Recommend an Affordable agent to set up authority

Had a LS buddy go on his own last year. He went through OOIDA, said it cost him about $850 total. Says it's not the big deal everybody makes it out to be. Also says a lot of carriers have fuel programs, quick pay programs etc. for Independents, for a small fee of course but you get their discounts.

 

You don't need an agent to do it for you. Especially as the business owner, you do need to understand the process and how it works. Since it's not rocket science, why not just go do it yourself on the website. It takes about 30 minutes, and a credit card. Once you are running under your own MC# you're going to face a lot of regulations, and industry protocol that are more complex and sometimes more confusing than the MC# application could ever be.

Seriously, at least go look at the site and the wizard that helps you know what to enter... if after that you're still intimidated, then stash that money away into your maintenance fund and ask a trucking friend to help you, or do it for you.

 

Agreed....
Actually and I cant believe I am saying this...the FMCSA Instructions PDF that you can download and/or print off was very well done
and very easy to read.

I read the instructions, went online and filled out the form. I dont even know if it took 30mins from start to finish.
And I agree that as the business owner, one should be doing this on their own and understand the process.

The fewer people that are involved with your own business - the better.

 

Makes sense to me...if you're gonna be a true Independent you need to know how all phases of how the business works, at least to start then you can delegate parts out as you see fit. I was always told you need to learn how to do it right before you can afford to learn how to do it wrong.......IE learn the shortcuts.

 

If I were going to hire someone to handle the paperwork for authority, I would go through OOIDA. They are very knowledgeable about this industry. Whether you use them to get your authority or not, it is worth the annual membership to join. They can be a very good resource. It isn't that difficult to go through all the paperwork to get your authority. There is an online help available at no charge on the fmcsa website. The filing fee is $300. Anything over that amount is what you pay to a service. You will also need to have a registered agent in every state in which you plan on doing business. Most charge at least $35/year for this service. OOIDA will act as your agent at no charge if you are a member. That is almost a wash on the annual membership fee. In fact, there are times that you can join for $25/year. The regular fee is $45/year. They can guide you through some of the regulatory requirements, such as joining a drug consortium.

You will need to provide all the information that you will key in to the fmcsa website to get your authority, so why not just do it yourself and be done with it? You will need your fein (federal employer identification number). You may already have that for your LLC. If not, you can get one from your local IRS office. Some of the services try to charge you for a DOT number. You can apply for it at the same time you apply for your MC number (authority). There is NO fee for your DOT number.

 

I am going through the process now with OOIDA doing all of it. Cost me about $900 total for everything. Only states I am not going to be set up for are the far left 3 on the coast.

 

I did it myself. No reason to pay someone else a few hundred dollars to do what you can do yourself.

Plus, they can't really expedite the process much more than you can.

DOT (free)
MC# ($300)
BOC-3 (if member of OOIDA, it's free)
2290 (if necessary) (depends on the truck, etc and if you already have it paid in your name)
IRP (with your home state, if you don't already have your truck plated in your name, if you do, you still need to change the DOT # on it)
IFTA setup (free)
UCR ($70 for a one-truck operation)

Before your MC goes final, you need to get your insurance. Once that posts, you then get mailed your authority letter (OOIDA can fax it to you for $25 the day it's posted, so you don't have to wait for the mail, you can't run without it).

Also, you need to submit an application to yourself, do a background check (MVR), and a pre-employment drug test and be signed up with a consortium for drug testing (CMCI through OOIDA is $100/year and the pre-employment should be around $30-$50).

The only thing that $850 is paying is your $300 for MC and $70 for UCR. You still register your truck yourself, get your insurance yourself, and pay your 2290 yourself if you owe it.

The actual time of doing it is pretty quick. MC takes a month almost to go final. Otherwise, the process would be faster. And yes, I paid OOIDA to do the $25 fax for me so I had my authority to haul a few days earlier.

Meanwhile, while you're doing that, if you plan on running NM, NY, and KY, you can file for their Weight Distance Permits (usually a one-time charge, and then you pay quarterly off your IFTA miles). NY needs a sticker now, but proof of payment should be good until the sticker arrives in the mail. NM and KY just give you an account # and you can go online. No paperwork is needed in the truck for them.

Oregon is a different beast. If you plan on running there a lot, get their permit. Otherwise, get a trip permit every time you go there. Easier and cheaper.

 

Very well explained, I just went through all that a couple of months ago, I highly suggest you do it yourself. Sky Fox pretty much explained everything you need in a nut shell. Don't pay anyone for something that is free to general public and they made it easy so anyone can understand.

The reason I say do it your self is because the DOT came to my office 1 week ago and I had all the papers that he asked me for and I knew exactly what they were and I knew what was required since I did it myself.

Insurance is very important, in order for your MC to be active you have to have Insurance but don't wait too long because they deactivate it after 60 days then its a pain in the ### to get it active again and you have to wait another 30-60 days.

 

Once you finish your USDOT app and get the number ,do you also need to apply for MC number or they just assign you one ?

 

You have to apply for the MC number when you apply for your authority. There is no cost for the DOT number, but authority costs $300. The docket number assigned to you is your MC number.