By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Aug 9, 2026
Washington still licenses intrastate freight. A carrier that hauls property for compensation between two points inside Washington needs a common carrier permit from the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission before it moves a load, whatever the truck weighs. The permit is granted on fitness rather than on a public convenience and necessity contest, the application fee is $275, and the commission will not issue the permit until an insurer files evidence of liability coverage on the commission's own forms.
The Washington requirements table
- Application
- Apply online through the commission's common carrier permit application form, hosted on the Washington Department of Enterprise Services Formstack service and linked from the commission's Common Carriers page, then pay the fee on the commission's Make a Payment Now page. Carriers who cannot e-file may email the form to [email protected]. A hazardous materials supplemental form is filed alongside the application when the carrier wants that commodity class.
- Renewal
- There is no renewal cycle and no expiration date on a Washington common carrier permit. What keeps it alive is continuous evidence of insurance on file and the annual report and regulatory fee by May 1. The commission may suspend or cancel a permit when a carrier lets its insurance evidence lapse, fails to pay regulatory fees, fails to correct the cause of a suspension, or supplies false or inaccurate information. A carrier may also cancel voluntarily and reinstate within ten months by meeting current entry requirements and paying the $100 application fee.
Authority fee schedule
Washington 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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Sector licences that still apply
Washington licenses some kinds of carrier separately, whatever the general authority answer above. If you move household goods, carry passengers, or haul waste, the licence below is the one that binds you.
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Who the requirement covers
- GVWR threshold
- NoneWashington sets no weight threshold on the common carrier permit. RCW 81.80.070(1) conditions the permit on transporting property for compensation in this state, full stop, and the exemptions in RCW 81.80.040 are drawn by geography, commodity and operation rather than by a general weight floor. The one weight-shaped exemption is narrow: vehicles of less than 8,000 pounds gross vehicle weight carrying only legal documents, records, cash or checks at the direction of an attorney. A separate 16,001 pound line governs the state DOT number, not the permit, and is recorded in usdot_prerequisite.
- For-hire only
- YesThe permit reaches carriage for compensation. RCW 81.80.010(9) defines a private carrier as a person hauling property they own, are buying or selling, or hold as seller, purchaser, lessee or bailee, where the transportation is incidental to and in furtherance of another primary business conducted in good faith. A private carrier needs no commission permit, though RCW 81.80.305(4) still requires its power units to be marked with the name and address of the business or registered owner once the vehicle or combination reaches 36,000 pounds gross vehicle weight.
- Property carriers
- YesProperty other than household goods is the core of the common carrier permit. Household goods are licensed separately under RCW 81.80.075.
- Passenger carriers
- Passenger carriage is licensed separately by the commission: auto transportation buses, charter and excursion buses, non-profit buses, rail contract crew carriers and commercial ferries each have their own permit, and their insurance minimums sit in a different rule from the freight table.
- Household goods
- Moving household goods for compensation inside Washington needs a household goods carrier permit, not a common carrier permit, and it is unlawful to advertise, solicit or agree to move household goods without one. The application fee is $550 for provisional and then permanent authority, a provisional permit runs at least six months before permanent authority is considered, and cargo insurance is required on top of liability.
- Hazmat
- Hazardous materials are a distinct commodity class on the common carrier application, priced at the same $275 as general commodities, and they carry their own insurance filing tiers of $1,000,000 or $5,000,000 depending on the material.
- Freight brokers
- Brokering or forwarding intrastate property transportation is regulated too. RCW 81.80.010(3) folds brokers and forwarders into the common carrier and contract carrier definitions, they apply to the commission for their own permit, and RCW 81.80.430(1) requires a surety bond or deposit of security of not less than $5,000 before the permit issues. A person may not operate as both a broker and a forwarder.
- Towing and wrecker operators
- Vehicles specially constructed for towing no more than two disabled, unauthorized or repossessed vehicles, for wrecking, or for exchanging an operable vehicle for a disabled one, are exempt under RCW 81.80.040(1)(e) so long as they are not otherwise used to transport goods for compensation. A repossessed vehicle counts only from the actual repossession through the end of the initial tow.
- Farm vehicles
- Farmers hauling their own farm, orchard or dairy products, including livestock and plant or animal wastes, from the point of production to market are exempt, as is infrequent or seasonal hauling by one farmer for another whose farm is within twenty miles, under RCW 81.80.040(1)(f).
- Waste transport
- Solid waste collection is a separate regime. Solid waste carriers hold a certificate under chapter 81.77 RCW with their own application forms and their own insurance rule, WAC 480-70-181, which adds a $1,000,000 minimum for biomedical waste that is not federally regulated and defers to the federal minimum for waste that is.
- Interstate carriers
- Interstate operations do not escape the commission. RCW 81.80.371 makes it unlawful to perform transportation for compensation on Washington highways without first securing the appropriate federal authority and registering with the commission, directly or through a federally authorized uniform registration program. WAC 480-14-290 restates the federal authority requirement.
Washington insurance minimums
State minimums can differ from the federal filing levels; the federal side is covered in our insurance filings guide.
- Liability minimum
- $750,000 ($750,000 combined single limit is the filing required for a common carrier hauling nonhazardous property in a vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or more. Vehicles rated under 10,000 pounds file $300,000. Hazardous commodities step up to $1,000,000 or $5,000,000 by material. The full grid is in the operation-type table.)
- Cargo minimum
- WAC 480-14-250 requires only liability and property damage cover from a common carrier, so no cargo minimum is recorded for general freight. Household goods carriers are the exception: WAC 480-15-550 requires $10,000 of cargo cover for vehicles rated under 10,000 pounds and $20,000 for vehicles rated 10,000 pounds or more, proved on a certificate of liability insurance or Form H.
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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Other Washington insurance requirements
Insurance filing forms
Your insurance company makes these filings with the state, not you.
- Liability proof
- Form E, the Uniform Motor Carrier Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability Certificate of Insurance, or Form G, the equivalent surety bond
- Household goods cargo
- Form H, the Uniform Motor Carrier Cargo Certification of Insurance, or a certificate of liability insurance
- Cancellation
- Form K, Notice of Cancellation, filed at least 30 days before the cancellation effective date
- Binder
- A written binder or certificate is accepted for up to 60 days and must be replaced by a Form E or Form G within that window; a binder itself can be cancelled on 10 days written notice.
- Endorsement
- Every liability and property damage policy issued to a common carrier must carry a uniform motor carrier bodily injury and property damage liability endorsement.
More Washington authority rules
- Exemptions: summary
- RCW 81.80.040 lists the operations chapter 81.80 RCW does not reach, except for its licensing provisions: transportation exclusively inside a city or town of fewer than ten thousand people that is not contiguous to a larger one, and between contiguous towns both under ten thousand; transportation wholly inside or between contiguous cities of ten thousand to under thirty thousand where the commission has found by order that no substantial public interest requires regulation; carriage of United States mail, newspapers or periodicals; vehicles owned and operated by the United States, the state, or any county, city, town or municipality; vehicles specially built for towing up to two disabled, unauthorized or repossessed vehicles; farmers hauling their own farm, orchard or dairy products to market, and infrequent or seasonal hauling for a farmer within twenty miles; vehicles hauling water only for construction projects; and vehicles under 8,000 pounds gross vehicle weight carrying legal documents, records, cash or checks at an attorney's direction. RCW 81.80.045 adds shipper consolidation groups working on a nonprofit basis.
- Exemptions: household goods carve out
- The two city and town exemptions do not apply to household goods carriers, so a mover inside a small town still needs its permit.
- Vehicle marking: requirement
- Every power unit displays permanent markings on each side. A vehicle running under a commission common carrier or contract carrier permit shows the permittee's name or business name and the permit number; a carrier holding both intrastate and interstate authority may show the federal marking USDOT requires instead. Identification added, modified or renewed after September 1, 1991 goes on the driver and passenger doors, in a clearly legible style, letters no less than three inches high, in a colour contrasting with the surrounding body panel.
- Vehicle marking: private carriers
- A private carrier shows the name and address of the business operating the vehicle or of the registered owner. Private carriers whose vehicles, singly or in combination, are under thirty-six thousand pounds gross vehicle weight are exempt from the marking rule entirely, as are vehicles exempt under RCW 81.80.040.
- Vehicle marking: leased vehicles
- A leased vehicle displays permanent markings or door placards: the permit marking if it runs under a commission permit, the private carrier marking if it does not.
- Vehicle marking: in cab
- WAC 480-14-090 separately requires a copy of the commission-issued operating authority to be carried on each power unit used in intrastate operations.
- USDOT prerequisite: note
- Not established as a condition of the commission permit. Neither WAC 480-14-180 nor WAC 480-14-190 conditions issuance on holding a USDOT number, and the commission's own answer is framed as an operating requirement rather than an application requirement. Separately and independently, Washington law does require the number to operate: RCW 46.32.080(4) directs every motor carrier with a commercial motor vehicle operating in the state to hold a department of transportation number, the commission states that a common carrier needs one when it operates vehicles of 16,001 pounds gross vehicle weight or more or hauls hazardous materials at any weight, and household goods carriers, solid waste carriers and every bus class need one regardless of weight. A carrier already holding a current USDOT number does not apply again. Questions go to the Washington State Patrol on (360) 596-3812.
- Penalties: unpermitted advertising
- Advertising the transportation of property for compensation without holding a common carrier, contract carrier or temporary carrier permit, or an exempt carrier registration, is a misdemeanor under RCW 81.80.355. The prohibition reaches buildings, vehicles, billboards, circulars, letters, newspapers, magazines, posters, cards and telephone directories.
- Penalties: unpermitted household goods
- Operating as a household goods carrier without a permit carries a penalty of up to $5,000 per violation, and up to $10,000 per violation for breaching a commission cease and desist order. Each advertisement reproduced, broadcast or displayed in a particular medium is a separate violation.
- Penalties: household goods advertising
- A household goods advertisement that omits the carrier's commission permit number, physical address and telephone number is itself a violation under RCW 81.80.357.
- Penalties: delinquent regulatory fee
- A late regulatory fee payment adds a 2 percent late fee, and delinquent fees accrue interest at 1 percent per month.
- Contact: email
- [email protected]
Who needs a UTC permit
The trigger is the work, not the truck. RCW 81.80.070 conditions the permit on transporting property for compensation in Washington, with no general weight floor beneath it. A carrier hauling under individual contracts rather than for the general public is a contract carrier and is permitted under the same statute. A private carrier moving its own goods as part of another business needs no permit, though its power units still carry markings once they reach the statutory weight.
Separate work takes separate permits. Household goods for pay run under their own permit, brokers and forwarders under theirs, solid waste under a certificate in a different chapter, and every passenger class under its own licence with its own insurance rule.
Fees and the annual regulatory fee
One application fee covers permanent operating authority in any of the three commodity classes the rule names: general commodities, hazardous materials, and armored car service. Extending an existing permit to another class costs less, as does reinstating a permit cancelled within the past ten months, and a name or business structure change is cheaper still. Household goods carriers pay a different schedule, with a single fee covering provisional and then permanent authority.
The recurring cost is the annual regulatory fee. Every common carrier files an annual report by May 1 stating its gross operating revenue from Washington intrastate operations for the prior calendar year, and pays a set share of that figure. RCW 81.80.321 caps the rate, lets the commission lower it by general order, and adds a late fee plus monthly interest on a delinquent payment.
Insurance minimums and filings
Washington sets liability minimums by commodity and by vehicle weight rating, and the amounts step up sharply for hazardous materials. Read the ten thousand pound boundary carefully, because the freight rule, the household goods rule and the solid waste rule split it differently, and the commission's own summary page rounds all three in a way that resolves none of them. The rule text governs.
Your insurance company makes the filings, not you. Liability evidence goes in on Form E or a Form G surety bond, household goods cargo cover on Form H or a certificate, and cancellations on Form K ahead of the effective date. A written binder is accepted for a limited window and has to be replaced inside it. Letting the evidence lapse is itself grounds to suspend or cancel the permit.
There is no renewal cycle
A Washington common carrier permit has no expiration date and no renewal cycle. What keeps it alive is continuous evidence of insurance on file, plus the annual report and regulatory fee by May 1. The commission may suspend or cancel a permit when the insurance evidence lapses, when regulatory fees go unpaid, when the cause of a suspension is not corrected, or when the carrier supplied false or inaccurate information.
A carrier may also cancel voluntarily and reinstate within ten months by meeting current entry requirements and paying the reinstatement fee. A permit holder called into United States military service may apply at no charge for inactive status, and the commission reinstates that permit at no charge as well.
Markings, advertising and penalties
The permit number is load bearing. RCW 81.80.305 puts the permittee's name or business name and the permit number on the driver and passenger doors of every power unit, in legible letters of a stated minimum height, in a colour contrasting with the body panel. A carrier holding both intrastate and interstate authority may display the federal marking instead. WAC 480-14-090 separately requires a copy of the commission-issued authority to ride on each power unit used intrastate.
Advertising is regulated too. Advertising property transport for compensation without a permit is a misdemeanor, moving household goods without one draws a per-violation penalty, and each advertisement reproduced or displayed in a given medium counts separately.
Where this fits in the Washington 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 Washington, 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 Washington require intrastate operating authority for for-hire trucking?
- Yes. RCW 81.80.070 requires a common carrier or contract carrier permit from the Utilities and Transportation Commission before anyone transports property for compensation inside Washington. The commission grants it on fitness rather than on a contested public need case, which is why a new carrier can be permitted quickly.
Is there a weight threshold on the Washington permit?
- No. The statute turns on transporting property for compensation, with no general weight floor. The one weight-shaped exemption is narrow, covering light vehicles carrying nothing but legal documents, records, cash or checks at an attorney's direction.
Do I need a USDOT number before the commission permit?
- Not as a condition of the permit. Neither rule that governs the application conditions issuance on holding a federal number. Washington law does require the number to operate once a truck reaches the stated gross weight line or carries hazardous materials, so most permitted carriers hold one anyway.
What insurance does Washington require for intrastate carriers?
- Liability cover set by commodity and vehicle weight rating, filed by your insurance company on Form E or a Form G bond. General freight carries no state cargo minimum, while household goods movers add cargo cover on Form H. Each operation and its amount is carried as a sourced field.
Do freight brokers need a Washington permit?
- Yes. Washington folds brokers and forwarders into its carrier definitions, so they apply to the commission for their own permit, and RCW 81.80.430 requires a surety bond or deposit of security before it issues. One person may not operate as both a broker and a forwarder.
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.