of service and annual inspection all apply at a roadside stop. |
| Every truck stops at an open weigh station | Regardless of weight, all trucks must enter Vermont's weigh stations and inspection areas when they are open. Drivewyze PreClear bypass is available to enrolled fleets. |
| Waste haulers need an ANR permit | Hazardous waste and solid waste haulers need a permit from the Agency of Natural Resources even though no general freight authority exists. |
No authority to buy
The DMV's motor carrier guide asks whether there are any requirements to operate for hire within Vermont and answers no, other than registering the vehicle. There is no form, no fee and nothing to renew. The vehicle's registration, IRP and IFTA credentials renew on their own cycles.
Vermont also assigns no state carrier number. The DMV's safety program page names only the federal USDOT number.
Where the safety rules start
No authority does not mean no rules. The DMV guide applies the motor carrier safety regulations to intrastate and interstate commerce and to private as well as for-hire carriers. An intrastate vehicle becomes a commercial motor vehicle at a higher weight than an interstate one, and any vehicle built for larger passenger loads or hauling placarded hazmat counts at any weight.
Once covered, the truck and driver face driver qualification, medical certification, hours of service and annual inspection at a roadside stop. Vermont's own safety rule, 14-050-036, could not be read, so how it adopts each federal part is not recorded.
Insurance: the general auto minimum applies
Vermont sets no truck-specific liability or cargo minimum for intrastate property carriers in the sources read. Every registered vehicle must carry the state's financial responsibility minimum under 23 V.S.A. § 800, which sits far below the federal interstate level. Oversize and overweight loads above the superload lines need a separate special certificate of insurance.
Waste, hazmat, movers and passengers
Hazardous waste and solid waste haulers need an Agency of Natural Resources permit even though no freight authority exists. Household goods movers have no separate Vermont certificate in the DMV materials read. Passenger carriers fall under separate Title 23 insurance rules for jitneys and motor buses, which this site does not cover.
Where this fits in the Vermont 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 Vermont, 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.