TL;DR: The District's own requirement is registration insurance, 25/50/10 liability with PIP optional by election, plus workers comp from the first employee. The trucking itself, being almost entirely interstate, follows the federal tiers with FMCSA filings and the MCS-90, and broker contracts set the working numbers at $1,000,000 and $100,000.
What insurance does DC law require for truckers?
The District's list is short because federal law does the trucking work. DC-registered vehicles carry insurance under the Compulsory/No-Fault Motor Vehicle Insurance Act: 25/50/10 liability minimums, with personal injury protection as an elective the insured chooses rather than a mandate, an unusual middle path between no-fault and pure at-fault jurisdictions. Employers carry workers comp from the first employee through the Department of Employment Services' system. Everything else comes from the federal layer that governs the District's interstate freight reality: 49 CFR 387.9 tiers, insurer-filed BMC certificates, the MCS-90, and from contracts, $1,000,000 liability and $100,000 cargo.
What are the required amounts?
| Requirement | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Registration liability | $25,000 / $50,000 / $10,000 | DC insurance act |
| PIP | Optional, by election | DC insurance act |
| Interstate general freight | $750,000 | 49 CFR 387.9 |
| Hazmat by commodity | $1,000,000 / $5,000,000 | |
| Brokered freight | $1,000,000 + $100,000 cargo | Contracts |
How does the optional PIP election work?
DC insurers offer personal injury protection and the insured decides, in writing, whether to carry it. For fleets the analysis tracks the usual logic: employee drivers are covered by mandatory workers comp, making PIP largely duplicative for them, while non-employee occupants and specific operations can justify the election. Whatever the choice, document it, the election forms are what settle later disputes about what was offered and declined.
What does workers comp require in the District?
Coverage from the first employee, through the private market under the Department of Employment Services. The multi-jurisdiction question is immediate for any metro fleet: DC, Maryland, and Virginia each run their own systems, drivers cross all three daily, and policies should list the jurisdictions where work actually happens. Hiring location, garaging, and delivery patterns all feed the analysis, and getting it wrong surfaces as an uncovered claim in the wrong jurisdiction. Owner-operator classification follows DC's tests, with occupational accident coverage in leases as elsewhere.
How does the urban environment shape the practical program?
It is the program. DC trucking is dense-metro delivery: pedestrians and cyclists dominate the injury exposure, security-driven street restrictions and truck routes constrain operations, construction is constant, and congestion produces the low-speed, high-frequency claim pattern of every major downtown. Cameras are near-mandatory equipment for claim defense; secured overnight parking answers urban theft; and general liability appears in building and facility requirements for delivery operations. The region's medical costs and plaintiff bar give severity to what frequency starts.
What does a complete DC-metro program look like?
$1,000,000 liability with the federal filings behind it, $100,000 cargo, physical damage priced for urban frequency, workers comp with DC, Maryland, and Virginia coordinated, general liability for facility access, and excess for fleets with assets in a high-medical-cost region. The District's registration package sits underneath as the smallest piece, with the PIP election documented either way.
Real questions DC-metro owner-operators and fleet managers ask
What insurance does a truck registered in DC need?
The registration package: 25/50/10 liability with PIP offered and elected or declined in writing. Working operations then carry the federal-and-contract stack, $1,000,000 liability and $100,000 cargo, since DC freight is interstate in practice.
Should a DC fleet elect the optional PIP?
Where drivers are employees covered by mandatory workers comp, PIP is largely duplicative for them and fleets commonly decline it; operations with non-employee occupants weigh it differently. Document the election either way, since the forms settle later disputes.
How does workers comp work across DC, Maryland, and Virginia?
Each jurisdiction runs its own system, and metro drivers touch all three daily, so policies must list the jurisdictions where work happens, guided by hiring, garaging, and delivery patterns. Misalignment surfaces as uncovered claims in the wrong system.
Does DC have its own trucking liability minimums?
No trucking tier exists; the 25/50/10 registration minimums are the District's only auto floors, and the federal tiers govern the interstate operations that constitute DC trucking. Contracts supply the $1,000,000 working standard.
What non-auto coverage do DC delivery fleets need?
General liability for building and facility access requirements, workers comp across the metro jurisdictions, and cameras as operational equipment for urban claim defense. Cargo theft argues for secured parking, and the region's costs argue for excess limits.
Can Morrow write trucking insurance in District of Columbia?
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 District of Columbia, we can refer you to a licensed District of Columbia agent, and this guide still shows you exactly what to ask that agent for. Everything above comes from public District of Columbia and federal sources, not from us selling you a policy.
Related District of Columbia trucking guides
The other District of Columbia trucking questions, answered the same way.
- Trucking insurance in District of Columbia (start here)
- Intrastate authority and filings
- Minimum liability limits for trucks
- Cost of trucking insurance
- Business insurance in District of Columbia
- Federal minimum liability limits by commodity
- What is an MCS-90 endorsement?
- Federal minimum liability limits by commodity
- Workers comp for transportation companies
This guide is general information, not legal, tax, or insurance advice. Limits, forms, and deadlines change, so verify current requirements with FMCSA and the DC DMV before you rely on them. Morrow is a brand name of Afthonea Inc. Last updated: July 2026.