State guide
Starting a Trucking Company in Alabama: The State-Level Steps
Updated September 2026
Your USDOT number and operating authority come from FMCSA and work the same in every state. What changes when you are based in Alabama is the second layer: where you get apportioned plates, who issues your fuel-tax license, whether Alabama wants its own registration for trucks that never leave the state, and which state office checks on you. Here is that layer for Alabama, checked against the state's own pages in September 2026.
In Alabama one office handles both apportioned plates and the IFTA license - the Alabama Department of Revenue. Alabama also has its own registration for trucks that haul for hire without leaving the state: the Alabama Public Service Commission intrastate motor carrier authority.
Interstate or Alabama-only? Decide this first
Two different rulebooks apply depending on where the truck goes. Cross a state line for pay and you are an interstate carrier: FMCSA issues your USDOT number and operating authority (the $300 filing) and sets the insurance and BOC-3 rules, and Alabama's job is plates, fuel tax and roadside enforcement. Stay inside Alabama and you are an intrastate carrier: no federal authority is needed, and Alabama's own rules take over - covered in the in-state section below.
Most new owner-operators run interstate, so this page assumes that unless it says otherwise. If you are truly Alabama-only, you register the truck and its fuel with the state instead of IRP and IFTA, and the in-state section is the one to read closely.
Apportioned plates (IRP) in Alabama
Alabama's IRP office is the Alabama Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division - Motor Carrier Services. To base a fleet in Alabama you have to show a real connection to the state: applicant must have an established place of business located in Alabama or demonstrate residency by providing three items of proof (ADOR Motor Carrier Services Manual). IRP and IFTA both run through the MyDMV portal (mydmv.revenue.alabama.gov); IRP renewal applications open online on the first day of the renewal month. Fees are apportioned by the percentage of fleet miles in each member jurisdiction; no flat fee schedule is shown.
Bring what every IRP office wants: your USDOT number and EIN, the truck's title or lease, proof of insurance, and a stamped Form 2290 Schedule 1 if the truck is 55,000 lbs or heavier. Fees are split among the states by the share of miles you run in each, so nobody can quote a flat price up front - the states that publish an estimate put a first-year 80,000 lb plate at roughly $1,250 to $2,500. You renew every year in the month Alabama assigns you.
IFTA in Alabama
The same office handles IFTA - the Alabama Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division - Motor Carrier Services. IFTA accounts renew through MyDMV starting in November before the license year; two decals are issued per qualified vehicle.
Once licensed you file a quarterly return - due April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31 - even for a quarter with zero miles. Keep every fuel receipt and your miles by state; the return is built from them. The license expires December 31 and is renewed every year.
Hauling only inside Alabama
If the truck never leaves Alabama you do not need federal operating authority (the $300 filing) - but Alabama is one of the states that still wants in-state-only trucks to hold a USDOT number. ALEA says all commercial vehicles in Alabama must be marked with an interstate or intrastate USDOT number, except intrastate straight trucks and truck-trailer combinations of 26,000 lbs GVWR/GCWR or less (non-passenger, non-hazmat), which are exempt from the federal rules in Alabama and do not need a USDOT number. Alabama is also on FMCSA's list of states requiring a USDOT number for intrastate registrants. The number is free, so get it early; almost every state form asks for it.
Alabama also has its own registration for hauling other people's freight for hire inside the state: the Alabama Public Service Commission intrastate motor carrier authority (certificate/permit for for-hire transportation of property, application Form 14A), issued by the Alabama Public Service Commission, Transportation Division - Motor Carrier Section. Required when transporting property (including household goods) by motor vehicle for compensation between points within Alabama; exemptions are in PSC Rules 2.1-2.3 and Ala. Code 37-3-4. Carriers must keep liability and cargo insurance on file, keep an approved tariff on file, and file an annual report by April 30.
Fee: $100.00 filing fee (cashier's check or money order only). Insurance: Split limits of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident for bodily injury, $50,000 property damage, plus $5,000 cargo insurance, kept on file with the PSC.
UCR when you are based in Alabama
Alabama takes part in the Unified Carrier Registration program. Interstate carriers register once a year at ucr.gov - $46 for 0-2 trucks in 2026, $55 in 2027. Carriers that only haul inside the state do not register for UCR at all.
Other Alabama permits and programs
Oversize and overweight permits come from the Alabama Department of Transportation, Oversize/Overweight Permit Office (ALPASS online permitting) - every state wants its own permit for a load beyond the legal size or weight, and most now sell them online.
Other Alabama-specific things a new one-truck carrier runs into:
- ALEA intrastate USDOT marking rule (26,000 lb line): Intrastate CMVs over 26,000 lbs GVWR/GCWR (and all hazmat and passenger CMVs) must display an intrastate USDOT number; 26,000 lbs and under are exempt from the federal regulations while operating only in Alabama.
Who checks on you in Alabama
Roadside inspections in Alabama are run by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), Highway Patrol Division - Motor Carrier Safety Unit, working with FMCSA. Expect the New Entrant safety audit within your first 12 months of interstate operation - the walkthrough's audit checklist covers the 16 things that fail it automatically.
The order to do it in
- Form the business and get a free EIN from the IRS.
- Get your USDOT number (free) through FMCSA's Motus system - and apply for operating authority ($300) if you will ever cross a state line.
- Have your insurer file the federal proof of insurance and hire a process agent for the BOC-3.
- File Form 2290 with the IRS if the truck is 55,000 lbs or heavier and keep the stamped Schedule 1 - the plate office asks for it.
- Get apportioned plates from the Alabama Department of Revenue (or Alabama commercial plates if the truck will never leave the state).
- Get your IFTA license and decals from the Alabama Department of Revenue.
- Register for UCR at ucr.gov if you run interstate.
- If you will haul Alabama-only loads, get the Alabama Public Service Commission intrastate motor carrier authority before the first one.
- Put the deadlines in the Stay Legal calendar: MCS-150 update, IFTA quarters, UCR, Form 2290, medical card, annual inspection.
Always confirm with Alabama
Fees and forms move without notice. Before you pay anyone, open the official pages below and check the current figures - it takes ten minutes and prevents expensive surprises. HaulLegal is not the government, is not a law firm, and never files anything for you; you do every step yourself.
Official Alabama pages
Based in Alabama? The walkthrough puts all of this in order.
The HaulLegal walkthrough lays out every step from the business filing to your first safety audit, federal and state, with the real government fee beside each one - and the Stay Legal calendar turns your USDOT number and dates into a deadline list that emails you before each one. The first four steps are free, no signup.
One thing every Alabama carrier needs no matter which state they are based in: a self-employed CDL driver has to be in a drug and alcohol random testing pool run by a consortium before the first mile, and having no program and no random pool are two of the sixteen automatic failures on the New Entrant safety audit.
Partner link - if you enroll through it we may earn a referral fee at no extra cost to you. We show the published price and never hide a cheaper official route.
Keep reading
Nearby state guides