Trucking insurance in Georgia

Georgia intrastate trucking insurance requirements and filings

If your loads stay strictly inside state lines (intrastate commerce), state authority must be applied for before you operate. Brokers, freight forwarders, and motor carriers register through the Georgia Department of Public Safety, per Title 40 of the Georgia code. Once your application is accepted, you have 90 days to send in your insurance forms.

Your insurer sends Form E, the state certificate proving you carry liability for property damage and bodily injury. Form H proves cargo coverage. Under the filing rules in Georgia, certificates must list the Georgia Department of Public Safety, cover only your legal name (never held jointly), and get updated at least every 2 years. Submit forms by mail, email, fax, or the National Online Registry; they must be typed, since handwritten forms get rejected. A trucking insurance agent can submit your Form E electronically, which keeps your authority from stalling.

Minimum limits for Georgia commercial truck insurance

Basic Georgia auto liability covers bodily injury at $25,000 for each person and $50,000 for each incident. It also covers $25,000 in property damage; physical damage coverage isn't required by state law. However, Georgia takes on the federal trucking rules found in Title 49, including the insurance rules in Part 387, and makes intrastate carriers follow them.

A vehicle carrying hazardous materials in any quantity, or one whose gross vehicle weight rating or actual weight is 10,001 pounds or more, counts as a commercial motor vehicle in Georgia. The manufacturer lists a maximum safe loaded weight on your door label, and that figure is your gross vehicle weight rating. We see freight brokers such as C.H. Robinson call for auto liability at $1,000,000 and cargo coverage at $100,000, even though the law requires $750,000. An experienced truck agent can weigh the $1,000,000 policy brokers prefer against the legal minimum.

Carrier and cargo type	Vehicle weight	Minimum liability
Basic Georgia auto minimum	Under 10,001 lbs	$25,000 / $50,000 / $25,000
For-hire property (light fleet only)	Under 10,001 lbs	$300,000
For-hire non-hazardous property	10,001 lbs or more	$750,000
For-hire oil, hazmat waste, or placarded loads	Any weight	$1,000,000
Bulk hazmat, explosives, poison gas, or radioactive loads, for-hire or private	Any weight	$5,000,000
Freight broker standard (C.H. Robinson)	10,001 lbs or more	$1,000,000 auto / $100,000 cargo

Staying current with your USDOT number and annual registration

Trucks working in-state and rated over 10,000 pounds have needed a USDOT number for intrastate carriers since October 1, 1998, under Motor Carrier Compliance Division rules. Each side of the power unit must show your legal or trade name plus your number, with USDOT in front and GA behind. The color must contrast sharply and be readable from 50 feet in daylight. You must be at least 18 years old to drive for a Georgia motor carrier.

A yearly Georgia registration must also be completed by every carrier between October 1 and November 30, before any commercial vehicle is operated. Your state certificates stay current and you don't face late penalties when you check in with your truck insurance agent before October 1.

• Each commercial motor vehicle carries a $5 annual registration fee.
• If you submit on December 1 or later, the late registration penalty is $25 per vehicle.
• If you run a vehicle more than 10 days with no current insurance certificate, the reinstatement fee is $50 per vehicle.

When does Georgia trucking insurance need a federal filing?

If you carry freight for pay over state lines, the insurer has to submit a liability filing to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration as a Form BMC-91 or BMC-91X (the federal liability certificate), or as a BMC-82 bond. Under federal rules, liability must be at least $300,000 when a fleet runs only vehicles under 10,001 pounds. At 10,001 pounds or more, the minimum is $750,000.

New interstate plate accounts must apply using the EZ IRP system, which sits on the Georgia Trucking Portal, a rule in place since July 3, 2023. Renewal timing depends on the name of your business or your last name. So you don't get stopped at the state line, an agent handling state and federal paperwork can set up your BMC-91X with your Georgia Form E.

Questions people ask