BY STATE — TEXAS
Getting your DOT authority in Texas
After your federal authority is granted, your truck registration and any state-level requirements run through Texas’s own agencies. Below is the full checklist plus Texas’s specific filings and official links.
Your new-carrier checklist (registered in Texas)
This is the standard for-hire interstate stack, with the IRP, IFTA, and weight-distance permit links resolved to Texas. Items marked “Vertical Identity” are handled by us when you enroll.
Activate your authority
File your BOC-3 (process agent)
A registered process agent must file this. We resell a partner that handles it.
When:Before authority is granted; must stay on file.
Source: 49 CFR §366 · reviewed 2026-06-14
File your insurance (BMC-91X)
Your insurer files this electronically. $750k for most for-hire property; higher for passenger/hazmat.
When:Within 20 days of FMCSA Register publication.
Source: 49 CFR §387 · reviewed 2026-06-14
Authority goes ACTIVE
You may not operate until your authority shows ACTIVE. (Not a flat "21 days.")
When:~3–4 weeks (10-day protest + 20-day filing); longer if vetted.
Source: FMCSA registration · reviewed 2026-06-14
Register for UCR
UCR's site makes DIY easy — do it yourself there, or we'll handle it. Fees = official UCR schedule.
When:Annual; before interstate operation.
Source: 49 U.S.C. §14504a · reviewed 2026-06-14
Get compliant to operate
Join a drug & alcohol consortium (C/TPA)
Owner-operators MUST be in a consortium for random testing — you can't self-administer. We are your C/TPA.
When:Before any driver performs a safety-sensitive function.
Source: 49 CFR §382 · reviewed 2026-06-14
Pass a pre-employment drug test
The test must be passed — not just taken — before driving. We order it.
When:Negative result REQUIRED before the first dispatch.
Source: 49 CFR §382.301 · reviewed 2026-06-14
Register + query the FMCSA Clearinghouse
Login.gov steps are yours; we run the queries as your TPA.
When:Full query pre-employment; limited query annually.
Source: Clearinghouse final rule · reviewed 2026-06-14
Build your Driver Qualification File
Even a solo owner-operator needs a DQF on themselves. We manage it.
When:Before driving; MVR within 30 days of hire + annually.
Source: 49 CFR §391.51 · reviewed 2026-06-14
DOT medical card (physical)
Required to hold a CDL for interstate non-excepted driving. We perform the physical.
When:Valid up to 24 months — can be shorter. Renew before expiry.
Source: 49 CFR §391.41–.49 + §383.71 · reviewed 2026-06-14
Written drug & alcohol policy
A written policy is required. We provide one per DOT mode.
When:Provided to drivers before they drive.
Source: 49 CFR §382.601 · reviewed 2026-06-14
Supervisor reasonable-suspicion training
60 min drugs + 60 min alcohol for anyone making reasonable-suspicion calls. We train them.
When:Before the DER/supervisor supervises drivers.
Source: 49 CFR §382.603 · reviewed 2026-06-14
Register your truck
File IRS Form 2290 (HVUT)
Vehicles ≥55,000 lb. E-file returns a stamped Schedule 1 in minutes — do it yourself at IRS.gov.
When:Before plating (Schedule 1 required to register).
Source: IRS Form 2290 · reviewed 2026-06-14
Register IRP apportioned plates
Multi-state operation. File through your base state — link below for each state you picked. Apportioned plates are about the VEHICLE running interstate, not about holding MC authority — private and exempt-commodity carriers (USDOT-only, no MC) register IRP too.
When:After authority is active; needs your base state.
Where to do it: TX
Source: IRP / base-state · reviewed 2026-06-14
Pass your New Entrant Audit
Pass your New Entrant Safety Audit
The #1 automatic failure is having no drug & alcohol program. Stay enrolled and you pass.
When:Within 12 months of starting operations.
Source: 49 CFR §385 subpart D · reviewed 2026-06-14
Core regulatory sources: 49 CFR §382 · 49 CFR §385 subpart D · last reviewed 2026-06-14
Texas state specifics
IRP (apportioned plates)
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV), Motor Carrier Division
Intrastate operating authority
Required — separate state authority
Texas requires a separate state operating authority beyond a USDOT number: intrastate for-hire motor carriers must register their operations with the TxDMV Motor Carrier Division and obtain a TxDMV Number (formerly the TxDOT number), filing proof of insurance, via the eLINC/MCCS system.
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV), Motor Carrier Division
Weight-distance / mileage tax
Texas has no weight-distance tax
Texas does not levy a state weight-distance or mileage tax on motor carriers; only New York, New Mexico, Kentucky, and Oregon impose one. (Carriers are still subject to the separate federal Heavy Vehicle Use Tax via IRS Form 2290.)
State details sourced from official Texas .gov agencies · last reviewed 2026-06-14
We handle the federal compliance stack
Enroll in our consortium and we take care of your drug & alcohol program, Clearinghouse queries, and driver qualification files — while you handle the Texas registrations above.
Enroll in the consortiumThis is general guidance, not legal advice. Verify requirements with FMCSA and your state DOT. See all states →