If someone pays you to move their freight, you’re for-hire. If the truck carries your own tools, materials or products for your own business, you’re a private carrier, which is what most people mean by not-for-hire. For interstate work, a for-hire carrier of regulated freight needs MC operating authority on top of a USDOT number, and its insurer files proof of liability coverage with FMCSA. A private carrier of non-hazardous goods needs a USDOT number once its vehicles qualify, but no MC number and no federal insurance filing. Freight that starts and ends in one state, with no interstate leg, falls mainly under that state’s rules, which vary. On the insurance side, it changes which policy fits and whether cargo coverage matters at all.
How the federal rules define each
Under 49 CFR 390.5T, the federal definitions section in effect as of October 2026 (390.5 itself is suspended), a for-hire motor carrier is a person engaged in the transportation of goods or passengers for compensation. A private motor carrier transports property or passengers by commercial motor vehicle and is not a for-hire carrier. Part 387’s insurance rules put it more plainly: for-hire carriage is the business of transporting, for compensation, the goods or property of another.
So the line is whose goods are on the truck and whether you’re paid to move them, not how big the truck is. A plumber driving a heavy truck loaded with his own pipe and tools is a private carrier. The same truck hauling a customer’s pallets for a fee is for-hire.
The federal rules also turn on interstate commerce, which 390.5T defines to include trips between states, trips between two points in one state that pass through another state, and in-state legs of a shipment that started or will end outside the state.
Who needs an MC number, and who only needs a USDOT number
FMCSA says companies that operate commercial vehicles hauling cargo in interstate commerce must register and have a USDOT number. For trucks, FMCSA’s test is a gross vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight rating (or actual weight) of 10,001 pounds or more, and the 390.5T definition of a commercial motor vehicle also covers hazardous materials hauled in placarded quantities. That applies to for-hire and private carriers alike.
Operating authority, the MC number, is the extra step. FMCSA says it is generally required to transport federally regulated commodities owned by others, or passengers, for compensation in interstate commerce. FMCSA lists private carriers hauling their own cargo, for-hire carriers that haul only exempt commodities, and carriers working only inside certain federally designated commercial zones as not needing authority. More on USDOT numbers vs. MC numbers and how to get MC authority.
Federal insurance minimums and filings
- For-hire, interstate, 10,001 pounds or more, non-hazardous property: $750,000 minimum public liability under 49 CFR 387.9.
- For-hire with authority, fleet made up only of vehicles under 10,001 pounds: $300,000 under 387.303T, the version in effect.
- Hazardous materials: $1,000,000 or $5,000,000 depending on the material and how it moves. Part 387 applies these tiers to private carriers as well as for-hire carriers.
- Private carrier of non-hazardous property: Part 387, Subpart A applies to for-hire property carriers and to hazmat carriers (387.3), so these federal minimums don’t reach a private carrier hauling non-hazardous goods. State rules can still set one.
Carrying the coverage and filing it are separate. When a carrier applies for operating authority, its insurer files proof with FMCSA on Form BMC-91 or BMC-91X (a surety files a BMC-82 bond instead), and FMCSA won’t grant authority until the required coverage is on file. An insured carrier’s policy carries the MCS-90 endorsement (a bonded carrier uses Form MCS-82), and 387.7 names these as the proof a carrier keeps at its principal place of business. A private carrier of non-hazardous goods with no MC number has no federal insurance filing to make. See what a BMC-91X filing is and what the MCS-90 endorsement does.
Trucking that stays inside one state
The federal authority rules are about interstate commerce, which includes an in-state leg of a shipment that crosses state lines. Purely intrastate trucking is regulated mainly by that state, and the rules vary, though Part 387’s hazmat minimums reach some intrastate hazmat hauling. FMCSA lists 38 states plus Puerto Rico, including California, Texas, Florida and New York, that require intrastate commercial vehicle registrants to get a USDOT number anyway. Two examples:
- Texas requires motor carriers running intrastate in Texas to register with TxDMV when they operate a commercial motor vehicle over 26,000 pounds, among other triggers. The minimum for private or for-hire carriers over 26,000 pounds that don’t fall in another category is $500,000, and the insurance company files proof with TxDMV on Form E.
- California requires a Motor Carrier Permit from carriers operating certain vehicles, private or for-hire, including any motor truck with two or more axles and a GVWR over 10,000 pounds, and any other motor vehicle used to transport property for compensation. Interstate carriers running in California get one too.
If you run in only one state, check its motor carrier agency. Truck insurance by state has more.
What changes on the insurance side
IRMI describes the business auto policy as meeting the auto insurance needs of most commercial entities, except auto-related businesses and motor carrier or trucking firms. ISO introduced the motor carrier policy in 1993 for trucking, and IRMI says it fits for-hire, private or mixed operations. In practice, I usually quote a contractor’s truck carrying its own materials on a commercial auto policy and a for-hire hauler through a trucking program. Underwriters ask whose goods are on the truck, whether you’re paid to move them, your radius and states, your USDOT and MC numbers, vehicle weight ratings and drivers. If the application says you haul only your own goods and you start taking paid loads, tell your broker before the first one.
Cargo is the other difference. FMCSA’s filing chart shows no federal cargo insurance requirement for for-hire property carriers other than household goods carriers. Motor truck cargo is an inland marine form for property lost in transit, and depending on the form it can be written for goods on your own vehicles.
Owner-operators leased to a motor carrier should see non-trucking liability vs. bobtail. Running a smaller truck? See box truck insurance.
Common questions
Is a contractor hauling his own tools and materials for-hire?
No. If the goods are yours and no one pays you to move them, you’re a private carrier under the federal definitions. You may still need a USDOT number if the truck is a commercial motor vehicle used in interstate commerce, or if your state requires one.
Do I need an MC number if I only haul inside one state?
Federal operating authority is for interstate commerce, and that includes an in-state leg of a shipment that started or will end in another state. For purely in-state hauling, your state may have its own registration, such as TxDMV registration in Texas or a Motor Carrier Permit in California.
Do private carriers have to carry $750,000 in liability?
The federal $750,000 minimum in 49 CFR 387.9 is written for for-hire carriers of non-hazardous property. Private carriers of hazardous materials have their own federal minimums, and states can set minimums for private carriers too: Texas sets $500,000 for private or for-hire carriers over 26,000 pounds that don’t fall in another category.
Do I need cargo insurance if I only haul my own goods?
No federal rule requires it. FMCSA’s filing chart lists a cargo requirement only for household goods carriers and household goods freight forwarders, so insuring your own goods in transit is a property decision.
Can I put a for-hire truck on a business auto policy?
Tell your broker exactly what you haul and for whom. IRMI says the business auto policy meets the auto needs of most businesses except motor carrier or trucking firms, and a carrier with operating authority also needs an insurer that will file proof of coverage with FMCSA.
Sources
- 49 CFR 390.5T (eCFR): definitions of for-hire and private motor carrier, interstate commerce, commercial motor vehicle (390.5 suspended; 390.5T in effect, last amended 91 FR 45661, July 21, 2026)
- 49 CFR Part 387 (eCFR, current through Oct. 1, 2026): minimum levels of financial responsibility (387.3, 387.5, 387.7, 387.9, 387.301T, 387.303T, 387.311)
- FMCSA: Do I Need a USDOT Number? (page last updated Sept. 3, 2025)
- FMCSA: Get Operating Authority (Docket Number) (page last updated Apr. 20, 2026)
- FMCSA: Insurance Filing Requirements, including the filing chart (page last updated Mar. 26, 2026)
- Texas DMV: TxDMV Number (registration triggers, insurance minimums, Form E filing)
- Texas DMV: How To Be a Motor Carrier (intrastate operating authority)
- California DMV: Motor Carrier Permit FAQs
- IRMI glossary: motor carrier policy
- IRMI glossary: business auto policy
- IRMI glossary: motor truck cargo
General information about for-hire and private motor carrier rules as of October 2026, not legal or tax advice; 49 CFR Parts 387 and 390, FMCSA’s current procedures and each state’s motor carrier rules control. Coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued.