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State guide

Start and run a trucking company in Ohio

Ohio runs trucking compliance through four agencies, not one. PUCO issues the intrastate certificate and the PUCO number that goes on both sides of the truck, ODOT handles oversize and overweight permits, the Department of Taxation runs IFTA, and the BMV runs apportioned registration. Each page below carries the sourced figures.

By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Jul 25, 2026

The short answer

State authority
Required
State filing fee
$30
USDOT number
Required first

Issued by Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO)

Credential Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN)

What these terms cover

State filing fee: Ohio charges no flat CPCN application fee. Instead ORC 4921.19 levies a per-vehicle tax at issuance: $30 for each commercial tractor used for transporting property, $30 for each motor vehicle used for transporting persons, and $20 for each other motor vehicle transporting property. Trailers are not taxed. A for-hire carrier operating solely in intrastate commerce pays the same per-vehicle amounts again every year between May 1 and June 30. The commission issues a tax receipt for each vehicle, which the carrier keeps in that vehicle.

USDOT number: All for-hire intrastate commercial motor carriers must register with FMCSA for a USDOT number as required by Ohio Adm.Code 4901:2-21-03 before the PUCO registration. The rule itself advises applicants to obtain a USDOT identification number before submitting the application. PUCO instructs applicants to select For-Hire and Intrastate on the FMCSA registration, and notes there is no FMCSA charge for the number.

Every figure above is a sourced agency fact, checked Jul 25, 2026.How we verify

Everything Ohio requires, in order

Each step is its own page, with the Ohio figures read from the agency that publishes them.

First, the federal side

Identical in every state, and not part of the Ohio sequence below: get your own authority, USDOT number, Form 2290, and what it all costs.

Before you file

  1. Start a trucking companyFederal steps plus this state, in order
  2. DOT numberState USDOT triggers and carrier numbers
  3. CDLLicense fees, testing, endorsements

State credentials

  1. Intrastate authorityState operating authority: rule, agency, fee
  2. Insurance requirementsState liability minimums and insurer filings

Plates, fuel tax and trip permits

  1. IRP registrationApportioned plates and cab cards
  2. IFTAFuel tax license, decals, filing
  3. Trip and fuel permitsTemporary IRP and IFTA permits

Permits and state taxes

  1. Trucking permitsEvery state permit a carrier may need
  2. Oversize permitsLegal limits, permit fees, escorts

How Ohio splits trucking compliance

Four agencies own four credentials, and none of them talk to each other for you. The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio grants the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity and assigns the PUCO number. The Ohio Department of Transportation Special Hauling Permits Section issues oversize and overweight permits. The Ohio Department of Taxation is the IFTA base jurisdiction. The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles handles apportioned registration.

That means four separate logins along the way: the PUCO Motor Carrier Registration system, the Ohio Hauling Permit System, OH|TAX eServices and the Ohio Commercial Registration Online System. Each Ohio page here names the portal that owns the step you are on.

What you will find here

The intrastate authority page owns the PUCO answer: who needs a certificate, the per-vehicle tax Ohio charges in place of a flat application fee, the insurance minimums by operation type, and the annual renewal window. The permits pages cover legal size and weight limits, single trip and continuing permits, escorts, curfews and the county-level moving bans.

The IFTA and IRP pages cover base-state licensing, quarterly filing, apportioned plates, and the one decision Ohio leaves open: apportioned registration is not mandatory here, so a carrier that rarely leaves the state can buy trip permits instead. Every figure on those pages is a sourced data field, and where an agency publishes nothing we say so.

Ohio filing walkthroughs

Step-by-step articles for the recurring Ohio filings, written against the same sourced records as the pages above.

Free calculators that cover Ohio

Frequently asked questions

Does Ohio require its own operating authority?

Yes. Every for-hire motor carrier hauling point to point inside Ohio needs a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity from the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio before it starts operating, and PUCO will not issue one to a private carrier moving its own property. Our Ohio intrastate authority page walks the triggers, the vehicle taxes and the insurance filings with sources.

Which agencies handle trucking compliance in Ohio?

PUCO handles intrastate authority, insurance filings and hazardous materials routing. The Ohio Department of Transportation handles oversize and overweight permits. The Ohio Department of Taxation handles IFTA. The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles handles apportioned registration. Plan on a separate account with each.

Do I need a USDOT number before the Ohio paperwork?

Yes. PUCO's own filing steps start with an intrastate USDOT number from FMCSA, and Ohio Adm.Code 4901:2-21-03 requires it before the state application. PUCO also says any carrier running vehicles at or above the federal weight rating line needs one, whether or not the driver holds a commercial license.

Does Ohio charge a weight-distance tax?

No. Ohio is not one of the four weight-distance states, so an Ohio-based carrier files IFTA quarterly and owes no separate per-mile highway use tax to Ohio. The Department of Taxation's own IFTA pamphlet lists the states that add a mileage surcharge, and Ohio is not among them.

Sources for this page

The official pages behind the figures above. Fees and rules change, so check the source before you file.

  1. Intrastate motor carriers and registration information · Public Utilities Commission of Ohio

Haul Handbook publishes educational information about trucking registration and compliance requirements. This is not legal, financial, or tax advice. Rules, fees, and deadlines change; confirm with the agency before you file or pay.