By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Sep 27, 2026
Wyoming requires intrastate operating authority. Anyone hauling people or property between two Wyoming points for compensation is a contract carrier and needs a Letter of Authority from WYDOT Motor Vehicle Services at any vehicle weight; a business hauling its own goods or employees in a vehicle over 26,000 pounds needs private authority. The filing fee is 50 dollars, the authority never expires, and a copy must ride in every power unit. Contract carriers must have their insurer file Form E liability of 750,000 dollars and, for most freight, Form H cargo of 10,000 dollars before authority issues.
The Wyoming requirements table
- Agency
- Wyoming Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Services, Regulatory (Operating Authority) Section, 5300 Bishop Blvd., Cheyenne, WY 82009-3340; 307-777-4850; [email protected]
- Application
- Form MC-100, Application for Wyoming Operating Authority as a Commercial Motor Carrier (Rev 2026-01), emailed to [email protected] or mailed to WYDOT Regulatory Section, 5300 Bishop Blvd., Cheyenne, WY 82009-3340, with the 50 dollar filing fee (check payable to WYDOT, or credit card with a 2.50 dollar processing fee). The form asks for the legal and trade name, mailing and physical address, FEIN, USDOT number, private and/or contract carrier type, ownership structure and officers, and the commodities to be hauled, which must match the list on SAFER. Applications are held 30 days before being returned if insurance filings or information are missing.
- Renewal
- None. Authority is permanent: it remains valid until revoked or suspended by WYDOT for good cause or cancelled at the holder's request (W.S. 31-18-209(a), 31-18-301(a)). Contract carriers must keep insurance filings in force continuously; a filed cancellation suspends the authority on its effective date until new insurance is approved.
Authority fee schedule
Wyoming 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
- 26,000 lbThe 26,000 pound line applies to PRIVATE carriers only. A private motor carrier is a business operating a vehicle over 26,000 pounds intrastate that hauls its own employees or property in furtherance of a commercial enterprise without compensation (W.S. 31-18-101(a)(x)(D)). A CONTRACT motor carrier, anyone hauling persons or property for compensation, needs authority at any weight. Per the Operating Authority Manual: under 26,000 pounds and always owning what is hauled needs no authority; over 26,000 pounds and always owning it makes you a private carrier; any weight and not owning what is hauled makes you a contract carrier.
- For-hire only
- NoNot limited to for-hire carriage. Contract (for-hire) carriers need authority at any weight, and private carriers of their own property or employees over 26,000 pounds need private authority. A carrier can hold both.
- Passenger carriers
- Passenger carriers need authority at any vehicle weight: carrying people for compensation (taxi, limousine, float trip or hunting guide, charter or tour bus, daycare bus) makes a contract carrier, and a business carrying its own employees is a private carrier. Buses designed for 16 or more passengers used without compensation (for example a church bus) need private authority; buses owned by or titled to a government entity do not.
- Hazmat
- Not confirmedThe statute's private carrier definition expressly includes transporting placardable amounts of hazardous materials (W.S. 31-18-101(a)(x)(D)).
Wyoming 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 (Contract carriers must file Form E liability of at least 750,000 dollars combined single limit before a letter of authority issues (WYDOT Motor Carrier rules ch. 3, sec. 3(a)). That equals the federal 49 CFR 387.9 floor for interstate for-hire carriers of nonhazardous property in vehicles of 10,001 pounds or more, but in Wyoming it attaches to any intrastate contract carrier regardless of vehicle weight. Private-only carriers are exempt from insurance filings.)
- Cargo minimum
- $10,000 (Form H cargo of 10,000 dollars is required of contract carriers except those hauling raw agricultural products (other than livestock), sand (except in pneumatic trailers), rock, dirt, gravel, or other commodities with no appreciable salvage value. Carriers moving house trailers or mobile homes also file Form MC61E for 5,000 dollars of physical damage cover per unit.)
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.
Other Wyoming insurance requirements
Insurance filing forms
Your insurance company makes these filings with the state, not you.
- Note
- Filings are made by the insurer, filed continuous until cancelled, on no less than 30 days written notice (Form K). Wyoming is not an e-file state: filings are scanned and emailed to [email protected] or mailed. Wyoming does not accept ADCO or ACORD certificates, binders, abstracts or insurance ID cards for intrastate authority, and filings must carry the carrier's exact legal name as it appears on its USDOT record.
More Wyoming authority rules
- Exemptions: summary
- W.S. 31-18-103 exempts from the authority requirement: intrastate hauling by a farmer or rancher in his own vehicle of produce or commodities for his own use to and from the farm or ranch; exchanges of transportation between farmers or ranchers in the immediate community; exclusive noncommercial transportation of children to and from school; ambulances and hearses; vehicles owned or operated by the United States, the state, or a subdivision; noncommercial vehicles exclusively carrying U.S. mail; and intrastate transport of livestock for show, performance or competition for noncommercial purposes. The Operating Authority Manual adds privately owned vehicles on nonprofit, educational or religious tours of the state and travel on highways that are not publicly maintained.
- USDOT prerequisite: note
- The MC-100 form asks for a U.S. DOT number and says all information must be filled in. The Operating Authority Manual requires a USDOT number from every private carrier and from contract carriers when the vehicle is over 26,000 pounds GVW or is a passenger vehicle above the small-taxi size. The 2026 form says more than 9 passengers including the driver must have a USDOT number; the 2020 manual says taxis hauling 7 plus the driver do not. A contract carrier of property at or under 26,000 pounds is not required to have one by the manual.
- Vehicle marking: requirement
- Wyoming amends 49 CFR 390.21(b)(2) for intrastate carriers: the vehicle displays the carrier's USDOT number preceded by USDOT and followed by the suffix WY, for example USDOT 123456 WY. W.S. 31-18-304 separately requires the carrier's name or trade name, legible from 50 feet in daylight.
Who needs Wyoming authority
Wyoming sorts carriers into two types, and you can hold both. A contract carrier hauls people or property for pay, at any vehicle weight: hot shots, taxis and limousines, float trip and hunting guides, charter and daycare buses, and tow operators all fall here. A private carrier hauls its own goods or employees in a vehicle above the weight line, including placardable hazmat. Below that line, hauling only what you own needs no authority.
The MC-100 adds a practical limit: authority is required only when a carrier both picks up and drops off in Wyoming. Tow operators must pass a Highway Patrol wrecker inspection before the application is processed.
Who is exempt
The statute exempts farmers and ranchers hauling their own produce or commodities to and from the place, exchanges of hauling between neighboring farmers or ranchers, school transport, ambulances and hearses, government vehicles, mail carriers, and noncommercial livestock moves for shows and competitions. The WYDOT manual adds privately owned vehicles on nonprofit, educational, or religious tours and travel on roads the public does not maintain.
How to apply
File Form MC-100 with the WYDOT Regulatory Section by email or mail, with the one-time filing fee by check or card. The form asks for the legal and trade name, FEIN, USDOT number, carrier type, ownership, and the commodities you will haul, and the commodity list must match your SAFER record. WYDOT holds an incomplete application for a set period before returning it, so have the insurance filings on their way when you apply.
WYDOT assigns a docket number when it grants authority, and a copy of the letter must ride in every power unit.
Insurance filings for contract carriers
Contract carriers need a Form E liability filing at the state minimum, regardless of vehicle weight, before authority issues. Most freight also needs a Form H cargo filing, except loads with no real salvage value such as raw farm products, sand, rock, dirt, or gravel. Mobile home movers add Form MC61E. Private-only carriers are exempt from insurance filings.
The insurer files the forms by email or mail under your exact legal name. Wyoming refuses certificates, binders, and ID cards, and a Form K cancellation suspends the authority on its effective date.
Marking the truck and keeping the authority
Intrastate trucks show the USDOT number followed by a WY suffix, plus the carrier's name or trade name readable from a set distance in daylight. The authority is permanent, with no renewal fee. Name changes and replacement letters carry their own fees, and address updates are free.
Where this fits in the Wyoming 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 Wyoming, 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.