By Haul Handbook editorial team· Updated Sep 27, 2026
What Massachusetts requires
These are the state-level rules attached to Massachusetts intrastate operating authority. A field reading "Not confirmed" means this guide has not confirmed that value. The note explains the gap; unknown is not evidence of absence.
- Liability minimum
- Massachusetts publishes no separate dollar liability minimum for intrastate freight carriers. 540 CMR 14.03 incorporates 49 CFR Part 387 as Registry regulations for both intrastate and interstate commerce, and 540 CMR 14.04(3)(a) requires every carrier to keep records complying with Part 387. By its own terms, Table 1 of 49 CFR 387.9 sets $750,000 for for-hire carriage of nonhazardous property in interstate or foreign commerce at 10,001 pounds GVWR or more, and reaches intrastate commerce only for bulk hazardous cargo: $5,000,000 for the listed bulk hazardous substances and explosives, $1,000,000 for oil and other hazardous materials in bulk. No Massachusetts figure for intrastate general freight is recorded rather than extending the interstate row by inference.
- Cargo minimum
- 220 CMR 260.01(1) bars the DPU from issuing a common carrier certificate unless it is satisfied the applicant is adequately insured for loss of or damage to property transported, and 260.01(3) requires the policy to carry a 20-day written cancellation notice to the Department. Neither the regulation nor the DPU application pages state a dollar amount, so none is recorded.
Minimum liability by operation type
Review the operation-specific scope and source notes before relying on a coverage amount.
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The federal minimums, for contrast
Federal financial-responsibility requirements depend on the operation, vehicle and commodity. Review the rows and exclusions in 49 CFR Part 387 (property carriers 387.303, brokers and freight forwarders 387.307, endorsements 387.15), as displayed on FMCSA's insurance filing requirements page; the filing mechanics live in our BMC-91 and BMC-34 insurance filings guide.
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Where insurance fits in the Massachusetts launch
Coverage sits early in the sequence: the federal filing sequence needs your insurer's proof of coverage on file before authority activates, and the state rules above attach to the credential covered on the Massachusetts intrastate authority page. For the full order of operations, work through start a trucking company in Massachusetts.