State guide
Starting a Trucking Company in Vermont: 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 Vermont is the second layer: where you get apportioned plates, who issues your fuel-tax license, whether Vermont wants its own registration for trucks that never leave the state, and which state office checks on you. Here is that layer for Vermont, checked against the state's own pages in September 2026.
In Vermont one office handles both apportioned plates and the IFTA license - the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. There is no separate Vermont operating authority for general freight - the state layer is plates, fuel tax, the USDOT number and permits. Vermont does not take part in UCR, which changes where you file that one.
Interstate or Vermont-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 Vermont's job is plates, fuel tax and roadside enforcement. Stay inside Vermont and you are an intrastate carrier: no federal authority is needed, and Vermont'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 Vermont-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 Vermont
Vermont's IRP office is the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles, Commercial Vehicle Operations (Commercial Vehicle Office, Montpelier). To base a fleet in Vermont you have to show a real connection to the state: applicant must have a physical structure in Vermont owned or leased by the registrant and staffed during regular business hours by permanent employees running the trucking operation, verified with three or more documents (tax returns, utility bills, lease, or a Vermont CDL of an 80%+ owner). IRP registrations can only be processed at the Commercial Vehicle Office, 120 State Street, Montpelier, VT 05603 (802-828-2071); no online IRP portal is named.
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 Vermont assigns you.
IFTA in Vermont
The same office handles IFTA - the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles, Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO Unit - IFTA). Apply or renew with form CVO-112 (IFTA Motor Fuel Tax License Credentials and Decals); contact (802) 828-2070.
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 Vermont
If the truck never leaves Vermont you do not need federal operating authority, and Vermont is not one of the states that requires a USDOT number for in-state-only trucks. Vermont is not on FMCSA's list of states requiring a USDOT number for intrastate commerce; Vermont DMV's motor carrier safety guide does not address a USDOT requirement for intrastate carriers. Most carriers get the free number anyway: many state forms ask for it, and you will need it the day you cross a state line.
Vermont's DMV commercial vehicle pages cover IRP, IFTA and permits and describe no state operating authority for general freight; the DMV's safety guide applies the federal safety rules to in-state trucks of 26,001 lbs and up.
UCR when you are based in Vermont
Vermont does not take part in UCR, but that does not excuse you: an interstate carrier based in Vermont still registers every year at ucr.gov ($46 for 0-2 trucks in 2026, $55 in 2027), choosing a participating state as its base. A Vermont-based carrier must register through a participating state where it has an office or operating facility; if none, it may select CT, DE, MA, ME, NH, NY, PA, RI, VA or WV as its UCR base state. Carriers that only haul inside the state do not register for UCR at all.
Other Vermont permits and programs
Oversize and overweight permits come from the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles, Commercial Vehicle Office (VT Haul Pass permitting system) - every state wants its own permit for a load beyond the legal size or weight, and most now sell them online.
Other Vermont-specific things a new one-truck carrier runs into:
- UCR non-participation - pick a base state: Vermont does not participate in UCR; Vermont-based interstate carriers register in a participating state where they have a facility, otherwise one of CT, DE, MA, ME, NH, NY, PA, RI, VA or WV.
- All trucks must enter Vermont weigh stations: Vermont's MCSAP page states that regardless of weight, all trucks must enter Vermont's weigh stations.
Who checks on you in Vermont
Roadside inspections in Vermont are run by the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles, Vermont Highway Patrol (Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Section), 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 Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles (or Vermont commercial plates if the truck will never leave the state).
- Get your IFTA license and decals from the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles.
- Register for UCR at ucr.gov through a participating base state 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 Vermont
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 Vermont pages
Based in Vermont? 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 Vermont 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.
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