If you are thinking about starting a trucking business where your fleet of trucks ships goods all over the state (and eventually, all over the country), then you should know that your company will need lots and lots of permits. These trucking permits are not only required in every state, but they are a prerequisite for even starting a shipping and trucking company. In fact, you may be surprised to find that you will spend nearly all, if not more, of your first year's profits on permits alone. The good news is that these permits will last a year from when you purchased them, so it is possible to recoup some of the money spent in trying to get the permits. Here are some reasons why trucking highway permits are required and are such a big deal in this industry. 

The Trucking and Shipping Industry Is Heavily Regulated

Permits aside, such industries are heavily regulated by the DOT in every state. The Department of Transportation will not issue trucking registrations for commercial trucks and licenses for commercial drivers unless or until all prerequisites are met and all required documentation has been filed. There is nothing you can ship that the DOT does not know about or cannot access via shipping files.

It is part of the anti-crime statutes that seek to crack down on trucking and shipping companies importing black market goods, drugs, and human trafficking. Even though the rest of the trucking and shipping companies are running honest businesses, the DOT still has to keep track and regulate what is going on through permits and licensing. When you want to establish your trucking company as a fully legit business, you have to comply with the regulations and permit requirements. 

Some Products Are Not Allowed to Cross Some State Lines

Permits ensure that only legal products cross from state to state. If you need to transport a product that is not legal in the next state over, but the product is legal and heading to the next state over from that, you have to have permits that allow you to cross through the first state and enter the next state. Checkpoints along the way ensure that nothing leaves your truck in the first state and that all products arrive at their destination in the next state. You are essentially buying permission for a driver to pass through in order to make a delivery.

Share