Cost to start a trucking company, government fees and service fees on separate lines
Tick what applies: for-hire authority, trucks, drivers, weight-distance states, IFTA. The tool lists every government fee, every Profirm fee and the total, then compares it with the 8,000 to 17,000 USD bundles you see advertised and explains where that gap comes from.
Your operation
Weight-distance states you will run in
Insurance, IRP plates, the truck and fuel are not included. Government fees are as published in September 2026; UCR uses the 2026 bracket.
Result
Government fees
| Line | Amount |
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Profirm service fees
| Line | Amount |
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The new carrier start-up package covers USDOT, authority, BOC-3, UCR filing, Clearinghouse setup and first-year consortium for $649, versus $0 for the same lines bought separately above. Government fees are paid separately either way.
Oregon may require a bond or deposit from new carriers before issuing a weight receipt. The amount depends on fleet size and is not included.
Versus a typical bundled quote
Registrations, testing program, permits and their government fees. Nothing else.
Including insurance down payments, often IRP plates, and service fees that are rarely broken out.
Insurance is the big one. A new authority pays 12,000 to 25,000 USD a year for liability and cargo on a single truck, and the down payment alone is often 15 to 25 percent of that. Apportioned plates add 1,500 to 2,500 USD. The compliance filings on this page are a few hundred dollars of the bundle. When a vendor quotes one number, ask for the split.
Where the money goes when you start a trucking company
There are four buckets, and only two of them are on this page. The first bucket is government fees for registrations. The second is service fees if you have someone file for you. The third is insurance. The fourth is plates and equipment. Bundled quotes mix all four into one number, which makes it hard to see that the first two are small and the third is not.
Government fees. A USDOT number costs nothing; you apply in Motus after the company official verifies through Login.gov. Operating authority is 300 USD per authority type on Pay.gov, and most carriers need one type. The BOC-3 process agent designation has no government fee, although the agent company charges for the filing. UCR is a bracket fee: 46 USD for zero to two vehicles in 2026, 138 for three to five, and 55 and 167 respectively for 2027. IFTA decals are 0 to 10 USD per set from the base state. New York HUT is 1.50 USD per vehicle; Kentucky and New Mexico open the account for free and tax the miles afterward; Oregon may require a bond.
Service fees. Every line we charge comes from our price list and is shown separately from the government fee it accompanies. The testing program lines are not optional: a pre-employment test with a verified negative, a full Clearinghouse query and a driver qualification file for each driver before the first load, plus consortium membership for random testing. These are what the new-entrant safety audit checks in your first year, and any one of them missing is an automatic failure.
Insurance. Federal minimum liability is 750,000 USD for general freight, with the MCS-90 endorsement filed by the insurer before authority is granted. Most shippers and brokers want 1,000,000 USD liability and 100,000 USD cargo. For a new authority with one truck, annual premiums of 12,000 to 25,000 USD are normal and can be higher for a driver with a short record. Insurers ask for 15 to 25 percent down. That single line is larger than everything on this page combined, which is why we leave it out rather than guess.
Plates and equipment. IRP apportioned plates for a tractor declared at 80,000 lb in a dozen states run 1,500 to 2,500 USD the first year. Then the truck, the trailer, an ELD subscription, fuel cards and a factoring arrangement. None of that is a compliance fee.
Timing matters as much as money. Authority takes about 21 days after the application, the insurance filing and the BOC-3 are all in. The drug and alcohol program, the DQ files and UCR can be done in the same week. IFTA and the weight-distance accounts should be open before the first interstate trip, not after the first scale. A Quebec or Ontario carrier entering the US needs the same federal pieces plus its CBSA carrier code for the trip home; see the cross-border page.
Get a written breakdown
Tell us what you haul, how many trucks and drivers, and where. We send back one email with the government fees, our fees and a 12-month calendar, in English, Spanish or French.
Online requests open soon. Call or email us and we answer the same business day.
Frequently asked questions
What does the government actually charge to start a trucking company?
Less than most people expect. The USDOT number is free. Operating authority is 300 USD per authority type, paid on Pay.gov. The BOC-3 has no government fee. UCR is 46 USD for up to two vehicles in 2026. IFTA decals cost 0 to 10 USD per set depending on the base state. New York HUT is 1.50 USD per vehicle. Kentucky and New Mexico charge nothing to open the account. Everything above that is either a service fee, insurance, plates or equipment.
Why do bundled start-up packages cost 8,000 to 17,000 USD?
Because they include the insurance down payment, which for a new authority is typically 15 to 25 percent of an annual premium that itself runs 12,000 to 25,000 USD for a single truck. Some also include apportioned plates, which are 1,500 to 2,500 USD for a truck registered in several states. The compliance filings are a small part of that number. Ask any vendor to split their quote into government fees, insurance, plates and service fees.
Does this tool include insurance and plates?
No, on purpose. Insurance premiums depend on the driver's record, the truck, the cargo and the state, and we are not an insurance agency. IRP plate fees depend on the states you declare. The tool covers what a compliance filer can quote to the dollar: registrations, testing program, permits and the government fees attached to them. Budget insurance separately and first; it is the largest number and the one that determines whether the rest is worth doing.
Do I need operating authority?
Only if you haul other people's freight for hire across state lines. A private carrier moving its own goods needs a USDOT number but no authority and no BOC-3. Carriers of exempt commodities such as unprocessed agricultural products also skip authority. Uncheck the for-hire box and the tool drops those lines. See the USDOT and authority page for the details.
Why are drug testing and DQ files on a start-up list?
Because the new-entrant safety audit in your first year checks for them, and missing any one of them is an automatic failure item. Every CDL driver needs a pre-employment test with a verified negative result, a full Clearinghouse query and a driver qualification file before the first load. An owner-operator needs all three for themselves and must be in a consortium for random testing.
What about the weight-distance states?
New York, Kentucky, New Mexico and Oregon tax by weight and mile on top of IFTA. If you plan to run there, open the accounts before the first trip; enforcement checks at the scale. Check the boxes and the tool adds the setup fees. Oregon may also require a bond for new carriers, which the tool notes but cannot price. The quarterly and monthly returns after setup are a separate ongoing cost.
Is the new carrier start-up package cheaper than buying the lines separately?
Usually. The package is $649 and includes the USDOT number, authority, BOC-3, UCR, Clearinghouse registration with C/TPA designation, the first year of consortium enrollment, the written policy and a 12-month compliance calendar. The tool shows the separate-lines total so you can compare. Government fees are paid separately either way.
Can a Canadian carrier use this?
Partly. A Quebec or Ontario carrier entering the US needs the USDOT number, authority if for hire, BOC-3, UCR, the drug and alcohol program for its CDL-equivalent drivers, and the weight-distance accounts. It already has IFTA and IRP through its province, so uncheck IFTA. It also needs a CBSA carrier code and ACI eManifest for the northbound side, which are outside this tool. See cross-border compliance.
Ready to file?
The start-up package gets a for-hire carrier from nothing to authority, BOC-3, UCR, Clearinghouse and consortium in one order. Government fees are paid separately and shown before you commit.