Does Washington set its own trucking insurance minimums?

Yes. Washington 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 Washington 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 Washington 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.

Washington Trucking Insurance Requirements (2026)

By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Aug 9, 2026

What Washington requires

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

Liability minimum: From $750,000; the operation-type table below lists each class
Cargo minimum: WAC 480-14-250 requires only liability and property damage cover from a common carrier, so no cargo minimum is recorded for general freight. Household goods carriers are the exception: WAC 480-15-550 requires $10,000 of cargo cover for vehicles rated under 10,000 pounds and $20,000 for vehicles rated 10,000 pounds or more, proved on a certificate of liability insurance or Form H.
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.

Washington minimum liability coverage by operation type
Operation type	Minimum liability
Property, nonhazardous, vehicles rated 10,000 lb GVWR or more	$750,000
Property, nonhazardous, vehicles rated under 10,000 lb GVWR	$300,000
Bulk hazardous substances in cargo tanks, portable tanks or hopper vehicles over 3,500 water gallons, and bulk Division 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3, Division 2.3 Hazard Zone A, Division 6.1 Packing Group I Hazard Zone A, bulk Division 2.1 or 2.2, or highway route controlled quantities of Class 7 material	$5,000,000
Oil listed in 49 C.F.R. 172.101, and hazardous waste, materials and substances not caught by the $5,000,000 rows	$1,000,000
Any quantity of Division 1.1, 1.2 or 1.3 material, Division 2.3 Hazard Zone A, Division 6.1 Packing Group I Hazard Zone A, or highway route controlled quantities of Class 7 material	$5,000,000
Property, hazardous, vehicles rated under 10,000 lb GVWR	$5,000,000
Household goods carrier, vehicles rated 10,000 lb GVWR or less	$300,000
Household goods carrier, vehicles rated 10,001 lb GVWR or more	$750,000
Solid waste collection company, vehicles rated under 10,001 lb GVWR	$300,000
Solid waste collection company, vehicles rated 10,001 lb GVWR or more	$750,000
Solid waste collection company transporting biomedical waste not subject to federal regulation	$1,000,000
Solid waste collection company transporting hazardous or biomedical waste subject to federal regulation	Not applicable

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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, the Uniform Motor Carrier Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability Certificate of Insurance, or Form G, the equivalent surety bond
Household goods cargo: Form H, the Uniform Motor Carrier Cargo Certification of Insurance, or a certificate of liability insurance
Cancellation: Form K, Notice of Cancellation, filed at least 30 days before the cancellation effective date

The policy may be written by an insurer authorized in Washington or by an unauthorized insurer providing surplus lines coverage under RCW 48.15.040. Failing to keep evidence of insurance on file is itself grounds to suspend or cancel the permit.

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

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