Does Louisiana set its own trucking insurance minimums?

Yes. Louisiana 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 Louisiana 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 Louisiana 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.

Louisiana Trucking Insurance Requirements (2026)

By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Aug 5, 2026

What Louisiana requires

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

Liability minimum: Louisiana sets no intrastate liability minimum for a general freight carrier, because it certificates none. For the classes it does regulate, La. R.S. 45:163(D)(1) sets the minimums by class rather than as a single figure, which is why the liability figure is left blank by design and the schedule sits in the operation-type table below. Household goods, saltwater, and passenger-carrying vehicles carry $250,000 for injury or death to any one person, not to exceed $500,000 per occurrence, plus $25,000 property damage. Tow trucks and wreckers carry not less than $500,000 combined single limit. Waste trucks carry not less than $750,000 combined single limit.
Cargo minimum: $50,000 (La. R.S. 45:164(E)(1) requires an intrastate household goods mover to carry motor truck cargo carriers insurance of at least fifty thousand dollars per truck and one hundred thousand dollars per catastrophe, to secure and maintain workers compensation insurance, and to file a surety bond by a qualified surety company in the amount of five thousand dollars with the Commission, all before engaging in any activity related to moving household goods. No other class carries a Louisiana cargo minimum, and general freight carries none at all.)
Differs from federal: Yes

Minimum liability by operation type

General freight is not the floor for every carrier; buy against the row that matches what you haul.

Louisiana minimum liability coverage by operation type
Operation type	Minimum liability
Household goods movers, per person	$250,000
Household goods movers, per occurrence	$500,000
Saltwater used in oil well exploration and production, per person	$250,000
Passenger carrying vehicles, per person	$250,000
Passenger buses, per person	$250,000
Tow trucks and wreckers, combined single limit	$500,000
Waste transport, combined single limit	$750,000
Property damage, household goods, saltwater and passenger carrying vehicles	$25,000

Scroll sideways to see every column.

Who files the proof of insurance

Your insurance company makes these filings with the state, not you. Ask for them by form name when you bind coverage.

Liability proof: Form E, Bodily Injury and Property Damage Certificate of Insurance
Cargo proof: Form H, Motor Truck Cargo (household goods movers only)

Filings must be made by the insurance underwriter, not the carrier, and the name and address on the Form E must match the application exactly. Household goods movers also file an Accord certificate of workers compensation coverage and the original $5,000 surety bond. All filings are due within thirty days of the date the Commission received the application. Louisiana charges no separate insurance filing fee.

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)
Operation	Vehicle	Liability minimum
For-hire property carrier, non-hazardous	GVWR 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 materials	Any	$1,000,000
For-hire and private carriers of explosives, poison gas, or radioactive materials	Any	$5,000,000
For-hire carrier of household goods	GVWR 10,001 lb or more	$750,000
For-hire carrier of passengers	15 or fewer passengers	$1,500,000
For-hire carrier of passengers	16 or more passengers	$5,000,000
Broker of property or household goods	None	None
Freight forwarder of property	None	None
Freight forwarder of household goods	None	None

Scroll sideways to see every column.

Where insurance fits in the Louisiana 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 Louisiana intrastate authority page. For the full order of operations, work through start a trucking company in Louisiana.