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Florida trucking

Florida trucking insurance requirements

What Florida requires in trucking insurance before it grants intrastate operating authority: the liability minimums the state publishes, the cargo coverage rules, and the forms your insurer files, shown next to the federal minimums so you can see where the state differs. Every figure carries its official source.

By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Jul 18, 2026

What Florida requires

These are the state-level rules attached to Florida intrastate operating authority. A field reading "Not confirmed" means the agency publishes no figure; the note explains what the agency does say.

Liability minimum
Tiered by gross vehicle weight (see the table below)
Cargo minimum
No state cargo insurance minimum was found on FLHSMV, FDOT, or statute primary sources. Unconfirmed, left blank rather than invented.
Differs from federal
Yes

Minimum liability by gross vehicle weight

Florida sets tiered combined bodily injury and property damage liability minimums by gross vehicle weight under s. 627.7415, F.S. (see the weight tiers below). A single statewide number does not exist, so no single figure is shown, by design.

Florida minimum liability coverage by gross vehicle weight
Gross vehicle weight (lb)Minimum liability
26,000 to 34,999$50,000
35,000 to 43,999$100,000
44,000 and over$300,000

Scroll sideways to see every column.

Vehicles subject to 49 C.F.R. Part 387 subparts A and B must instead carry insurance meeting the federal minimum financial responsibility levels (s. 627.7415, F.S.).

The federal minimums, for contrast

Cross a state line for hire and the federal financial-responsibility levels take over, filed with FMCSA by your insurer. The amounts below render from 49 CFR Part 387 (property carriers 387.303, brokers and freight forwarders 387.307, endorsements 387.15), as displayed on FMCSA's insurance filing requirements page; the filing mechanics live in our BMC-91 and BMC-34 insurance filings guide.

Federal minimum public liability levels by operation (49 CFR Part 387)
OperationVehicleLiability minimum
For-hire property carrier, non-hazardousGVWR under 10,001 lb$300,000
For-hire property carrier, non-hazardous (general freight)GVWR 10,001 lb or more$750,000
For-hire carrier of certain hazardous materialsAny$1,000,000
For-hire and private carriers of explosives, poison gas, or radioactive materialsAny$5,000,000
For-hire carrier of household goodsGVWR 10,001 lb or more$750,000
For-hire carrier of passengers15 or fewer passengers$1,500,000
For-hire carrier of passengers16 or more passengers$5,000,000
Broker of property or household goodsNoneNone
Freight forwarder of propertyNoneNone
Freight forwarder of household goodsNoneNone

Scroll sideways to see every column.

Where insurance fits in the Florida launch

Coverage sits early in the sequence: the federal filing sequence needs your insurer's proof of coverage on file before authority activates, and the state rules above attach to the credential covered on the Florida intrastate authority page. For the full order of operations, work through start a trucking company in Florida.

Frequently asked questions

Does Florida set its own trucking insurance minimums?

Yes. Florida publishes its own financial-responsibility rules for intrastate carriers, and they are not a copy of the federal levels. Each figure the state publishes renders in the tables here with the official source beside it.

Do federal insurance minimums still apply to a Florida carrier?

Interstate operations file proof of coverage with FMCSA under 49 CFR Part 387 no matter which state the carrier is based in. The state rules on this page govern intrastate-only operations; the federal table shows the levels an interstate filing must meet.

What insurance does a new Florida carrier line up first?

Primary liability comes first: the state and federal filings both ride on an active liability policy. Cargo coverage follows where the state or your shippers require it, and physical damage on the truck is a lender requirement rather than a state rule.

Where do these figures come from?

Every dollar amount renders from the state agency publication or statute cited beside it, or from the federal regulation for the contrast table. When an agency publishes no figure, the field reads "Not confirmed" with a note on what the agency does say.

Haul Handbook publishes educational information about trucking registration and compliance requirements. This is not legal, financial, or tax advice. Rules, fees, and deadlines change; confirm with the agency before you file or pay.