A for-hire motor carrier in interstate or foreign commerce, operating a vehicle of 10,001 lbs gross vehicle weight rating or more and hauling nonhazardous property, must carry $750,000 in financial responsibility. That figure comes from Table 1 of 49 CFR § 387.9, read on the eCFR on September 15, 2026, where the latest amendment shown is dated July 21, 2026. It is the number every Georgia owner-operator with interstate authority has to clear, and it is worth reading from the regulation rather than from another agency’s summary.

The three tiers

The regulation sets the minimum by what the vehicle carries, not by how big the company is.

  • $750,000 for nonhazardous property.
  • $1,000,000 for oil, and for the hazardous materials, wastes and substances listed at 49 CFR 171.8 and 172.101.
  • $5,000,000 for hazardous materials in bulk in the listed classes and divisions: Division 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 explosives, Division 2.3 Hazard Zone A gases, Division 6.1 Packing Group I poisons, and Class 7 highway route controlled quantities.

What the number is, and is not

It is a floor on liability: the coverage that responds when the truck injures someone or damages their property. It says nothing about the freight in the trailer, which is a cargo policy and a separate contract term. It also says nothing about what a shipper or a freight broker will accept. Many contract for limits above the floor, and a carrier that quotes the minimum to a shipper that wants more does not get the load.

The filing behind the number

The regulation is enforced through a filing the insurance company makes on the carrier’s behalf once the policy is bound. The filing has to match the policy, and the policy has to match the commodity. A carrier that adds a hazardous commodity without moving to the higher tier has a filing that no longer describes what it does.

In Georgia

The federal floor applies to interstate and foreign commerce. Georgia sets its own amounts for carriers that stay inside the state, by rule rather than in the statute; that is a separate article. Metro Risk Management Group writes trucking programs from Smyrna and Atlanta; set up an appointment via Zoom, telephone, or in person for your insurance portfolio assessment.