A for-hire truck hauling general freight across state lines must carry at least $750,000 in liability coverage. A truck that stays inside Texas must carry at least $500,000. Hazardous cargo pushes the floor to $1 million or $5 million. Those numbers are what the government makes a carrier prove. They are not a ceiling on what you can recover, and most trucking companies carry far more.
Two separate rulebooks set the floor, and which one applies turns on one question: did the truck cross a state line?
Federal minimums for interstate trucking
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration sets these in 49 CFR 387.9. The dollar figures date to January 1, 1985 and are not indexed to inflation, though the descriptions of covered cargo have been revised, most recently in July 2026.
| Type of carriage and cargo | Minimum liability |
|---|---|
| For-hire, interstate or foreign commerce, GVWR 10,001 lbs or more, carrying nonhazardous property | $750,000 |
| For-hire or private, GVWR 10,001 lbs or more, carrying oil listed in 49 CFR 172.101, or hazardous waste, materials, or substances not listed in the row below | $1,000,000 |
| For-hire or private, GVWR 10,001 lbs or more, carrying hazardous substances in bulk in cargo tanks, portable tanks, or hopper-type vehicles; bulk Division 1.1, 1.2, or 1.3 materials; bulk Division 2.3 Hazard Zone A; bulk Division 6.1 Packing Group I Hazard Zone A; bulk Division 2.1 or 2.2; or highway route controlled quantities of Class 7 radioactive material | $5,000,000 |
| For-hire or private, GVWR under 10,001 lbs, carrying those same bulk explosive, poison-gas, or radioactive materials | $5,000,000 |
| For-hire passenger vehicle seating 16 or more, including the driver | $5,000,000 |
| For-hire passenger vehicle seating 15 or fewer, including the driver | $1,500,000 |
Property carriers: 49 CFR 387.9. Passenger carriers: 49 CFR 387.33T, which is the operative section because 387.33 has been suspended since January 2017. Both prescribe identical limits. "In bulk" is defined in 49 CFR 387.5 as containment systems holding more than 3,500 water gallons, with separate definitions covering explosives and poison-gas materials in any quantity.
Texas minimums for intrastate trucking
A truck that runs Houston to Lubbock and never leaves the state answers to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles instead. Texas Transportation Code section 643.101 tells TxDMV to set the amounts by rule, and the department did so in 43 Texas Administrative Code 218.16.
| Carrier type | Minimum liability |
|---|---|
| All others. Private or for-hire motor carriers with a gross weight, registered weight, or gross weight rating over 26,000 lbs | $500,000 |
| Hazardous materials requiring placarding. Hazardous substances in cargo tanks, portable tanks, or hopper-type vehicles over 3,500 water gallons; any quantity of Division 1.1, 1.2, or 1.3; any quantity of Division 2.3 Hazard Zone A or Division 6.1 Packing Group I Hazard Zone A; bulk Division 2.1 or 2.2; or highway route controlled quantities of Class 7 material | $5,000,000 |
| Oil and other hazardous materials. Oil listed in 49 CFR 172.101, hazardous waste, hazardous materials and substances not covered above, and petroleum lubricants or fuels | $1,000,000 |
| Household goods movers with a gross weight, registered weight, or gross weight rating less than 26,000 lbs | $300,000 |
| Commercial school bus operators. For-hire school buses operating within a municipality, carrying students between home and school or daycare | $500,000 |
| Bus operators. Vehicles carrying more than 15 passengers including the driver, but fewer than 26 passengers not counting the driver | $500,000 |
| Bus operators. Vehicles carrying 26 or more passengers, not counting the driver | $5,000,000 |
Source: TxDMV Motor Carrier Handbook, May 2025, reproducing the table in 43 Texas Administrative Code 218.16(a). Household goods carriers also carry cargo coverage of $5,000 per vehicle and $10,000 aggregate. A Texas-registered carrier operating a foreign commercial motor vehicle must instead meet the federal levels in 49 CFR Part 387.
Notice the gap. The same 80,000 pound rig carries $250,000 less required coverage when it stays inside Texas. One of the first things a lawyer checks after a crash is whether that truck was running interstate, because the answer moves the floor.
Watch the bus rows too. Texas counts passengers without the driver, while the federal rule counts the driver. A 20-passenger van can land in different tiers depending on which rulebook applies.
Why the minimum is almost never the real number
Insurance company advertising treats these figures as if they describe what is available after a crash. They do not. Here is what they actually describe: the amount a carrier must prove to keep its operating authority. Three things sit above that floor.
Excess and umbrella layers
A carrier with more than a handful of trucks typically buys a primary policy at or near the minimum, then stacks excess coverage on top. A fleet running national lanes may carry $10 million or more across four or five layers, each with a different insurer. None of that shows up in a public filing.
Other parties with their own policies
The truck driver, the motor carrier, the trailer owner, the freight broker, the shipper, and the company that loaded the trailer can each be separate defendants with separate coverage. A broker that hired an unsafe carrier may face its own negligent selection claim. A shipper that loaded the freight wrong may face its own claim. Each opens a new policy.
The MCS-90 endorsement
Federal rules list Form MCS-90 as acceptable proof of financial responsibility under 49 CFR 387.7(d), and most interstate carriers satisfy the requirement that way. The endorsement obligates the insurer to pay a judgment for public bodily injury or property damage up to the federal minimum even when a policy exclusion would otherwise let the insurer walk away. The insurer can then seek repayment from the carrier. That endorsement exists to protect the injured public, and it survives arguments that would defeat coverage in an ordinary auto case.
How to find what a truck actually carries
Start with the FMCSA Licensing and Insurance database, which lists filings by USDOT or MC number. Federal rules make that proof public information: 49 CFR 387.7(e) requires a carrier to produce it on reasonable request from any member of the public. What it tells you is that the carrier met the floor, plus the name of the primary insurer. It rarely tells you anything more.
The rest comes through litigation. Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 192.3(f) makes the existence and contents of any indemnity or insurance agreement discoverable, and since January 2021 Rule 194.2 has required a defendant to hand those agreements over as part of initial disclosures, without a request. An excess policy qualifies, because it is an agreement under which someone may be liable to satisfy part of a judgment.
Carriers do not volunteer this before suit. An adjuster who tells a family the policy limit is $750,000 in the first week is describing the filing, not the file.
An early offer at or near the stated minimum is common in serious injury cases, and it usually arrives before anyone knows the full medical picture. Accepting it releases every layer above it. Find out what the total coverage tower looks like first.
Sources
- 49 CFR 387.9, Financial responsibility, minimum levels, eCFR
- 49 CFR Part 387, including 387.5 definitions, 387.7 proof requirements, and 387.33T passenger minimums, eCFR
- Motor Carrier Handbook, May 2025, Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, insurance requirements table
- Texas Transportation Code Chapter 643, Texas Constitution and Statutes
- TxDMV Number and intrastate registration, Texas Department of Motor Vehicles
Reviewed August 21, 2026 against the current eCFR text of 49 CFR Part 387 and the TxDMV Motor Carrier Handbook. Insurance minimums change by regulation. Confirm current figures against those sources before relying on them. This page explains general rules and is not legal advice about any specific claim.
Talk to someone who has read these policies
Sgt. Pike has spent 30 years reading trucking policies and finding the layers that adjusters do not mention. If a truck hit you or someone in your family, our 18-wheeler crash page covers what happens next, and our county crash data shows where these wrecks happen across Texas.
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