Intrastate vs Interstate: Why the State Line Defines Your Compliance Stack

Haul freight that never leaves one state and half of federal regulation may not apply. Cross a state line for-hire, even once, and the entire FMCSA framework attaches.

Interstate means everything

MC number, federal liability minimums ($750,000 general freight), UCR, drug clearinghouse participation, and hours-of-service enforcement. There is no small-operator exemption below the passenger-carrier thresholds.

Intrastate still has teeth

• States require their own intrastate authority numbers (California's CA number, Texas's TxDMV certificate).
• Intrastate insurance minimums vary but rarely drop below $300,000 for general freight.
• Drug testing programs apply under state rules mirroring federal ones.
• Routes that "sometimes" cross state lines are interstate in FMCSA's view. Plan for it.

The full authority-type decision tree lives at Haul Handbook's compliance guides.

Last updated August 2026.