Skip to content
Haul Handbook logoHaul Handbook

Kentucky trucking

Kentucky trucking insurance requirements

What Kentucky 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 19, 2026

What Kentucky requires

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

Liability minimum
An insurance carrier authorized to transact business in Kentucky must file a Form E (Uniform Motor Carrier Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability Certificate) proving liability coverage that complies with KRS 281.655. The specific minimum dollar amount is set by KRS 281.655 and is not stated on the authority page; left blank rather than invented.
Cargo minimum
No state cargo insurance minimum is published on the Division of Motor Carriers authority page; left blank rather than invented.
Differs from federal
Not confirmed

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 Kentucky 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 Kentucky intrastate authority page. For the full order of operations, work through start a trucking company in Kentucky.

Frequently asked questions

Does Kentucky set its own trucking insurance minimums?

Kentucky's published pages do not confirm a standalone intrastate minimum for every case. Where the state publishes no figure, this page says so instead of guessing, and the note beside each field explains what the state does require.

Do federal insurance minimums still apply to a Kentucky 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 Kentucky 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.