Trucking Industry News
What Is Trucking Authority? A Plain Definition
“Trucking authority” is one of those phrases the industry uses constantly and defines rarely. It gets used to mean a number, a document, a permission and a business model, sometimes in the same conversation. If you are deciding whether to get your own, the first thing worth having is a clear definition, because most of […]
What Is Trucking Authority? A Plain Definition
“Trucking authority” is one of those phrases the industry uses constantly and defines rarely. It gets used to mean a number, a document, a permission and a business model, sometimes in the same conversation. If you are deciding whether to get your own, the first thing worth having is a clear definition, because most of […]
Getting Your Own Authority as an Owner-Operator: The Real Numbers
The pitch for running under your own authority is always the same: keep the percentage the carrier was taking. The pitch is true and it is also not the whole calculation. Here is what actually changes, with the recurring numbers where we can state them, so you can decide on arithmetic rather than on somebody’s […]
Requirements for New Trucking Authority: The 2026 Checklist
Most guides to getting trucking authority are written as a list of forms. That is not where new carriers actually get stuck. They get stuck because a requirement they had never heard of turns out to gate everything downstream, or because they satisfied a requirement in the wrong order and paid for the same thing […]
USDOT Number vs MC Number: Which One You Need in 2026
Two numbers, one company, and a lot of confusion about which one is the real one. In 2026 the answer got simpler than it has been in thirty years, and it is not the answer most people expect. This is what each number is, which one you need for what you are actually doing, and […]
MC Authority Certificate: What It Is and How to Get a Copy
People ask for an “MC authority certificate” for three different reasons: a broker asked for proof of authority before releasing a load, a factoring company or insurer wants the document on file, or the carrier lost the original and needs another copy. The document you are looking for exists, but where it lives and what […]
New Jersey Corporation Code Is Now Called an EIN: What NJ MVC Actually Issues
Short answer New Jersey stopped calling it a Corporation Code. The NJ Motor Vehicle Commission now issues a 15-digit Entity Identification Number (EIN), formerly Corpcode, and your business needs it before you can title or register a vehicle in the company name. It is not the federal IRS EIN, but you must have the federal […]
After MC, 2290 and EIN: the last compliance steps before you can run your first load
Your MC number is active, your EIN is issued, and your 2290 is filed. What is left before you can legally take a load is the same short list for almost every new interstate carrier: BOC-3 process agents, UCR, apportioned plates and fuel tax, a drug and alcohol program, driver records, and insurance filed with […]
Filing Form 2290 right before the August 31 deadline: a last-minute checklist
If it is the last week of August and your Form 2290 is not filed, you can still be done today, and you should e-file rather than mail it. The deadline is August 31 for any truck in service in July, and an accepted e-filed return returns your stamped Schedule 1 the same day. What […]
IFTA decals and license: getting set up before you cross state lines
Before you run a qualified truck across a state line, you need an International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) license from your base state and two decals for that truck. The license renews yearly; the decals are per vehicle, per year, and what an officer looks for from outside the cab. Applying is a base-state process, […]