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Haul Math

Know your numbers

Trucking Startup Cost Calculator

What it takes in cash to get your own authority running: the official fees, your own quotes, and the first month of bills.

Official fees

These come from the federal fee tables cited below. We figure them from your answers.

For the 2290: empty truck + empty trailer + the heaviest load you usually haul.

Sets the 2290 amount. Later in the tax year costs less.

FMCSA charges a separate filing fee for each type of authority.

Upfront costs (your numbers)

The amounts filled in are examples so you see a result. They are not official fees. Replace them with your own quotes.

Example: 25,000. Use your lender's number.

Example: 8,000. Put 0 if you'll lease on to a carrier's trailer or pull power-only.

Example: 4,000. New-authority quotes vary a lot. Use your agent's quote.

Example: 2,500. Depends on your base state, weight, and the states you run.

Example: 25. Set by your base state.

Example: 150. Only if you run those states.

Example: 50. Paid to a process-agent company.

Example: 200. Consortium enrollment plus your pre-employment drug test.

Example: 250.

Example: 500.

First month of running

Cash you need before the first settlement or broker payment lands. Examples again, not official.

Example: 2,200.

Example: 1,100.

Example: 6,000. About a month of running.

Example: 45.

Example: 10,000. Brokers often pay in 30+ days unless you factor.

Your result

Tap "Estimate startup cost" to see the total. Example amounts are filled in so you can see how it works.

How this calculator works

Cash needed = official fees + upfront costs + first month of running costs.

Official fees are figured from federal tables: the FMCSA filing fee of $300.00 for each type of operating authority (49 CFR 360.3T), the UCR fee for your fleet size, and the Form 2290 heavy vehicle use tax for your weight and the month you start. There's no separate fee for the USDOT number in that fee schedule.

Everything else is your number. Insurance, IRP plates, IFTA decals, state permits (New York HUT, Kentucky KYU, New Mexico weight-distance, Oregon), the BOC-3 process agent, drug and alcohol testing, the ELD, and the truck all depend on your state, your equipment, and your quotes. We fill in example amounts so the calculator shows a result, but they are examples, not official fees.

Insurance minimums. We don't price insurance, but federal rules set the least public liability coverage a for-hire carrier must carry before operating (49 CFR 387.9):

  • General freight (non-hazardous): $750,000.00
  • Oil and most hazardous materials: $1,000,000.00
  • Bulk and high-risk hazardous materials: $5,000,000.00

Many brokers and shippers ask for more than the federal minimum, plus cargo coverage, so get quotes before you file for authority.