For new authority · Texas
Twelve filings stand between you and your first legal load. Miss one and you sit. Here is every one of them, in the order they have to happen.
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Every filing a new motor carrier makes, what each one is actually for, and the order that keeps you from paying twice or waiting on something you could have started weeks earlier.
Your state filing. It has to exist before the EIN, the bank account, or any federal registration.
Free from the IRS. Never pay a third party for this one.
Registered in Motus, FMCSA's registration system since May 2026. This number follows your company for good.
Your MC authority, requested in Motus. $300, non-refundable. It is published, there is a 10-day protest window, and it will not go active until your insurance and BOC-3 are on file.
Process agents for every state, filed with FMCSA — usually through a blanket process-agent company.
The BMC-91X proves your liability coverage. Only your insurer can file it. If your status says pending financial responsibility, call your agent that day.
Annual, priced by fleet size. Enforcement checks it.
For interstate trucks over 26,000 lbs. Not the same as a regular base plate.
Quarterly fuel tax across the states you run. Decals on both sides of the cab.
Federal heavy vehicle use tax at 55,000 lbs and up. You need proof of it for plates.
Consortium enrollment and a negative pre-employment test before anyone drives — including you.
FMCSA Clearinghouse registration, a query on every driver before hire, and at least once a year after.
Gustavo Cazares. Years in trucking before insurance — my own authority and my own trucks, cross-border logistics, dispatch and truck sales.
I filed this paperwork myself, made the mistakes, and paid for a few of them. This is the list I wanted when I started.
I sell trucking insurance now. That is not what this guide is for — but when you need coverage bound and your filing sent, you will know where I am.