State guide
Starting a Trucking Company in Delaware: 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 Delaware is the second layer: where you get apportioned plates, who issues your fuel-tax license, whether Delaware wants its own registration for trucks that never leave the state, and which state office checks on you. Here is that layer for Delaware, checked against the state's own pages in September 2026.
In Delaware one office handles both apportioned plates and the IFTA license - the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles. There is no separate Delaware operating authority for general freight - the state layer is plates, fuel tax, the USDOT number and permits.
Interstate or Delaware-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 Delaware's job is plates, fuel tax and roadside enforcement. Stay inside Delaware and you are an intrastate carrier: no federal authority is needed, and Delaware'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 Delaware-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 Delaware
Delaware's IRP office is the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles, Motor Carrier Services Section (Dover). To base a fleet in Delaware you have to show a real connection to the state: established place of business means a physical structure owned, leased or rented by the fleet registrant; alternatively residency is shown by a Delaware driver's license, principal owner residency, federal tax returns filed from a Delaware address, Delaware income or property taxes, or Delaware utility bills (Delaware IRP Manual). Office at the Public Safety Building, 303 Transportation Circle, Dover, DE 19901; 302-744-2702; dot.motorcarrier@delaware.gov. IRP renewals can be filed online, by email, fax or mail; a billing notice is sent with the amount owed.
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 Delaware assigns you.
IFTA in Delaware
The same office handles IFTA - the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles, Motor Carrier Services Section - IFTA Unit. Delaware is the base jurisdiction if the qualified vehicles are registered in Delaware, the carrier has an established place of business there, keeps operational records there (or can make them available) and travels Delaware highways; the IFTA application comes from the Motor Carrier Services / IFTA Unit and returns are filed online or by mail.
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 Delaware
If the truck never leaves Delaware you do not need federal operating authority (the $300 filing) - but Delaware is one of the states that still wants in-state-only trucks to hold a USDOT number. The number is free, so get it early; almost every state form asks for it.
Delaware has no state operating authority for general freight. The state-level items for an in-state-only truck are weight-based DMV registration and the USDOT number.
UCR when you are based in Delaware
Delaware 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 Delaware permits and programs
Oversize and overweight permits come from the Delaware Department of Transportation, Hauling Permit Office - Oversize/Overweight Permit System (deldot.gov/osow) - every state wants its own permit for a load beyond the legal size or weight, and most now sell them online.
Other Delaware-specific things a new one-truck carrier runs into:
- Weight-based truck registration fees: Delaware's DMV fee schedule lists tiered yearly registration fees for trucks, buses and cargo vans over 5,000 lbs; IRP/IFTA amounts are not on the general schedule.
Who checks on you in Delaware
Roadside inspections in Delaware are run by the Delaware State Police, Traffic Operations Section - Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit (CVEU); weigh stations at Blackbird and Middletown, 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 Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles (or Delaware commercial plates if the truck will never leave the state).
- Get your IFTA license and decals from the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles.
- Register for UCR at ucr.gov if you run interstate.
- Put the deadlines in the Stay Legal calendar: MCS-150 update, IFTA quarters, UCR, Form 2290, medical card, annual inspection.
Always confirm with Delaware
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 Delaware pages
Based in Delaware? 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 Delaware 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