A new MC means learning the road and the business at the same time. Our dispatch services for new trucking companies cost 7% of gross while your authority is under 6 months old, then drop to 5% (or 4% with two or more trucks) on their own. No contract, no setup fee, and every load still waits for your yes.
These are the questions new carriers ask us most, answered short. The longer FAQ is further down.
Then you call us and we work it with you: a late pickup, a receiver that will not unload, a broker who changes the deal. We document the times from the check calls, push for detention when it is owed, and tell the broker plainly what happened. One bad load is a story, not a record.
Less than an established carrier at first, and we will not pretend otherwise. Loads come from the brokers who approve you, and that list grows week by week. What we can promise is that every load we offer has been checked against your hours and your rate floor before it reaches you.
Spreading out is safer. One broker can carry you for a while, but if their freight dries up or their payments slow down, your truck sits. A handful of approved brokers gives you options when one lane goes quiet.
Some will, some will not yet. Many brokers set a minimum authority age before they tender loads, and others want to see insurance and safety history first. The ones who work with new carriers are out there; part of our job is knowing which and getting your packet to them first.
Because nobody knows you yet. A young MC has no payment record with brokers and little inspection history, so brokers take a smaller risk on a smaller set of loads. That changes as you haul clean loads and build approvals, which is why the early weeks are the slowest.
Yes, for the first 6 months: 7% of gross instead of 5%. Those months take the most setup work: broker packets, extra calls, more loads checked against stricter broker rules. At month 6 the rate drops automatically.
Your first 18 months are a new entrant period, and property carriers get a safety audit within 12 months of receiving their USDOT number. Clean logs, current driver files and maintenance records are what that audit looks for.
You can tell us where you want to run, and we plan around it. Expect to be a little more flexible in the first weeks, because fewer brokers will tender to you. Flexibility early usually means a fuller calendar later.
Not always, but many new carriers use it, because brokers often pay in 30 days or more and the first months have the least cash in the bank. If you do, send the notice of assignment with your packets so payments go to the right place from the start.
POSTED: eCFR, 49 CFR 385.3 (New entrant registration) · checked Oct 2026
What the first year on a new MC usually looks like, so nothing catches you off guard:
Broker packets go out and approvals come back one by one. Offers are fewer and lanes are wider than you would pick later. This is the stretch where flexibility pays the most.
More brokers have approved you and your first payments have cleared. We start steering toward the lanes you actually want and away from one-off loads.
Your fee drops from 7% to 5% (or 4% per truck with two or more) without any paperwork. Many brokers that wanted an older MC will consider you now.
Expect the FMCSA safety audit, due within 12 months of your USDOT number. Keep logs, driver files and maintenance records tidy from day one and it is a review, not a scramble.
Your first trip is where the paperwork meets the road. The card below walks through an EXAMPLE first week for a new MC: where each day starts and ends, when to fuel, and what the reload looks like. Change the tank size and fuel mileage to see where your own fuel stops would fall.
Two things matter most on that first trip. First, the clock: you can drive 11 hours inside a 14-hour window, with a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving, so every delivery time has to fit. Second, where you stop: the first night in a strange city is the one most new drivers remember, so we plan it before the load is offered.
EXAMPLE FIRST TRIP · NEW MC · DRY VAN
Dallas, TX to Memphis, TN
No fuel stop needed today (about 523 miles of range left at the end).
Next: Memphis reload to Columbus, OH, picks up Tue 07:00.
EXAMPLE only: 06:00 start, 50 mph planning pace, one hour for pre-trip, fuel and docks, the 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving.
POSTED: eCFR, 49 CFR 395.3(a)(3)(i) · checked Oct 2026
Heading out for the first time? Our trucker packing list covers documents, cab gear and the things new drivers forget. Get the trucker packing list.
Before we can book your first load, the basics have to be in place. These are federal and program rules, with links to the official sources:
Issued through FMCSA registration. Your authority has to be active before brokers can tender to you.
At least $750,000 in liability for general freight in trucks 10,001 lb and up, and more for certain hazmat. Brokers often ask for more than the federal minimum, plus cargo coverage.
Designated for all 48 contiguous states and DC, unless your authority is limited to fewer states.
Unified Carrier Registration, renewed every year with your base state.
IFTA covers two axles and over 26,000 lb, or three or more axles, or a combination over 26,000 lb. A heavy box truck or a tractor usually qualifies; many hotshot setups do too.
If your truck needs a CDL, you need a testing program before the first load, and an owner-operator who is the only driver must join a random pool of two or more. Trucks that do not require a CDL are not under these rules.
Running CDL equipment? Read what a DOT drug testing consortium does, or join a DOT consortiumReferral link; it does not change your price. Disclosure
We are not a compliance service and we do not file these for you, but we check that they are done before we pitch a load, so a broker never rejects you over a missing piece.
POSTED: eCFR, 49 CFR 387.9 · checked Oct 2026
POSTED: eCFR, 49 CFR 366.4 · checked Oct 2026
POSTED: Unified Carrier Registration Plan · checked Oct 2026
POSTED: IFTA Articles of Agreement (Jan 2026), R245 · checked Oct 2026
POSTED: eCFR, 49 CFR 382.103(b) · checked Oct 2026
POSTED: eCFR, 49 CFR 385.3 (New entrant registration) · checked Oct 2026
Here is how the fee moves over your first year. Set the MC age to today and slide the gross to see the step-down from 7% to 5% (or 4% with two or more trucks) at month 6.
YOUR TIER
New authority (MC under 6 months)
7%of gross
Steps down to 5% automatically at month 6, in 6 months. No paperwork.
| MC month | Fee |
|---|---|
| 0 | 7% |
| 1 | 7% |
| 2 | 7% |
| 3 | 7% |
| 4 | 7% |
| 5 | 7% |
| 6 | 5% |
| 7 | 5% |
| 8 | 5% |
| 9 | 5% |
| 10 | 5% |
| 11 | 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.
Every tier is on our fees and terms page. Need cash flow in the first months? See factoring for a new authority, or plan the numbers with the trip planner.
Start with the clock: 11 hours of driving inside a 14-hour window, with a 30-minute break after 8 hours behind the wheel. Pick a load whose delivery fits that, know where you will park the first night, and plan fuel so you are not hunting on a reserve. Our trip planner helps with the math.
Not legally in most places, but it often saves money and time on toll roads, and some toll systems charge more without one or bill by plate. If your lanes cross toll states, compare the transponder options that work there before your first trip. Our toll cost estimator helps you price a lane.
If your truck requires a CDL, yes. Federal rules require a drug and alcohol testing program, and an owner-operator who is the only driver must be in a random pool with at least one other covered employee, which is what a DOT consortium provides. Non-CDL trucks are not covered by these rules.
It depends on your cash. Brokers often pay in 30 days or more, and a new MC usually has the least cushion. Factoring turns delivered loads into cash sooner for a fee. If you do factor, set it up before your first load so the notice of assignment goes out with your broker packets.
Your documents first: registration, insurance card, permits, medical card if you need one, and copies of your authority. Then cab basics: bedding, a cooler, water, a flashlight, work gloves, a tire gauge and a basic tool kit. Our packing list is printable and saves your checks.
We can do the first call, take your preferences and prepare the packets, but no broker can tender a load until your authority is active and your insurance is on file. Apply and pick In progress; we will be ready the day it goes live.
Mostly risk. Many brokers set a minimum authority age, want a track record of safe inspections, or need to see that insurance has been continuous. It is not personal and it does not last. As you haul clean loads, more brokers approve you, and your options widen.
At month 6 of your MC. The fee moves from 7% to 5% for one truck or 4% per truck for two or more. You do not have to ask or sign anything new; it happens automatically on that date and shows on your next weekly report.
PARK BY: PLANNED WITH YOU
Apply now. If your MC is still in progress, pick that on the form.