In Michigan, your trucking authority is issued by the State Police.
Not a DOT. Not a Department of Revenue. Not a public service commission, which is what a lot of the internet will still tell you. The Michigan State Police, through its Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division, under a law passed in 1933.
If you’ve been searching for Michigan intrastate authority and keep landing on the wrong agency, that’s why. Michigan runs this differently than the other states in this series, and plenty of the advice online never caught up.
Here’s the part that should get your attention today. The renewal window for Michigan authority opened October 1. It closes December 1. We’re in it right now.
Let’s break down how Michigan actually works, and how it differs from Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
Who Actually Issues Michigan Intrastate Authority
The Motor Carrier Act, Public Act 254 of 1933, requires intrastate for-hire carriers to hold operating authority before they run on a public road in Michigan. The office that issues it is the Regulatory and Credentialing Section of the State Police’s Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division, or CVED.
Here’s the history nobody mentions. That 1933 law was written for the Michigan Public Service Commission. The statute still says “commission” all over it. In 2015, the commission’s powers under the act moved to the State Police by Executive Reorganization Order 2015-3, and the law’s wording never got rewritten to match.
You can see the leftovers on the truck itself. The statute’s marking section still says the letters “MPSC” and the carrier’s account number go on both sides of every power unit, in numbers at least 1.5 inches tall. The agency that wrote that requirement doesn’t issue your authority anymore.
Who Needs It, and Who Doesn’t
The act regulates moving property for hire, which the statute defines as transportation for remuneration or reward of any kind. If you’re getting paid to haul freight and both ends of the load are inside Michigan, you’re in the act’s territory. A Detroit-to-Grand Rapids run is exactly that, and it’s the kind of load Michigan intrastate authority exists to cover.
The statute also carves out a list of exemptions. They’re real, and they’re narrow:
The list also covers government vehicles, mail carriers and a few agricultural inputs. If your operation sits near the edge of an exemption, read MCL 479.2 before you assume you’re covered. “Our customer said we’re exempt” is not a legal position.
How the CVED Application Works
Everything runs through the CVED Authority Portal, called CAP. The State Police are blunt about it: all applications must be submitted online.
Two things trip people up before they even start. You need a MiLogin account, and if you held an older ICARS login, it doesn’t carry over. The portal instructions say a new login must be created. Then you add the CVED Authority Portal as a service, choose to create a carrier or claim an existing one, pick General Commodities or Household Goods, enter your vehicles, attach your documents and pay at checkout.
The State Police say processing can take up to 30 days. For an intrastate-only general freight carrier, here’s what they ask you to have ready:
Household goods movers add a Form H, copies of any continuous contracts, and tariff membership if they haul more than 40 miles without a continuous contract. That’s a different game, so we’ll stay with general freight here.
Michigan Trucking Insurance Requirements and the Form E Filing
The Form E is the piece of this process that doesn’t belong to you. Your insurance company produces it. You own the consequences.
Now the part where we have to be careful. You’d expect a state page about trucking authority to give you a limit: a number, a table, done. Michigan’s doesn’t.
The statute hands that decision to the regulator. Under MCL 479.9, the commission has authority to set insurance or bond requirements for intrastate-only general commodities carriers “as it deems necessary to protect the interests of the public.” No dollar figure appears in the section. The old Public Service Commission insurance rules, Part 11 of the Michigan Administrative Code, are marked rescinded. And the State Police regulatory page lists the Form E without stating a limit.
Be careful with the Michigan insurance number you see online
Several compliance directories and agency blogs publish a specific minimum for Michigan intrastate carriers, and the figure for trucks over 10,000 lbs matches the federal level. It may well be what your Form E is written at. But we couldn’t find it stated in the statute, the administrative code or the State Police page, so we’re not going to print it in a table as if it were Michigan law. Ask CVED what it accepts, and ask your agent what your Form E actually says.
Notice what the State Police page does not list for general freight: a cargo filing. Form H shows up only for household goods carriers. That doesn’t mean your shippers won’t ask for cargo coverage. They will, and their number will not be a regulator’s number.
One more thing about the workers’ comp requirement, because it’s the Michigan-specific piece. Under MCL 479.9(2), you have to show compliance with Michigan’s workers’ disability compensation act when you apply, and again if the commission asks after your comp has lapsed. If your comp lapses, your authority file becomes a question mark.
Not Sure What’s Actually on File for Your Michigan Authority?
We’ll go through your authority, your Form E and your renewal status with you, and tell you what’s there and what’s missing.
The October 1 to December 1 Renewal Window, and the January 1 Cliff
Michigan intrastate-only carriers renew every year. The State Police set the renewal period as October 1 through December 1, and the statute is where the teeth are.
Under MCL 479.10, certificates expire on December 31. A late application is hit with a penalty of $50 for each month or partial month it’s late. A carrier that’s delinquent in documents or fees has its certificate canceled and terminated on and after January 1. And the statute says that voiding for cause is self-executing: it doesn’t require any affirmative act by the commission. The State Police page says it plainly too: fail to renew by January 1 and your CVED authority is revoked.
Real-World Example
A Grand Rapids dry van outfit hauls only inside Michigan, so it holds intrastate-only authority. It’s peak season. The renewal sits in the portal while the owner chases Q4 freight. December 1 passes. Then December 31. On January 2 the carrier takes a Muskegon-to-Lansing load, a plain Michigan-only haul, on authority that is no longer valid. Nobody had to send a letter for that to happen. Under the statute, it already had.
Which carriers renew? The State Police list intrastate-only general commodities carriers, wreckers and all household goods carriers. Interstate general commodity carriers don’t renew as long as they stay current on their UCR fees. The two are linked: the statute says the commission shall revoke the intrastate authority of a UCR carrier that fails to renew its UCR registration by January 1.
Not sure which bucket you’re in? Ask before December. Don’t find out in January.
What Michigan Intrastate Authority Costs
The State Police pages tell you Michigan intrastate authority fees are due, but they don’t print the amounts. They’re in the statute. Here’s what the Motor Carrier Act sets:
| Fee | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate application | $100 | MCL 478.1 |
| Renewal administration fee | $50 | MCL 478.1 |
| Annual fee, per self-propelled intrastate vehicle | $100 ($50 for a vehicle that starts operating after June 30) | MCL 478.2 |
| Replacement vehicle identification | $10 | MCL 478.2 |
| Temporary 72-hour permit | $10 | MCL 478.2 |
| Late renewal penalty | $50 per month or partial month | MCL 479.10 |
On paper, a new carrier with three trucks is looking at $100 for the application plus $300 in vehicle fees. The portal calculates your actual total at checkout, so treat the statute’s numbers as the starting point, not a quote.
The expensive line item isn’t on that table. It’s the fine print in the next section.
Decals, Cab Cards and What Happens When You Run Without Authority
Every truck on your authority needs its own decal and cab card. The State Police tell you to enter all vehicles that require a decal in the vehicle section of your application. The cab card stays in the vehicle it was issued for, and under MCL 479.8, new equipment can’t run until its identification has been issued and attached.
That matters the minute you buy a truck. A tractor that shows up on Monday and starts hauling Tuesday, before the identification is issued, is running outside the statute.
And the consequences aren’t just paperwork. The statute bars a carrier from operating any vehicle on Michigan highways while fees under the act remain unpaid. After a commission order, the vehicle can also be impounded, and under MCL 479.12 it’s released only on the commission’s order and after the owner pays the impounding expenses. A parked truck isn’t a paperwork problem. It’s a revenue problem.
Two Filings, Two Agencies, Two Ways to Fail
Plenty of Michigan carriers run both kinds of commerce, sometimes in the same week. Each side has its own authority and its own insurance filing, and they fail independently.
| Interstate | Michigan intrastate | |
|---|---|---|
| Authority | FMCSA operating authority | CVED intrastate operating authority |
| Issued by | FMCSA | Michigan State Police, CVED |
| Insurance filing | BMC-91X | Certificate of Liability plus Form E from your insurer |
| Workers’ comp | Not part of federal authority | Proof, or an approved exclusion form |
| Annual obligation | UCR | Renewal October 1 to December 1 (UCR-current interstate carriers don’t renew) |
| Per-truck paperwork | USDOT number on the truck | CVED decal and cab card for each vehicle |
| If you miss it | Interstate authority goes down | Cancellation on and after January 1 |
One commercial auto policy can support both. That doesn’t mean both filings are healthy. A clean BMC-91X says nothing about whether your Michigan Form E is on file.
Why a Filing Minimum Isn’t a Protection Number
Whatever limit the State Police will accept on your Form E, it’s a filing number. It answers one question: can you stay legal? It doesn’t answer the question that actually matters, which is what a serious injury claim costs.
Think about where Michigan freight actually runs. I-94 between Detroit and Chicago. I-75 from Detroit through Flint and up to the Mackinac Bridge. I-96 across the state. US-131 out of Grand Rapids. That’s dense traffic, bad winter weather and a lot of auto-industry freight on tight schedules. The gap between a regulator’s minimum and a bad day on one of those roads comes out of your equipment, your receivables and everything you own.
We’re not telling you to buy more limit because we sell limit. We’re telling you because your truck and trailer are probably the biggest investment you’ve made outside your house, and a filing minimum was never designed to protect them. An excess layer usually costs far less than people expect, and a short conversation will tell you what it would take.
What You Should Do Right Now
If you hold Michigan intrastate authority, check the renewal today
Log into the CVED Authority Portal and look for the Renewal application type. It only appears during the renewal period, and the period is open now. Do not wait for the last week of November.
Ask your agent the filing question, not the policy question
“Is there a Form E on file for my Michigan authority?” is the right question. “Your policy is active” is an answer to a different one. Ask what the Form E says, too, so you know the limit it was written at.
Pull your workers’ comp proof, or your exclusion form
It’s part of the application and the renewal. If your comp lapsed at any point this year, find out now, because the commission can ask you to demonstrate compliance.
Count your power units and match them to your decals
Every vehicle that needs a decal has to be in the application. If you added a truck this year, make sure it’s on file, and don’t run a new unit until its identification is issued.
Call CVED and ask what it accepts on a Form E
517-284-3250, option 4, then option 1. Then compare that number to your largest shipper contract. The state isn’t the party that will be suing you.
The Bottom Line
Michigan isn’t confusing because the rules are hard. It’s confusing because the paperwork world still thinks a commission runs this.
The State Police issue your Michigan intrastate authority. Your insurance company files the Form E. A renewal window that opens October 1 and closes December 1 decides whether you’re still legal on January 2, and the statute says the cancellation happens on its own.
We read these filings. We’ll tell you what’s on file, what’s missing and what your limits really look like before it becomes a January problem. That’s how we handle every trucking insurance account we write. If you’re starting from scratch, our new venture trucking insurance page is a good place to begin.
If you’re hauling in Michigan, let’s go through it. Take a look at our Michigan trucking insurance page, or just call us at 800-885-6682 and we’ll pull your filings up with you.
