The law will always hold you responsible. It says nothing about who does the work.
Every obligation below stays legally yours. It has to. You hold the authority, so you hold the duty, and no service can take that off you no matter what it puts in a brochure. What follows is the complete list, line by line, with your legal responsibility in one column and the work we actually do in the other. Read the middle column and you will understand why a one truck carrier runs out of evenings.
Thirty three obligations. One column you cannot delegate, one column you should.
Yours by law
The duty, the decision, and the liability. This never moves. If an auditor finds a problem, it is your name on the finding and your authority at risk, whoever pushed the paper.
Ours to run
The calendar, the collection, the chasing, the filing, the evidence, and the escalation when something is about to lapse. This is labor, and labor can be hired.
Where carriers actually lose
Almost nobody fails because they did not know the rule. They fail because the date arrived on a week they were loaded out and nobody was sitting at a desk to notice.
The company and the authority.
Six items that exist before a wheel turns and have to stay accurate for as long as you operate.
| Requirement | Your legal responsibility | What we run |
|---|---|---|
| Entity, EIN, and bank of record | Keep legal identity, ownership, and banking records accurate and consistent with what brokers and factors have on file. | Onboarding reconciliation across the entity, the FMCSA record, the W‑9, the bank or factor, and the name on your invoices. Every change re‑reconciled. |
| USDOT number and operating authority 49 CFR 390.19T; 49 USC 13901 | Apply under the correct legal entity and operate only inside the authority you were granted. | Monitor the registration record, the insurance filing status, and the authority history. Flag any mismatch between what you run and what you are authorized to run. |
| BOC‑3 process agent | Keep a valid blanket designation on file for every state you operate in. | Collect the confirmation, file it where an auditor can find it, and calendar it if the designation changes. |
| MCS‑150 biennial update | File every 24 months in the month set by the last digit of your USDOT number, and again after a qualifying change. Failure means civil penalty exposure and deactivation of the number. | Calendar your specific filing month, compare legal name, address, vehicle count, mileage, and operation type before filing, and keep the snapshot. |
| Texas intrastate authority | Hold a TxDMV certificate and the required insurance filing before running intrastate Texas freight. | Run the applicability check, then track the certificate and the Form E insurance filing status. |
| New entrant safety assurance | Maintain safety management controls and pass the audit inside the 18 month monitoring period. Sixteen specific violations are automatic failures. | Build the audit index on day one, sample your own files monthly, and run readiness reviews at 60, 90, and 180 days so the audit is a document handover, not a scramble. |
Registration and update rules at 49 CFR 390.19T and FMCSA. Audit deadlines at 49 CFR 385.319, automatic failures at 385.321. Texas certificate requirement from TxDMV.
Insurance, and the one lapse that ends a carrier.
A cancellation takes effect 35 days after written notice. That is the entire margin between a missed premium and an authority in revocation.
| Requirement | Your legal responsibility | What we run |
|---|---|---|
| Financial responsibility in force | Keep coverage continuously in force at the required minimum, $750,000 for general for hire property freight, and keep the policy matched to the equipment you actually operate. | Track the policy, the vehicle schedule, the federal filing, and the renewal. Any cancellation notice or coverage gap is escalated to you the day it appears, not at renewal. |
| Cargo and contractual limits Broker and shipper contracts | Carry the limits your contracts require even where no federal rule demands them. | Maintain the requirement matrix by customer and the certificate packets that go with each broker packet, so a load is never held for a document. |
| Certificates of insurance Customer requirement | Authorize what is issued and to whom. | Request, track, and deliver certificates on the same day, and keep a record of every party currently named. |
Continuous coverage and the 35 day cancellation notice at 49 CFR 387.7. Minimum limits at 49 CFR 387.9, table 1, for hire carriage of non hazardous property. Higher minimums apply to hazardous materials and to passenger carriers.
Drivers, including the one whose name is on the door.
Every item here applies to an owner operator driving their own truck. Being your own only driver removes none of it.
| Requirement | Your legal responsibility | What we run |
|---|---|---|
| Driver qualification file | Qualify the driver and retain the application, inquiries, road test or equivalent, and required records for employment plus three years after it ends. | Build the file to the checklist, collect and date every document, and alert before anything inside it expires. |
| Motor vehicle record and annual review | Obtain the record and conduct a documented review at least once every 12 months. | Order the record, prepare the review document, log the exceptions, and file the corrective action. |
| Medical examiner certificate | Keep a valid medical qualification. Certificates run up to 24 months and are often issued for less. | Track the certificate and its actual expiry, start the renewal early, and stop dispatch before an expired card puts a truck on the road. |
| Drug and alcohol program 49 CFR part 382 subpart G | Enrol in a compliant random pool, complete pre employment and required testing, and follow the return to duty process. 2026 minimum random rates are 50 percent for drugs and 10 percent for alcohol. | Coordinate a properly contracted consortium, track selection and completion, and keep the evidence. We administer and document. We do not make classification decisions. |
| Clearinghouse queries | Run a full pre employment query and a query at least once every 12 months for every CDL driver. | Calendar and confirm each query, and keep the confirmations where an auditor asks for them. |
File contents and retention at 49 CFR 391.51. Annual MVR review at 391.25. Medical certificate periods at 391.45. Query requirement at 382.701. 2026 random testing rates from FMCSA.
Hours of service and the device that records them.
Four separate obligations live inside the ELD, and three of them are things carriers discover only at a roadside inspection.
| Requirement | Your legal responsibility | What we run |
|---|---|---|
| Records of duty status | Keep accurate records, submit them within 13 days, carry the previous seven consecutive days in the truck, and retain records and supporting documents six months from receipt. | Monitor for missing logs and unidentified driving daily, chase the corrections while they can still be corrected, and hold the retention set. |
| Supporting documents | Retain the supporting documents that verify duty status. You need not retain more than eight for any one driver's 24 hour period. | Capture receipts and dispatch records against the trip so the eight that matter exist and are matched to the right day. |
| Cab ELD packet | Carry the user manual, the data transfer instructions, the malfunction instructions, and at least eight days of blank paper grids. | Issue the cab kit at setup and spot check it monthly. This is the cheapest violation on the entire list and one of the most commonly written. |
| ELD malfunction | Note the malfunction, reconstruct the required days, run paper logs, and repair or replace the device within eight days unless an extension is granted. | Escalate inside 24 hours, issue the paper packet, open the service ticket, drive the reconstruction, and document the return to service. |
Records, submission, and retention at 49 CFR 395.8. Supporting document rules at 395.11. In cab documentation at 395.22. Malfunction procedure and the eight day repair window at 395.34.
The truck, and the paper trail behind it.
Five retention clocks, none of them the same length, all of them running from a different starting event.
| Requirement | Your legal responsibility | What we run |
|---|---|---|
| Annual periodic inspection | Inspect at least once in the preceding 12 months by a qualified inspector, and retain the report 14 months from the date of inspection. | Schedule the inspection, verify the inspector qualification and the report, and block dispatch on a vehicle that is overdue. |
| Systematic maintenance | Systematically inspect, repair, and maintain every vehicle, and keep records one year plus six months after the vehicle leaves your control. | Run the preventive maintenance calendar, the work order file, the defect log, and the out of service control. |
| Driver vehicle inspection report | Complete the report where required, certify repairs, and retain three months from the date the report was prepared. | Hold the driver workflow, review exceptions daily, and link every reported defect to the repair that closed it. |
| Roadside inspection reports | Correct the violations, certify the correction, return the report as required, and retain 12 months. | Intake the report the day it happens, gather the repair proof, sign and return it inside the window, and watch the effect on your safety percentiles. |
| Accident register | Maintain the register and supporting information for three years after each recordable accident. | Intake inside 24 hours, make the register entry, hold the evidence, and get the insurer and, where needed, counsel involved immediately. |
Inspection interval at 49 CFR 396.17, report retention at 396.21. Maintenance records at 396.3. Driver reports at 396.11. Roadside reports at 396.9. Accident register at 390.15.
Registrations and taxes that arrive whether you were profitable or not.
Five filings on five different calendars, none of which line up with each other or with your quarter.
| Requirement | Your legal responsibility | What we run |
|---|---|---|
| IFTA | Hold the licence, track miles and fuel by jurisdiction, and file quarterly by 30 April, 31 July, 31 October, and 31 January. | Import the mileage and fuel data, reconcile it against the ELD and the receipts, and prepare the filing package before the month it is due. |
| IRP apportioned registration | Obtain apportioned registration and report distance accurately. | Calendar the renewal, reconcile the mileage schedule, and keep the cab credentials current and in the truck. |
| Unified Carrier Registration | Register and pay annually by fleet bracket. | Calendar it, prepare the vehicle count, file, and retain the receipt. |
| Form 2290 heavy highway use tax | File and pay or claim suspension, by the month of first use. | Maintain the vehicle weight register and the due date calendar, and collect the stamped Schedule 1 you will need to register. |
| Oversize and special permits | Obtain route specific permits and comply with every restriction on them. | Run the permit checklist, confirm route and escort requirements before the load is accepted, and retain the permit with the load file. |
IFTA quarterly due dates from the Texas Comptroller. Form 2290 threshold and filing from the IRS trucking tax center. UCR from the UCR national registration system. Texas permit rules from TxDMV, with more on the corridors and permits desk.
The money, the books, and who is allowed to touch what.
| Requirement | Your legal responsibility | What we run |
|---|---|---|
| Freight proceeds The rule that protects you | Receive your own revenue. Every broker payment goes to you or to your factor. | Invoice, submit the document package, and chase the receivable. Freight money never enters our accounts, so there is nothing of yours for us to hold. |
| Books and monthly close Your records, your ledger | Own the ledger and the numbers you report to a lender or the IRS. | Bookkeeping in Xero reconciled monthly, payables calendared, receivables aged, and a written monthly review of cost per mile and margin per truck. |
| Payroll and worker classification IRS and Texas Workforce Commission | Classify correctly, withhold, deposit, file, and pay. The classification decision is yours on professional advice. | Run the payroll your advisor approved, reconcile it, and track any notice that arrives. |
| Estimated income tax Your CPA's call | Pay the estimates your professional advice says you owe. | Hold the reserve and the payment calendar, schedule the payments you approve, and hand your CPA a clean package instead of a shoebox. |
| Data and access Your records, isolated | Own your operational, driver, and financial data. | Named accounts with multi factor authentication, least privilege, one isolated tenant per carrier, quarterly access review, and a full export to you on the way out. |
Three professionals you keep, and we work alongside.
We are not trying to be your accountant, your lawyer, or your insurance agent. We are trying to make sure that when you call one of them, the file they ask for already exists.
- ·Your CPA signs the return and gives the tax advice. We hand over reconciled books and the reserve calendar.
- ·Your attorney reads the contract and handles the claim. We hand over the executed agreements, the load file, and the dates.
- ·Your insurance agent binds the coverage and advises on limits. We watch the filing, the schedule, and the renewal so nothing lapses between you.
- ·A contracted consortium runs the testing program. We coordinate it and keep the evidence.
The one sentence that matters
You keep the authority, the insurance, the equipment, the customers, the revenue, and the final say on every rate. What you hand over is the work.
Any service that tells you it will take your compliance liability off your hands is either confused about the regulations or hoping you are.
What we will not do, stated before you ask.
Not because we cannot, and not as a disclaimer. Because a service that pretends its scope is infinite is the one that quietly drops the thing you needed.
- ·Tax return preparation, tax opinions, legal advice, insurance placement, or representation in front of a regulator.
- ·Historical cleanup, forensic accounting, or a lender package beyond the standard monthly close.
- ·Cargo claims administration beyond document coordination and notice support.
- ·Running a drug and alcohol testing program ourselves rather than through a properly contracted consortium.
- ·Brokering freight, soliciting shippers, or moving a load from one client carrier to another. We hold no brokerage authority.
- ·Custom software, specialized permit engineering, or staffed coverage around the clock, unless it is quoted and signed.
Read the whole list again, and count what you did last month.
Then call and tell us the truck count and the driver count. You will have the monthly number before the call ends.