TL;DR: ArDOT Rule 13.1 sets Arkansas's intrastate floors at $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident bodily injury with $30,000 property damage, plus $5,000 cargo for common carriers, flat across vehicle weights. Interstate operations follow the federal $750,000 to $5,000,000 tiers, and the $1,000,000 broker standard governs working freight.
What liability limits does Arkansas require for trucks?
Arkansas uses flat split-limit floors for its intrastate permit system, with the federal tiers governing everything they reach.
| Layer | Coverage | Minimum |
|---|---|---|
| ArDOT Rule 13.1, intrastate for-hire | Bodily injury, per person | $50,000 |
| Bodily injury, per accident | $100,000 | |
| Property damage | $30,000 | |
| ArDOT cargo, common carriers | Cargo with endorsement | $5,000 |
| Federal, interstate and reached hazmat | General freight, 10,001 lbs and up | $750,000 |
| Hazmat by commodity | $1,000,000 / $5,000,000 | |
| Registration, light vehicles | Passenger rules | 25/50/25 |
Why are Arkansas's floors flat across weights?
Rule 13.1 predates the weight-tiered approach other states adopted, applying its split limits to intrastate for-hire property carriage regardless of vehicle size, an 80,000 pound combination and a 12,000 pound box truck file the same 50/100/30. The uniformity simplifies the permit system and says nothing about adequacy: $100,000 per accident against loaded-combination severity is among the lowest effective floors in the country, which is why the federal and contract layers do all the real work for Arkansas carriers.
What do the floors mean for actual purchasing?
They gate the permit and nothing else. Working carriers buy $1,000,000 combined single limit because broker packets require it and because it clears the federal floor for the interstate loads that I-40 makes routine; cargo runs at $100,000 for the same contractual reasons, with the Form H satisfied incidentally. Hazmat operations carry federal amounts by commodity. The distance between the state floors and the working numbers is wider in Arkansas than almost anywhere, which makes relying on the floors a category error rather than a savings strategy.
How does Arkansas's tort system bear on limits?
Arkansas is a modified comparative fault state, claims proceed in tort against liability limits, with recovery barred when the claimant's fault reaches half. No PIP layer changes the analysis, and the state's mixed venues, corridor counties seeing serious commercial dockets, have followed the national severity trend. Fleets with assets add excess above the $1,000,000 primary, priced for I-40 exposure and the multi-claimant potential of corridor crashes, and the state floors play no role in that sizing.
What about the state's signature trades?
Poultry hauling, live-haul and processed, timber, and aggregates each carry severity profiles the specialty markets price: live-haul biosecurity and rejection issues, log securement and rollover, dump-body exposures. The Rule 13.1 floors do not distinguish among them; underwriting does, and prudent limits follow the trade's real severity rather than the permit's uniform minimums.
Where are current numbers verified?
The Code of Arkansas Rules and ArDOT's FAQ for the Rule 13.1 amounts, 49 CFR 387.9 for the federal tiers, and the Arkansas Insurance Department, (501) 371-2600, for policy questions. The floors have been stable for years; the contract layer moves on its own, and it is the layer that matters.
Real questions Arkansas owner-operators and fleet managers ask
What is the minimum insurance for a semi in Arkansas?
For the intrastate permit, the flat 50/100/30 floors plus $5,000 cargo for common carriers, regardless of weight. For interstate loads, $750,000 federally. For booking freight, $1,000,000, since broker contracts govern in practice.
Why are Arkansas's minimums so low?
Rule 13.1's flat split limits predate modern severity and were never raised, functioning as permit paperwork rather than protection standards. The federal tiers and the $1,000,000 market standard do the real work for any operating carrier.
Does vehicle weight change Arkansas's intrastate minimums?
No, the 50/100/30 floors apply flat across weights for intrastate for-hire property, unusual among states. Weight matters federally instead, where the $750,000 floor reaches vehicles of 10,001 pounds and up in interstate commerce.
What limits do Arkansas poultry and timber haulers need?
The same legal floors, but the trades' real severity, live-haul losses, log rollover, securement claims, argues for $1,000,000 with meaningful cargo terms and often excess. Specialty markets price the trades on their records, not the permit minimums.
Do Arkansas hazmat haulers follow state or federal amounts?
Federal: $1,000,000 for oil and listed materials, $5,000,000 for bulk high-hazard classes under 49 CFR 387.9, reaching certain intrastate bulk operations as well. The commodity's classification sets the tier regardless of the state floors.
Can Morrow write trucking insurance in Arkansas?
Not directly today. Morrow is the brand name of Afthonea Inc, licensed in Massachusetts, Florida, California, New York, Pennsylvania, Oregon, and Texas. If your trucking company is based in Arkansas, we can refer you to a licensed Arkansas agent, and this guide still shows you exactly what to ask that agent for. Everything above comes from public Arkansas and federal sources, not from us selling you a policy.
Related Arkansas trucking guides
The other Arkansas trucking questions, answered the same way.
- Trucking insurance in Arkansas (start here)
- Trucking insurance requirements
- Intrastate authority and filings
- Cost of trucking insurance
- Business insurance in Arkansas
- Federal minimum liability limits by commodity
- What is an MCS-90 endorsement?
- Federal minimum liability limits by commodity
- Commercial auto for trucking fleets
This guide is general information, not legal, tax, or insurance advice. Limits, forms, and deadlines change, so verify current requirements with the Arkansas Department of Transportation and the Arkansas Insurance Department before you rely on them. Morrow is a brand name of Afthonea Inc. Last updated: July 2026.