New authority checklist

Getting your authority is a checklist, not a mystery. Miss a box and you don't get loaded. Tick them all and you're ready to roll. Six things to handle — start the slow ones (authority, insurance) early.

🏢 1. Business foundation

• Choose and register your business entity (most carriers form an LLC)
• Get your EIN (federal tax ID) from the IRS — it's free
• Open a dedicated business bank account
• Write a simple plan: what you'll haul, your lanes, and your cost per mile

📋 2. Operating authority (FMCSA)

• Apply for your USDOT number
• Apply for your MC number (operating authority)
• File your BOC-3 (process agent designation)
• Register for UCR (Unified Carrier Registration)
• Set up IFTA and order your fuel-tax decals
• Get apportioned plates / IRP registration
• Enroll in a drug & alcohol testing program
• Wait out the FMCSA vetting period and confirm your authority is active

🛡️ 3. Insurance

• Primary liability coverage (commonly $1M)
• Cargo coverage
• Physical damage coverage (usually required if you're financing)
• Make sure your filings are on record with the FMCSA
• Budget for the down payment — often the biggest startup cost

🚚 4. Equipment & compliance gear

• Truck (and trailer) — buy on reliability, not looks
• ELD installed and registered
• DOT inspection / pre-trip ready
• Load-securement gear for what you haul (straps, tarps, etc.)

💵 5. Money & cash flow

💡 This is the box most new carriers skip — and it's the one that sinks them. Your bills come weekly; brokers pay in 30–60+ days. Sort out same-day cash flow before you haul, not after.

• Set up freight factoring for same-day pay before your first load
• Get a fuel-card program for savings at the pump
• Set up bookkeeping and a system to track every load, mile, and expense
• Know your cost per mile so you can tell a good load from a bad one
• Keep a cash reserve (a common target is 2–3 months of operating expenses)

🤝 6. Freight & relationships

• Decide how you'll find freight — broker relationships and a good dispatcher
• Start a targeted customer list of shippers in your lanes
• Line up the team and partners who'll support you from day one

Tick all of these off and you're not just legal — you're set up to actually run a profitable business instead of scrambling after your first load. (For the "why" behind each step, see our companion guide, 10 steps to start a trucking company.)

Find your team — and the right factoring partner

Two relationships make everything else in this business easier. The first is finding a team to support you. You can't drive, dispatch, sell, bill, and handle compliance all at once and do any of it well — a good dispatcher and the right partners take work off your plate so you can focus on the road and on growing.

The second is finding the right factoring company — one that does direct billing with real humans, not a faceless app that just deposits money and leaves you on your own. The right factor invoices your customers for you, picks up the phone when you call, and treats you like a name instead of a ticket number. That's exactly how I work.