What is "the authority" that takes 30 days to obtain?

I'm considering buying a big rig and becoming an owner-operator truck driver. My retired father sometimes watches videos on youtube about being an owner operator and also reads blog posts and whatever else he can find on the internet to learn about being an owner operator to teach me about it. My father told me that owner-operator truck drivers frequently speak and/or write about getting "the authority" when they first start being owner-operators. My father said that the owner-ops say that it takes about 30 days to get the authority.

What is "the authority" that takes 30 days to obtain?

 

Call ooida

 

I'm on week 6 now. ####ing state of TN forcing me to wait for my IRP plates to come in the mail.

 

Wonder whatever happened to Boywonder. He had a good thread going for a while himself.

 

"Having your own carrier authority means you have the government's permission to get paid for hauling freight as your own trucking company. Operating Authority is issued through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in the form of a Motor Carrier (MC) number."

Small guide of what is needed to get your own Authority in the US

 

Wonderful. This is a direct answer to my question. A previous post on this thread referred me to the thread "The journey begins - purchased a truck." The thread "The journey begins - purchased a truck" has 383 pages. I read every post in the first 23 pages without seeing anything that defined what authority means in trucking. Thank you!

 

If you've never driven a truck. You might want to start off as a company driver.

 

You were likely directed to that thread because there is a lot more to it than simply paying $300 for your authority and going to work. Authority is the easy part, insurance will be your biggest hurdle.

 

That thread is what finally made me pull the trigger and get my own authority. Read the whole thing. By the time you get to the end, you'll be able to make a better decision. There is a lot that goes into this, and by the time you think you got everything squared away, you missed something that takes another two weeks to get.

 

deleted ...
I got confused about the threads above....
I think that Double Yellow's Company Driver to Independent Thread is best instructional thread of getting authority and how it goes after you get it.