Hello I'm new here I don't have my cdl yet. I live close to a large feed mill and notice the different trucks coming and going. I see lots of trucks with hopper bottom or end dump coming and going. Most have farm tags and dot numbers but no mc. When you Google them they come up as a carrier how does that work without an mc number? Treat me like an idiot with your answers because I am uneducated on this subject. Thanks.
I believe they are "exempted" from most regulations due to the commodity, and inside 150 air mile radius. Alot of states they dont even require CDL if its farm plates driven by family/employees hauling to or from the farm they are registered to. They just cant be "for hire."
To get a commerical license plate you need a USDOT number. It is just the basic form. To get a MC number you need cargo Insurance and a Form E filed with USDOT that binds your insurance coverage and certifies that if you do not pay the premiums, the insurance is good for 30 days after the insurance company notifies you the coverage will be ended.
Even an intrastate reg your don’t need an MC for a lot of dump commodities, you do need a dot number in most ( not all) states for a farm tag, but some farm trucks can also be registered if they are used for hire doing double duty as well also, Atleast in MA, you cannot get a non reducible oversize/weight permit on a farm plate if you need to move equipment, you can go 10’ wide exempt but cannot be over weight, and up until maybe 3 years ago in Ma you didn’t even need a DOT number for intrastate work
We are a carrier, I am not running farm plates but am exempt commodities interstate for hire. Still have to have the same insurance as most to include cargo. Still have to follow the drug test guidelines, HOS etc. I also have to do a BOC-3. Had I known it was gonna be as much trouble as it is I would have gotten an MC number too. I just don’t have any use for it. But things change so you never know
It's not required to put your MC number on the side of your truck, so you can't determine anything from the fact that you don't see it on those trucks.
MC is only required for interstate non-exempt loads. It hasn’t been required to be on the side of the truck for 10-15 years. Hauling exempt commodities or just running intrastate exempts you from having it. The MC really is just a throwback to the ICC days when it was a barrier to entry. The last almost 30 years, it’s just a $300 fee and guarantee of minimum insurance.
