FAQ | Authority Express LLC

Compliance

Do I need to have a truck before I get my DOT Number?

No, you do not need to have a truck before you get your DOT Number. A DOT Number can be filed for and activated without needing proof of a physical vehicle.

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Do I need to have a truck before I get my MC Number?

No, you do not need to have a truck before you get your MC Number. A VIN number or other proof of a physical vehicle is not required to file for your MC Number.

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Do I need to register my business?

Yes, if you intend on operating a commercial venture, your first step should be to register that business with your state in some form. Companies need to register their business with the Secretary of State’s office in their state, reserving that name for their use, or with their county in the case of operating as a Sole Proprietorship.

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How do I determine my GVW?

GVW stands for Gross Vehicle Weight. It can also be referred to as GVWR which stands for Gross Vehicle Weight Rating. Legally, your GVW is defined as the total weight of your truck and trailer while carrying a full load of cargo.

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How do I start a trucking company?

The first step in starting your trucking company is deciding what kind of company you are going to create and filing with your state secretary of state office. An LLC is the most popular form of small business, but Sole Proprietorship and C-Corporation are used as well. Once you file for your company with your state secretary of state office, you will also need to register for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) with the IRS. We highly recommend that you do not use your personal SSN for running your business, even if you are registered as a sole proprietorship.

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How long does it take to get a DOT Number?

The FMCSA issues the DOT Number as soon as it is filed. However, the online SAFER database that publicly stores your authority information will not be updated to reflect your DOT Number for 24 hours.

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How long does it take to get an MC Number?

The FMCSA issues the MC Number 24 hours after the DOT Number. However, the MC Number is not active until you complete the mandatory 21-day protest period and you have met the other requirements of interstate authority.

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How long does it take you to start filing once I've paid?

We strive to complete every ordered filing within 1 business day of receiving payment for it, however exceptions do apply.

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What do IRP Plates Cost?

IRP fees depend on a large number of variables, but range from $500 - $1,000 for hot shots and $1,200 - $2,500 for semi-trucks. Due to the differences between the way new IRP plate fees are calculated vs. renewals, fees for plates are never the same year to year.

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Is A DOT Number all I need to run legally?

No, unfortunately, there are several other items that you will be required to obtain to run legally, depending on your type of operations. If you have any questions, fill out the contact form above and our team will be happy to go over your particular requirements.

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My application is filed and I have been given my MC Number. Can I begin interstate operations?

Unfortunately, no. Every brand new MC Number must go through a mandatory protest period before the FMCSA activates it for use. Additionally, there are many other requirements that must also be in place before someone can legally operate using their MC Number.

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What Information Is Required to File My IFTA Taxes?

The main information required to file your IFTA taxes are your miles driven, sorted by state driven, and gallons of fuel purchased, also sorted by the state purchased. Additionally, if you plan to file your IFTA online (recommended) you will need to make sure you have your online account information, including username and password, in order to access your online account.

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What Documents Are Required for IRP?

Your state's IRP forms, 3 proofs of residency, title or title receipt for each vehicle being registered, bill of sale for each vehicle being registered, 2290, insurance and lease agreement (if applicable). Since states set their own requirements, your specific requirements may vary from this list.

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What Are the Motor Vehicle Decal Requirements For My Commercial Motor Vehicle?

The DOT requires that you display the company name with city and state, along with your MC and DOT numbers, on both sides of the cab. A unit or truck number should be displayed on the door or hood. An annual inspection sticker should be placed on the back corner of the cab and IFTA stickers on both doors. Your state may have additional requirements depending on your operations.

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What is the TxDOT Number & Who Needs It?

A TxDOT Number (also known as the TxDMV Certificate Number) is specifically issued for CDL commercial vehicles whose base state is Texas. CDL carriers from out of state who operate in Texas are not required to register for a TxDOT Number. The TxDOT Number is required to be displayed in a visible location on the registered vehicle.

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What are the differences between an interstate and intrastate carrier?

Interstate and Intrastate authority mainly describes where a trucking company will operate. Interstate commerce is transportation involving the crossing of any state boundary. It does not matter how many state borders you plan to cross with your trucking company, as soon as you cross one, you are considered an interstate trucking company. Since interstate authority involves the legal jurisdictions of multiple states, your authority requirements increase when you choose to operate across state lines.

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What does a DOT Number cost?

There is no government fee for filing a DOT Number. Our filing fee to complete the application is $75.

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What does an MC Number cost?

The MC Number has a $300 government fee paid directly to the FMCSA.

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What is a Broker Authority?

Unlike carriers who haul cargo belonging to others for compensation, brokers arrange for trucks to transport cargo belonging to others, for compensation. Most often, brokers utilize for-hire carriers to provide the actual truck transportation.

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What is the CA Number and MCP & Who Needs It?

A CA Number, also known as California Number, is a number issued from the California Highway Patrol (CHP), and is necessary for identifying yourself as a California-based commercial vehicle. It is also a required item for obtaining a California Motor Carrier Permit (MCP).

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What is IFTA & Who Needs It?

IFTA stands for International Fuel Tax Agreement. IFTA provides a uniform means for a carrier to file for their quarterly fuel taxes all at once, regardless of how many tax jurisdictions they operated in during the previous quarter.

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What is IRP & Who Needs It?

IRP stands for International Registration Plan. It is an agreement that provides for the apportioned registration of commercial motor vehicles based on the total miles traveled in each jurisdiction. IRP registration replaces normal in-state commercial registration for vehicles who are required to get it.

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What is Oregon Weight Distance Permit & Who Needs It?

An Oregon weight distance permit is an annual permit issued to Oregon-based motor carriers and carriers who frequently travel in Oregon. The permit is issued per VIN and must be printed and placed in the cab of the corresponding vehicle.

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What is a BOC-3 & Who Needs It?

BOC-3 stands for Blanket of Coverage. The FMCSA requires any carrier who operates across state lines to designate a process agent in every state they operate in that can accept service of process on your company’s behalf. The BOC-3 form is the form that designates those process agents per state.

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What is a DOT Number & Do I Need It?

The DOT Number is the number assigned by the FMCSA that signifies that you are operating a commercial truck that is at least 10,000 lbs. GVW or carrying at least 8 passengers (including the driver) for compensation. A DOT Number by itself will only give a commercial vehicle the authority to operate in their home state.

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What is a UCR & Who Needs It?

The Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) is a federally-mandated, state tax on interstate freight. The DOT reports that the fees collected from the UCR program are directed toward the hiring and training of DOT officials.

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What is an EIN Number and Do I Need It?

EIN stands for Employer Identification Number. An EIN Number is the federal Tax Identification Number for your business. It operates much in the same way your Social Security Number operates in your personal life; it allows the government to quickly identify your business and provides a specific account for you to file your business taxes

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What is an MC Number & Do I Need It?

The Motor Carrier (MC) Number is the federal operating authority number issued from the FMCSA. Any commercial trucking company that wants to operate across state lines must obtain an MC Number before doing so.

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What is the 2290 & Who Needs It?

The 2290 is the shorthand name for the IRS Heavy Vehicle Use Tax. The filing is named after the form number the IRS uses for this filing. A 2290 is used as a tax to pay for the additional wear and tear on the public road system by heavy vehicles. The 2290 is a tax that is paid directly to the IRS every year.

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What is the 2290 Fee?

The fee you pay for the 2290 depends on the GVW of the registered vehicles that are required to file. At the legal maximum of 80,000 lbs. GVW, the fee for a 2290 is $550 a year. The fee is paid per qualifying truck. Fees will be lower for logging trucks and trucks with a lower GVW.

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What is the CBSA?

A CBSA is a four-character unique identifier that is assigned by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), to identify a carrier. The only people who are required to get a CBSA are carriers who cross into Canada with commercial goods.

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What is the KYU Permit & Who Needs It?

The Kentucky weight-distance tax permit, commonly known as the KYU Permit, is an annual permit issued to Kentucky-based motor carriers who meet the GVW requirements and carriers who frequently travel in Kentucky. The KYU Permit license number, known as the KYU Number is issued via email.

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What is the NY HUT Permit & Who Needs It?

A New York HUT permit is an annual weight-distance tax permit issued to New York based motor carriers that meet the GVW requirement and carriers who frequently travel in New York. Unlike any of the other weight distance tax permits, New York’s GVW requirement is below CDL weight. This means that some Non-CDL carriers who are not required to file IFTA may be required to obtain a NY HUT Permit. The permit is issued per VIN, not per fleet, and must be printed and placed in the cab of the vehicle.

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What is the New Entrant Safety Audit?

The New Entrant Safety Audit is mandated by 49 CFR § 385 Subpart D

If you are an interstate carrier (intrastate carriers are not enrolled in the new entrant program) you will be required to successfully complete the DOT New Entrant Safety Audit within the first 2-12 months of activation. You will be notified of an upcoming audit by paper mail. The letter will instruct you to call the FMCSA to verify company information. After you have answered their questions, they will then mail you another letter with a list of things you need to upload to them to pass the safety audit.

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What is the New Mexico WDT Permit & Who Needs It?

A New Mexico weight distance tax (WDT) permit is an annual permit issued to New Mexico based carriers who meet the GVW requirement and motor carriers who travel in New Mexico. The permit is issued per VIN, not per fleet, and must be printed and placed in the cab of the vehicle once issued.

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What is the SCAC & Who Needs It?

A Standard Carrier Alpha Code, known as SCAC, is a unique two-to-four-letter code used to identify transportation companies. The code is issued from the National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA). Carriers typically get a SCAC when they are doing work in secured areas, such as ports, or crossing US borders.

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What paperwork is required for a semi truck running for-hire, interstate?

The paperwork that you are required to have depends on where and what you are planning to haul. In addition to the standard formational business paperwork of Articles of Organization or Incorporation, EIN Number, and Operating Agreement, you are required to have a core group of paperwork mandated by the FMCSA that constitutes your authority.

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When Are IFTA Returns Due?

IFTA must be filed quarterly for as long as you have an active IFTA License. What this means is that even if you did not operate during a quarter but have an active IFTA License, you must file an IFTA return for that quarter with zero reported miles.

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Factoring

Does a business need good credit to be approved for factoring?

No. Unlike many traditional funding sources that require extensive credit histories and collateral to be approved for funding, factoring is mainly concerned with the quality of your invoices. Since the quality of a company’s invoices is entirely separate from the age of the company, new companies with strong customers can qualify for factoring services without difficulty. This means that not only can businesses with unestablished credit get approved for factoring, but even businesses with poor credit.

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How do I get set up for factoring?

Our setup process is very straightforward. It starts with you simply filling out our short application. Once it is received, our in-house underwriters will process it and approve you as a client. Once you are approved, we generate our factoring service agreement for you to sign. Once it is signed, you are ready to get paid!

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How do you approve my invoices for payment?

The invoice approval process boils down to three steps. First, we verify that the invoice you have presented for payment as well as any supporting documentation is complete and accurate. Next, we bill your customer through whatever process they normally require. This process varies from customer to customer. Lastly, our team verifies with your customer that the amounts you have invoiced are correct, and all required documentation is present and accurate. In the case of a first-time funding of a customer, a factoring company has the additional step of sending a client’s customer a Notice of Assignment and verifying that it has been accepted.

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How long do I have to use your factoring service if I sign up?

We don’t lock you into any kind of contract term. You can choose to terminate your factoring service at any time. When you are ready to end your factoring service with us, you simply need to provide us with a 60-day written notice.

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What are the benefits of your fuel card?

Our fuel card has the flexibility to be set up as either a prepaid card, that works just like a normal debit card, or with a line of credit, whatever best fits your needs. The fuel card includes pre negotiated fuel and tire discounts that can save our clients hundreds of dollars a month.

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What does recourse and non-recourse mean and what is the difference?

Recourse and non-recourse are terms that deal with what happens when an invoice that has been factored doesn’t get paid within a specific timeframe known as the recourse period. If a client is on a recourse program and an invoice is not paid within the recourse period or there is no prospect for it to be paid within the recourse period, they would be required to pay that invoice back or replace it with one of similar value. Please note that while this is a fairly rare occurrence due to safeguards within the debtor approval process, it does happen occasionally.

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What is a UCC and why do you need one for factoring?

UCC is shorthand for Uniform Commercial Code. The Uniform Commercial Code is a framework of regulations that govern interstate commerce. Despite the name, while the code has been adopted by all 50 states, it is not completely uniform. Some states have altered portions of the code, and some states interpret identical portions of the code differently. These distinctions are important to understand when doing business in different jurisdictions.

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What is factoring?

In most business to business industries, payments for services don’t happen for 30 to 90 days after the work is complete. In many capital intensive industries such as trucking and oilfield, the cash flow crunch created by such a long wait time can hinder a company’s growth, decrease the amount of work they are able to take on, or even put them out of business altogether. Factoring is an attempt to solve that problem for our clients. This service is also frequently referred to as invoice factoring, and the companies who provide this service as factors.

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What is the approval process for factoring?

One of the main benefits of factoring is that your business collateral or personal credit aren’t very important to our approval process. We are far more concerned with how creditworthy your customers are for determining if you are approved to factor. This allows us to bypass many of the underwriting requirements that are mandatory for bank lines of credit or other traditional business finance options. This makes factoring a very attractive prospect for people with less than perfect credit histories or new businesses with unproven earnings.

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What other services come with factoring?

As a standard part of our factoring service, our professional team will handle all of your back office billing and collections work. We also offer a load board free of charge to any client of our factoring service.

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What types of businesses use factoring?

Factoring, also commonly known as invoice factoring, is utilized by most business-to business industries. While factoring can benefit most businesses at any stage of their lives, there are certain types of businesses which benefit in particular

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