applying for authority

bump

No one knows? Surely his page musta timed out by now! I may need to know soon too here.

 

Question #1 you will be a common carrier

question #2 if you have not had authority before and have not applied before the answer is = no

question #3 dunn & bradstreet is basically credit info. If you haven't regesterd with them don't worry you don't need it ( i've had my authority 11 years and am not registerd) answer = no

 

In simple man's terms-

Common Authority allows you to set your own tariffs (rates) and accept business from the general public. Parcel companies (UPS, FedEx), household movers (United, Allied) Bus companies (Greyhound) LTL (Yellow, ABF) and airlines who regularly cross state lines are good examples of Common Carriers. Customers all sign a standard, one size fits all agreement that must meet the terms under Title 49 of the US Commercial code.

Contract Authority allows you to enter into agreements with shippers and brokers where the terms are not limited to a standard Bill of Lading and/or Title 49. The Big Box Carriers like Swift and Schnieder may have both types, but when they are hauling a B2B truckload shipment it is under Contract Authority.

When the ICC was abolished in 1996, it eliminated some of the distinctions between Common and Contract. The biggest being strict enforcement of published tariffs. It also created alot of confusion among new applicants as to which to file for.

If you file for Common only and plan to haul B2B for shippers and brokers, you will be hard pressed to find many who will give you any business. Yes, I know that is is done quite often, mainly because so many people in the trucking biz are unaware of the legal issues in the case of a cargo claim or liability in the case of an accident.

In a nutshell, if you want to haul for shippers and brokers, get contract.
If you want to advertise and haul for the general public under a tariff with limited cargo claim liability, get Common.

hope this helps.

 

Exempt for-Hire only applies to carriers who use the public highways to haul raw agricultural commodities from point to point. For example, If a farmer hires you to haul his tomatoes from his field to the ketchup factory, you would be functioning as an exempt for hire carrier.

Manufacturers and retailers, etc., who own/operate their own fleets run under the Private Carrier classification. They don't need an MC# provided they haul only THEIR products from point to point. All they need is a DOT#.

IMO, you can haul your personal stuff under Authorized with no problem.

 

Yep.
Box 23 should be marked "Authorized For-hire".
Box 24 should be marked "GENERAL FREIGHT".

Though it it is your decision to make, Filing for both Contract and Common is a bit redundant, and will cost you an extra $300 in application fees. It will also complicate your insurance coverage, in that Common carriers by Statute are required to post $5000 in cargo insurance, where Contract carriers aren't required to post anything. However, virtually all shippers and brokers require a minimum of $100,000 in cargo before they will sign a contract with you.

My suggestion- apply for contract only and make sure you ask for $100,000 in "Broad-Form" cargo when you start shopping for insurance rates.