[arky]

I know that there was some discussion about this a couple of years ago, but I don't if anyone ever came up with a good list of the steps that need to be taken and in what order to get your authority. Can anyone help me get started? I've already pestered poor GMAN to death in the pms... so I'm trying to give him a break and ask for some help from the rest of you...lol.

I'm also going to search this forum for some of the older threads on the subject. Just anxious to get the ball rolling, not in a real hurry to get there. I just like to know I'm making progress..lol.

[Mackman]

x2 im going to be getting my own authority as well. Being leased and them taking 10% is for the birds. Another driver gave me a number of a girl that will do everything for you for around 1,300 bucks one time fee. I also need my PA PUC number.

[arky]

I'm going to try do mine on my own, but if it gets to be too much of a hassle, I'll probably call ooida. I'm thinking they do it cheaper than $1300.

[Bigmon]

You fill out the form from DOT and pay $300. Wait for letter and get insurance, BOC3, IFTA and maybe UCR. That's it. You guys are confusing getting Authority with maintaining Authority.

Maintaining Authority is when you need Drug test, driver files, etc.

[GMAN]

I will list things that you need to do in order of preference.

1- Insurance. You will need a minimum of $1 million in liability and $100M cargo.
That is more than what the feds require, but most brokers and shippers will
not load your truck without these minimum coverages. I would recommend
that anyone who is considering getting their authority to first start with
insurance. Without insurance you cannot do anything. Once you get rates and
find that you can afford the insurance you are ready to go to the next step.
By the way, most insurance companies prefer to tie your insurance to a
specific piece of equipment so that they know you are not running more than
one truck and not paying for insurance.

2- Apply for motor carrier authority. You can do it online yourself in about 20
minutes. The one time filing fee is $300. You can use a credit or debit card.
You basically fill in the blanks. It doesn't make any sense to me for anyone to
pay someone to do this for you, but I would not pay anyone more than about
$100 or so to do it. You can apply for a DOT number at the same time. There
is NO charge for a DOT number. Most people use the DOT number rather than
the MC number.

3- You will need registered agents in all states in which you do business. There
are services that will charge you an annual fee or if you are a member of
OOIDA they will do this at no charge for members in good standing. This
service alone is worth the annual membership fee. They will need to submit a
form to the feds before final authority will be granted. In order to receive
authority this and your insurance must be in place.

4- At this point I will assume that you have already purchased your truck and
trailer. Before you can get your base plates and permits you will need to pay
your 2290. That is the heavy highway use tax or HUT charged by the IRS. If
you purchase and put your equipment on the road prior to August 31, the fee
is $550. This is an annual tax that must be paid before you can get your base
plates. After August 31 it is prorated for the remaining months in the current
tax year.

5- Once you have your insurance, MC number, DOT number and have paid your
2290 you can now apply for your IFTA and base plates. This is usually done at
your state capital. There are a few states where you can get them locally.
You will need to prove residency in your state in order to receive your base
plates. Some states use a calender year, others use your year based upon
when you first apply and receive your base plates. Some states have a check
list that will tell you everything that will be needed to get your baseplate's.
Most states don't charge for IFTA stickers, Virginia is one that does charge.
You will also need to pay your UCR or Unified Carrier Registration. It is a sliding
scale based on the number of power units you own or run under your
authority. That must be paid along with your base plates.

6- If you plan on traveling through Kentucky and New Mexico you will need to get
permits for those states. Kentucky has a KYU number. there is no charge, but
you will need to file a quarterly tax report based upon the number of miles you
run in the state. There is an annual fee for the New Mexico number and you
will also need to file a quarterly tax return for miles run in the state. These are
in addition to your quarterly IFTA tax return filed with your state.

7- One other thing that you will need is signage for your truck. You will need a
truck number, name (as it appears on your authority), city and state where
you base, and DOT number. The federal website should tell you everything
you need in regard to signage. There are size requirements. I would
recommend a block type face that can easily be read. Script may look good,
but is is difficult to read. Should you decide to get intrastate authority in
California and Texas you may want to put your numbers on the side of your
truck. Kentucky used to require that carriers put the KYU number on the side
of their truck. They no longer require that, but I still keep mine on the trucks.
If you plan on running in Colorado you may want to put the last 8 vin numbers
on the passenger side of your truck. Otherwise, you will need to stop at every
port of entry in the state each time you enter the state. They usually like to
stop you the first time you enter the state each year. After the initial stop
you usually don't have to stop until the next year.

7- Some states have their own intrastate authority. If you plan on picking up and
delivering in one of those states they like for you to have authority in that
state. Most of them are not very expensive. Texas and California are the most
expensive. Texas costs $200 and I believe California is $150. I believe there
are about 11 states who offer intrastate authority. I have never been asked
to see my intrastate authority by any state. But then, most of the time I am
doing interstate runs which pick up in one state and deliver in another.

8- You will need a laptop, air card or other means of getting on the internet, and
an all in one printer that will scan, print and fax, and a subscription to an
internet fax service such as eFax or MyFax. Otherwise, you will spend a
fortune receiving and sending faxes every time you haul a load.

9- You are now ready to do business, providing I have not forgotten anything.
Once you have your authority and insurance you can subscribe to one or more
loadboards so that you can look for loads and post your truck. Most of them
will want you to already have your authority in order to subscribe. I would not
go overboard on loadboards. Two or three will be sufficient.

10- That is about all there is to it to get started. Now the real fun begins.

[arky]

Thanks GMAN, now that's a checklist! I'll print that off and go to work on it...slowly but surely.

[Mackman]

Do you have to have Cargo Ins. Only cuz the most money load i willl ever haul would be around 1,500.00. So i dont think Cargo Ins is worth it for me.

[GMAN]

Originally Posted by Mackman

Do you have to have Cargo Ins. Only cuz the most money load i willl ever haul would be around 1,500.00. So i dont think Cargo Ins is worth it for me.

I don't believe the fed require cargo insurance any longer. At one time they did require $5,000 for common carriers. If I remember correctly, they did not require contract carriers to have cargo insurance. Since you pull dumps I don't think it would be very important. It is more the shippers and brokers that require so much cargo insurance for those of us who haul general freight or specialized commodities.

[tazgunny]

There are some authorities out there for sale. From companies that no longer are in business or have two. The plus to this is you obtain a lower MC number and looks better to brokers for loads. Since they are not in use the DOT rate number is low as they just haven't been inspected. Kinda different than you'd think. I'd try to find one like this to buy. Also insurance rates are lower as they think you been in business longer.

[GMAN]

Originally Posted by tazgunny

There are some authorities out there for sale. From companies that no longer are in business or have two. The plus to this is you obtain a lower MC number and looks better to brokers for loads. Since they are not in use the DOT rate number is low as they just haven't been inspected. Kinda different than you'd think. I'd try to find one like this to buy. Also insurance rates are lower as they think you been in business longer.

I have not heard of anyone who is selling their authority. I would be cautious about buying authority from someone who is out of business. It could be a scam. You may inherit some of the problems they had when they were still in business. For instance, they may have left a lot of creditors holding the bag. There could be other things in their past that could come back to haunt you.

Insurance companies will know that your authority hasn't been active. It is easy to check. Most insurance companies will want to see the last 4 quarters of IFTA filings and loss runs for the last 3 years (if available) before quoting rates. I am not sure that you would save on insurance unless you have had continuous coverage. They will look at your safety score and mvr of your drivers when quoting rates. Credit is also checked and is a factor.

About the only thing that it would help is if you could buy it cheaper than getting new authority. Keep in mind that it costs $80 to reinstate authority that is inactive or has been canceled. There may also be a fee for making changes to the authority. It only costs $300 for the filing fee on new applications for authority. It would save a few weeks wait time if you could activate it immediately.