If you haul for hire inside one state, the state, not FMCSA, is usually the agency that wants proof you’re insured. Form E is the certificate your insurance company files with that agency to show liability coverage is in place; Form H does the same for cargo. Form F is the endorsement on the policy that commits the insurer to the state’s requirements, and Form K is the notice the insurer files when the policy is cancelled. You don’t fill any of them out. Your insurer does, and the filing stays on record until it is cancelled on notice to the agency. Which carriers need them, and which agency takes them, varies by state.
The four forms, one at a time
The Form E says on its face that it was determined by the National Association of Regulatory Utilities Commissioners under Section 202(b)(2) of the Interstate Commerce Act, and Georgia’s rule gives properly completed NARUC forms a presumption of compliance.
- Form E, the Uniform Motor Carrier Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability Certificate of Insurance. The insurer certifies it has issued the carrier a policy, effective from a stated date and continuing until cancelled, amended by the uniform endorsement to cover what the state’s motor carrier law requires.
- Form H, the Uniform Motor Carrier Cargo Certificate of Insurance: the cargo counterpart.
- Form F, the Uniform Motor Carrier Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability Insurance Endorsement. Attached to the policy, it amends it to the coverage and limits a state requires once the policy is certified to that state’s commission; the insured agrees to reimburse the insurer for any payment made only because of that certification.
- Form K, the Uniform Notice of Cancellation of Motor Carrier Insurance Policies, which the insurer files to cancel the filing.
Who needs them, and who doesn’t
Start with who doesn’t. 49 CFR 387.3 applies the federal financial responsibility rules to for-hire property carriers in interstate or foreign commerce and to hazardous materials carriers in interstate, foreign or intrastate commerce. The MCS-90 endorsement is the proof there, and a for-hire carrier that needs FMCSA registration has its insurer file a BMC-91 or BMC-91X certificate with FMCSA. A carrier working for hire inside one state is generally outside that system, so the state takes its own proof, and in many states that is a Form E.
So the carriers that typically need one are intrastate for-hire property carriers, household goods movers, who may need a Form H too, and intrastate passenger carriers. Whether a private or interstate carrier also has to file varies by state, and a federal filing does not stand in for a state one. In one Pennsylvania PUC docket I read, the insurer made the federal filings but not the Pennsylvania one, and the carrier ended up answering a Commission complaint and asking for its authority back.
Examples from state agencies
Who takes the filing, and how, varies by state (more in truck insurance by state). Examples I checked:
- Texas. TxDMV lists Form E for liability, Forms H and I for cargo and Form K for cancellation, all filed electronically by your insurance company underwriter; its cargo insurance requirement is written for household goods carriers. Keep the record active in TxMCCS, or you risk administrative penalties, sanctions or revocation of your certificate.
- Illinois. For a public carrier certificate, Form E and Form H must be filed by the insurance underwriter. A carrier that will not haul cargo, or drive away vehicles for hire, worth more than $5,000 can file a cargo insurance waiver affidavit instead.
- Georgia. The Department of Public Safety rule names Forms E, H and K, takes them by mail, fax, email or the National Online Registry, and rejects handwritten forms.
- Pennsylvania. Only insurance companies can provide the forms, filed electronically through Tyler Insurance Filings. An applicant has 60 days to get the filing in, or the application is dismissed and must be refiled with another fee.
- Washington. For intrastate passenger carriers, the UTC calls Form E the standard proof-of-insurance form, issued by your insurance company; a certificate or binder can stand in for up to 60 days.
- California. A different system. The DMV’s regulation, 13 CCR 220.06, uses the state’s own forms: a Certificate of Insurance (DMV 65 MCP) submitted by the insurer, an endorsement (DMV 67 MCP) and a notice of cancellation (DMV 66 MCP), and never mentions Form E.
How the filing actually gets made
In the states above, the agency wants the filing from the insurance company, not from you and not from me as your broker. Texas, Illinois and Pennsylvania each say so, and California says the same about its DMV 65 MCP certificate. So the underwriter has to know at quote time that you need a state filing, which state and agency, and the exact name and address your authority was issued under.
Underwriters also ask for your USDOT or docket number, operation, radius, vehicles, drivers and whether you need federal filings too. Not every insurer makes state filings in every state, so say so up front. A regular certificate of insurance is not a substitute: Pennsylvania’s PUC says certificates of insurance are not binding and not acceptable, and calls the Form E binding evidence of coverage.
Cancellation, lapses and switching insurers
The Form E says the certificate and endorsement cannot be cancelled without cancelling the policy, and that cancellation takes 30 days’ written notice to the commission, counted from the day the notice is actually received in its office. The Form K is that notice. Federal policies and endorsements under 49 CFR 387.7 run on 35 days’ written notice between insurer and carrier, counted from the date it is transmitted.
Agencies watch the record, not the policy. Texas can penalize a lapse in TxMCCS. Georgia wants at least 30 days’ notice before any policy change that would put you out of compliance. If you are moving to a new insurer, get the new company’s Form E accepted first, then let the old company file its Form K. Backwards, and you have authority with no filing behind it. When I place trucking insurance, I ask the underwriter up front whether it makes the state filing you need.
Common questions
Does my insurance agent file the Form E?
No. The forms are provided and filed by the insurance company, and Texas, Illinois and Pennsylvania each say so in their own words, with Pennsylvania’s PUC adding that only insurance companies can provide them. I line up the insurer and the details; the underwriter files.
Is a Form E the same as a certificate of insurance?
No. A Form E is the state’s uniform certificate, filed by the insurer, and Pennsylvania’s PUC says ordinary certificates of insurance are not binding and not acceptable while the Form E is binding evidence of coverage. Washington lets a certificate or binder stand in for up to 60 days, then wants the Form E.
Do interstate carriers need a Form E?
Their insurer files a BMC-91 or BMC-91X certificate with FMCSA, and the MCS-90 endorsement is their proof of financial responsibility under 49 CFR 387.7. Whether a state also wants a Form E for in-state work varies by state, so check with the state agency instead of assuming the federal filing covers it.
Do I need a Form H?
It depends on the state and what you haul. Texas lists Forms H and I as proof of cargo insurance, and its cargo requirement is written for household goods carriers. Illinois requires a Form H for a public carrier certificate unless you file an affidavit that you will not haul cargo, or drive away vehicles, worth more than $5,000.
How does a Form E get cancelled?
The insurer files a Form K. The Form E says the certificate can’t be cancelled without cancelling the policy, and the 30 days’ notice runs from the day the commission actually receives it. If you are changing insurers, get the new Form E accepted before the old one is withdrawn.
Sources
- Montana PSC: Form E, Uniform Motor Carrier Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability Certificate of Insurance (NARUC form)
- Pennsylvania PUC docket document reproducing the Form F endorsement (Uniform Motor Carrier Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability Insurance Endorsement)
- 49 CFR Part 387 (eCFR): minimum levels of financial responsibility for motor carriers, §§ 387.3, 387.7, 387.301, 387.313
- Texas DMV: TxDMV number, insurance filings (Forms E, H & I, K)
- Illinois Commerce Commission: insurance requirements for public carrier certificate
- Georgia Department of Public Safety Rule 570-38-2-.05: required insurance and certificates of insurance
- Pennsylvania PUC: motor carrier insurance (Form E, Form H, electronic filing)
- Washington UTC: intrastate passenger insurance requirements (Form E)
- 13 CCR § 220.06 (Cornell LII): California motor carrier financial responsibility, DMV 65/66/67 MCP forms
General information about state motor carrier insurance filings as of October 2026, not legal or tax advice; each state agency’s current rules and form instructions control. Coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued.