New Trucking Company Compliance Checklist (Free Printable)
Starting a trucking company is mostly a sequencing problem: the MC authority needs insurance filings, the insurance needs the USDOT number, the IRP plates need the business address and the authority, and the New Entrant audit will ask for files you should have begun on day one. This checklist puts every federal and state-level step in dependency order so nothing waits on something you have not done yet. Free printable Word version below — just tell us where to send it.
⬇ Download the startup checklist (Word)
Phase 1 — Business foundation (week 1)
- Form the entity (LLC or corporation) with the state; decide the legal name now — every DOT record must match it exactly.
- Obtain an EIN from the IRS (free, online, same day).
- Open a business bank account and a payment card in the business name — many registrations are card-paid.
- Secure a physical business address (a principal place of business is required for the USDOT record and for IRP base-jurisdiction purposes).
- Decide your operation type: for-hire vs private; interstate vs intrastate; property vs passengers; hazmat yes/no. Most later steps hinge on this.
Phase 2 — Federal registration (weeks 1–2)
- Create a Login.gov account and register in the FMCSA Registration system for a USDOT number.
- For-hire interstate: apply for operating authority (MC) in the same application; pay the per-authority fee. Note the docket number.
- Bind primary liability insurance at the required minimum (commonly $750,000 for general-freight property carriers; higher for hazmat and certain cargo per 49 CFR 387) and have the insurer file the BMC-91/91X electronically. Household-goods carriers also need cargo filings.
- Hire a process-agent company to file the BOC-3 (required for authority; a blanket filing covers every state).
- Wait out the 21-day protest period; check L&I until authority shows Active. Do not haul for-hire interstate loads before that.
- Register for UCR for the current year (plan.ucr.gov) — required even if you never get pulled over.
Phase 3 — Vehicle registrations and taxes (weeks 2–4)
- IRP apportioned plates through your base state if the vehicle is over 26,000 lb (or 3+ axles) and crosses state lines — see the IRP decision flowchart. Bring title, proof of insurance, business address proof, and the USDOT number.
- IFTA licence and decals from the base state for the same vehicles; returns are due quarterly from the first quarter licensed.
- Heavy Vehicle Use Tax — file IRS Form 2290 for vehicles with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 lb or more; the stamped Schedule 1 is needed to register the vehicle in most states.
- State-specific highway-use or weight-distance taxes: several states (for example New York, Kentucky, New Mexico and Oregon) run their own programs — confirm with each state you will run in.
- Hazmat carriers: PHMSA hazmat registration, driver endorsements, and any state permits.
- Annual inspection on every unit before it runs; keep the report 14 months.
Phase 4 — Drivers and the drug-and-alcohol program (before the first load)
- Enrol in a DOT drug-and-alcohol testing program (a consortium/TPA is the practical route for a small fleet) with a written policy; random testing at the annual FMCSA minimum rates.
- Register in the FMCSA Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse; run a pre-employment full query on every CDL driver, and an annual query thereafter.
- Negative pre-employment drug test before any driver (including the owner) performs a safety-sensitive function.
- Build the driver qualification file (49 CFR 391.51): application, MVR from every state licensed in the past three years, road test or CDL equivalence, medical certificate and National Registry verification, previous-employer inquiries.
- Confirm each driver's medical card is current and CDL holders have self-certified to the state.
- Install and register ELDs from the FMCSA list (unless an exemption applies) with driver instruction sheets in each cab.
Phase 5 — Files you must be able to produce at the New Entrant audit (within 12 months)
- Driver qualification files, hours-of-service records (6 months), DVIRs (3 months), maintenance and inspection records per unit.
- Drug-and-alcohol program documents: policy, testing records, consortium agreement, Clearinghouse queries.
- Insurance certificates, MCS-90 endorsement, authority certificate, BOC-3, UCR receipt, IRP cab cards, IFTA licence, 2290 Schedule 1.
- Accident register (49 CFR 390.15) — even if empty, know where it lives.
- Organise all of it in the compliance binder from the first week; the audit is a document review.
⚠️ Sequencing traps: IRP offices generally will not plate a truck without the 2290 Schedule 1 and insurance; the authority will not activate without both the insurance filing and BOC-3; and the MCS-150 biennial clock starts from your USDOT number's last digit, not from your start date — check the one-truck deadline calendar the week you get the number.
Free: Want your real deadlines, not a generic list? Run the free USDOT compliance check — your MCS-150, UCR and IFTA dates straight from the FMCSA registry. Then track them: your first compliance item is free →
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Enter your dates once — FleetClear computes every DOT/FMCSA deadline, alerts you at 60/30/7 days, and drafts the renewal notice. Your first compliance item is free.
Start free — no card requiredGeneral guidance for motor carriers, not legal advice. FMCSA rules, fees and state procedures change — verify current requirements with FMCSA (fmcsa.dot.gov) and your state agencies before relying on any item here. FleetClear is not affiliated with the FMCSA or any government agency.