Texas trucking requirements: the real checklist

IFTA, IRP, intrastate authority, workers' comp, and the permit states around Texas — the working checklist, not the brochure version.

The Texas carrier stack at a glance

Before a truck based in Texas books its first load, a specific list has to be true: federal authority, fuel tax registration, plates, insurance, and the state-level items unique to Texas. This page names the agencies so you spend your time filing, not searching.

• IFTA: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
• IRP (apportioned plates): Texas DMV
• Intrastate program: n/a
• Workers' comp: Texas Department of Insurance, DWC

Interstate: IFTA and IRP for Texas carriers

Your IFTA base jurisdiction is Texas: the license and quarterly fuel-tax filings go through Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, which issues one license and a set of decals per truck.

Apportioned plates and the cab card come from Texas DMV under the International Registration Plan, with annual fees split across the states you run by mileage.

Running intrastate only in Texas

Texas has no separate intrastate registration program in our registry — interstate authority rules are the operative set here.

Workers' compensation in Texas

Texas requires workers' compensation coverage for employees. The authority on specifics is Texas Department of Insurance, DWC.

Permit states near Texas

Regional carriers based in Texas routinely cross states that charge their own road programs: New Mexico's weight-distance permit. Each requires registration before you enter — trip permits at the port of entry cost far more. Long-haul carriers should treat all six drive-through programs (Oregon, New York, Kentucky, New Mexico, Connecticut, plus California's Clean Truck Check) as part of the setup list.

The federal baseline (every state)

State registrations sit on top of the federal baseline: USDOT number, MC operating authority with a BOC-3 process agent for interstate for-hire work, primary liability insurance on file with the FMCSA, UCR registration, Form 2290 heavy-vehicle use tax, the MCS-150 biennial update, and driver-side items like medical cards and drug-and-alcohol consortium enrollment. The full picture, resolved for your specific operation, lives in CabCommand's compliance roadmap. This is exactly the list CabCommand maintains as a living roadmap — resolved for your operation, checked off as your documents arrive, and wired to route warnings.

Frequently asked questions