Hazmat dispatch service that plans the route and the stop
Placarded freight has rules most loads never meet: where the truck may go, where it may stop and when it must be attended. Our hazmat dispatch service books placarded and tanker loads, checks the route against hazmat restrictions, and plans every stop around the parking and attendance rules. You confirm every load, and the rate con comes straight to you.
Placarded dry freight, tankers, food-grade and chemical tank work. CDL carriers with the right endorsements. Same fee tiers for every truck.
5% of gross for one truck, 4% for 2+, 7% while your MC is under 6 months. No haul, no pay.
Hazmat and tanker dispatch questions, answered first
Hazmat carriers hear a lot of vague promises from dispatchers who have never read Part 397. These answers stick to what the rules say and how we plan around them.
Where can a placarded truck park?
Not on or within 5 feet of the traveled lanes of a public road, except briefly when necessary. On a public road or shoulder the truck must be attended by the driver. Most placarded nights are planned at private lots that accept placarded parking, following the lot's rules. Explosives have far stricter rules, including a 300-foot distance from bridges, tunnels and homes.
What is a hazmat route?
A route a state or tribe has designated for hazardous materials, or restricted so hazmat may not use it. FMCSA lists them in the National Hazardous Materials Route Registry. Where none applies, federal rules say to avoid populated areas, crowds, tunnels, narrow streets and alleys unless there is no practical alternative. Tunnels, bridges and cities can add their own limits.
Which CDL endorsements are needed for hazmat?
The hazardous materials endorsement for placarded loads and the tank vehicle endorsement for tankers, each with a knowledge test. Hazmat tank loads need both, often combined on the license. The hazmat endorsement also needs a TSA security threat assessment, or a valid TWIC, before a state can issue, renew or transfer it.
Do hazmat loads have special parking rules?
Yes. Federal rules in 49 CFR 397 set attendance and parking limits for vehicles carrying hazardous materials, with stricter rules for Division 1.1 to 1.3 explosives. Attended means awake and on the vehicle, not in the sleeper, or within 100 feet with it in view. The card above shows the rule for each kind of stop, with the section it comes from.
Can a new MC haul hazmat?
Yes, if the authority, insurance and endorsements are in place. Hazmat raises the federal liability minimum to $1,000,000 or $5,000,000 depending on the material, and many shippers want experience first. A new MC pays 7% until month 6, then steps down automatically. Expect a slower start, and we will say so.
Do you dispatch tankers?
Yes, hazmat and non-hazmat, including food-grade and chemical tanks. We need your tank type, capacity, compartments, material, pump or blower setup and your last product and wash, so we pitch only loads your tank can take. Wash requirements and who pays for washes go on the offer before you accept.
How much does hazmat dispatch cost?
7% of gross while your MC is under 6 months old, 5% for one truck after that, and 4% per truck for two or more. No setup fee, no minimum and no contract, and nothing owed in a week you do not haul. Hazmat and tanker loads pay the same tiers as every other truck we dispatch.
Will you force me to take loads?
No. You confirm every load before it is booked. The rate confirmation is sent directly to you. You can turn down any load, for any reason, with no penalty. If a hazmat class, a route or a site makes you uneasy, say no and we keep looking.
Can I sleep in my sleeper with a hazmat load?
It depends where. On a public road or shoulder, a vehicle carrying hazmat must be attended, and asleep in the sleeper does not count as attended. At a private lot that accepts placarded parking, the federal attendance rule for public roads does not apply in the same way. Explosives must be attended at all times, wherever they are, outside a few limited cases.
Do you check tunnel and bridge restrictions?
Yes. Many tunnels and some bridges restrict or ban hazmat, sometimes by class, and their rules sit on top of state route designations. We check the tunnels and bridges on the route before we pitch a load, and if the legal detour adds real time, we tell you and make sure the rate reflects it.
Where a placarded truck can stop, by the rule
Choose what is on board and where you are stopping. The card shows what the federal rules in 49 CFR 397 say about attending and parking the vehicle there, with the section for each one, and how we plan that stop.
These are the federal rules. States, cities, tunnel and bridge authorities, and the lots you use can add their own on top, and the hazardous materials regulations themselves (placarding, shipping papers, emergency response information) apply the whole way.
PLACARDED PARKING CARD · 49 CFR 397
On board
Where you stop
The federal attendance rule above covers public streets, highways and shoulders. A private lot is not named in it, but the 5-foot rule still applies to any spot beside a public road.
POSTED: eCFR, 49 CFR 397.5(c) · checked 2026-10
The truck stop's own rules apply on top. Some stores post where placarded loads may park or ask you to tell the fuel desk. Follow the lot's signs and staff.
How we plan it: a store that accepts placarded parking, called ahead when the load is sensitive, with a backup stop.
"Attended" has a precise meaning: on the vehicle, awake and not in a sleeper berth, or within 100 feet with the vehicle in unobstructed view. Asleep in the sleeper does not count. (eCFR, 49 CFR 397.5(d)(1))
The word that trips drivers up is "attended." Under the federal definition it means on the vehicle, awake and not in the sleeper, or within 100 feet with the truck in plain view. That is why the parking plan for a placarded load is a real plan, not a hope. On a public road, a solo driver cannot sleep in the cab and call the truck attended.
For most placarded freight that is not explosives, the answer is a private lot that accepts placarded parking, or delivering the same day. For Division 1.1 to 1.3 explosives, the rules are far stricter, and a solo overnight usually means a safe haven approved in writing by the authorities, or a team.
Hazmat routes: what they are and how we check them
States and tribes can designate routes that hazmat must use, and restrict routes it may not use. FMCSA collects those designations in the National Hazardous Materials Route Registry, with maps and lists by state. Where no designation applies, the federal rule is to avoid heavily populated areas, crowds, tunnels, narrow streets and alleys unless there is no practical alternative, or a short deviation is needed for loading, fuel, food, rest or repairs.
On top of that, many tunnels and some bridges set their own hazmat restrictions, and some cities do too. When we look at a hazmat load, we check the registry for each state on the route, the tunnels and bridges along the way, and the last miles into the shipper and receiver. If the only legal route adds real time, the rate has to cover it, and we tell you before you decide.
Our road terms dictionary explains what a hazmat route is in plain words.
POSTED: FMCSA, National Hazardous Materials Route Registry · checked Oct 2026
POSTED: eCFR, 49 CFR 397.67(a)-(b) · checked Oct 2026
Insurance and new authorities
Hazmat raises the federal minimum liability. General freight starts at $750,000, certain hazmat at $1,000,000, and some classes and bulk loads at $5,000,000. Shippers and brokers often ask for more. A new MC can haul hazmat if it has the coverage and the endorsements, but many hazmat shippers want a track record first, so the first months take patience.
POSTED: eCFR, 49 CFR 387.9 · checked Oct 2026
POSTED: eCFR, 49 CFR 383.93(b)-(c) · checked Oct 2026
POSTED: eCFR, 49 CFR 383.141(b) · checked Oct 2026
What a hazmat dispatcher checks before the offer
Hazard class and placards
Class, division, UN number and quantity, so we know the placards, the endorsements and the rules that apply.
Your endorsements
Hazmat, tank or both, current and matching the load. No endorsement, no offer.
The legal route
State designations and restrictions, tunnels and bridges, and city limits from the pickup to the delivery.
Attendance and stops
Whether the trip needs a stop, and where a placarded truck can legally park and be attended.
Insurance limits
Hazmat carries higher federal liability minimums. We match the load to the coverage on your certificate.
Site rules
Chemical plants and terminals have their own safety gear, training and check-in rules. We get them in advance.
Tanker dispatch
Tanker work adds its own layer. A tank vehicle needs the tank endorsement whether the load is hazmat or not, and a hazmat tank load needs both. Liquid surge changes how the truck handles, and partial loads behave differently from full ones. Food-grade tanks need wash tickets and a clean history, and chemical tanks need the right material compatibility. Wash costs and who pays them belong on the offer.
We dispatch both, and we need your tank specs to pitch the right loads: the tank type, capacity, compartments, material, pump or blower, hoses and fittings, and your last product and wash.
How we plan a placarded trip
- Confirm the class, quantity and placards with the shipper, and match them to your endorsements and insurance.
- Map the legal route: state designations and restrictions, tunnels, bridges and city limits, pickup to delivery.
- Decide whether the trip needs a stop at all. Same-day delivery is often the cleanest plan for placarded freight.
- If it needs a night, choose the lot first: private, accepting placarded parking, reachable inside your hours, with a backup.
- Put it all on the offer: the route notes, the stop, the rate and any wash or detention terms. Then you decide.
Paperwork that rides with every hazmat load
Hazmat freight comes with more paper than any other load, and an inspector will ask for it. Shipping papers, emergency response information and placards each have their own rules under the federal hazardous materials regulations, and all three have to match the material actually on the truck. We check the bill of lading details against the load before pickup, so a mistake at the shipper is caught on the phone and not at a scale.
We also keep your file current for the brokers who book hazmat: your certificate of insurance with the right limits, your authority, your endorsements and any shipper-specific training records they ask for.
Who this fits
Our hazmat dispatch service fits CDL carriers who already hold the endorsements and the coverage, and want someone else working the phones and the routing while they drive. If you are still getting your hazmat endorsement or your insurance in order, call us anyway; we can talk through what shippers will ask for, and start dispatching once it is in place. Either way, you keep the final say on every load, the rate con comes to you, and nothing about a placarded load is booked on a guess. If we cannot confirm the route, the stop or the paperwork, the load does not reach you.
A hazmat tanker offer, start to finish
This is how an offer from your hazmat dispatcher reads. It is an EXAMPLE, not a real load. Accept or decline it to see what happens next.
LOAD OFFER · EXAMPLE
from your dispatcher
Pasadena, TX to Lake Charles, LA
- Miles
- 150
- Rate
- $1,150
- Per mile
- $7.67
- Pickup
- Fri 07:00
- Delivery
- Fri 13:00
Class 3 flammable liquid in an MC-407 tanker, placarded. Route avoids the restricted tunnel and downtown streets listed for the cities on the way. No overnight: delivered the same day so the load is never parked unattended on a public road.
Your call. Nothing is booked until you say yes.
The hazmat dispatch service fee
Hazmat and tanker loads pay the same tiers as every truck we dispatch, with no surcharge for placards. A new MC starts at 7% and drops automatically at month 6. The rest is on the fees and terms page.
YOUR TIER
Standard (1 truck, MC 6+ months)
5%of gross
- Weekly gross (1 truck)
- $6,000
- Dispatch fee
- $300
- You keep (before costs)
- $5,700
Month-by-month table
| MC month | Fee |
|---|---|
| 12 | 5% |
| 13 | 5% |
| 14 | 5% |
| 15 | 5% |
| 16 | 5% |
| 17 | 5% |
| 18 | 5% |
| 19 | 5% |
| 20 | 5% |
| 21 | 5% |
| 22 | 5% |
| 23 | 5% |
Same tiers for every equipment type. No setup fee, no minimums, month-to-month, cancel with 30 days notice. EXAMPLE math, not a promise of revenue.
Dispatch my hazmat rig
Routes, stops and endorsements checked before you say yes. No setup fee. No contract.