TL;DR: Apply to DOR Motor Carrier Services for intrastate authority, then deliver the insurer-filed Form E and your tariff within 60 days, after which the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity issues. The filing stays continuous thereafter, and interstate work adds federal authority with BMC filings from the same policy.
What is Indiana intrastate authority?
A Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity issued by the Department of Revenue's Motor Carrier Services division for for-hire intrastate carriage, applied for through the IOA process, and conditioned on two documents: the Form E certificate of insurance from the carrier's insurance company and the carrier's tariff, both received within 60 days of the application. Passenger and household goods operations run through their own DOR authority categories with the federal-mirror limits. Private carriers and interstate-only operations sit outside the certificate system, with the DOR's registration and tax functions, IRP, IFTA, still applying as relevant.
What is the application sequence?
| Step | What happens | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | IOA application to DOR Motor Carrier Services | Entity details match everything downstream |
| 2 | Insurer files the Form E | $300,000 or $750,000 by weight tier |
| 3 | Tariff filed | The rate document; prepare it before applying |
| 4 | Both received within 60 days | Or the application dismisses |
| 5 | Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity issues | Valid while the filing stays continuous |
The tariff is the step that surprises: a rate schedule surviving from regulated-era practice, unfamiliar to operators who have only known open-market freight, and the second half of the 60-day deadline. Templates and service providers exist, and preparing it alongside the insurance quote keeps the window comfortable.
What must the Form E certify?
Liability at the federal-mirror tier for the operation, $300,000 for vehicles under 10,000 pounds, $750,000 at 10,001 and above, passenger tiers where applicable, transmitted by the insurer in the applicant's exact name with the standard cancellation-notice obligations. Working policies run at $1,000,000 for contract reasons, satisfying the certificate incidentally. The filing then lives the universal filing-state life: continuous or the authority suspends, replacements posted before cancellations, verification after every change.
How do state and federal systems combine?
In the standard parallel: Indiana carriers running interstate hold federal authority with the BMC filing and MCS-90 alongside the DOR certificate and Form E, one policy typically behind both, renewing federally through UCR. The aligned floors make the combination seamless on limits; the filings remain independent obligations with independent lapse clocks. Crossroads geography makes mixed operations the Indiana norm, and both systems belong on every renewal checklist.
What should growing Indiana carriers watch?
The junctions and the border. Crossroads corridor work concentrates exposure that underwriters price by lane, northwest Indiana operations inherit Chicago-adjacent theft and congestion with the Illinois venue question one exit away, and steel or aggregate ambitions move operations into trade markets with securement expectations. The first interstate load brings the federal stack; the first employee brings comp; and the certificate's tariff obligation follows rate changes. Each transition papers cheaper in advance.
Where are rules and status verified?
DOR Motor Carrier Services for authority, filing, and tariff rules, with the CMV guidebook as the consolidated reference; FMCSA for the federal layer; and the Department of Insurance, (317) 232-2385, for insurer questions. Verification after changes, of both filings and the tariff's currency, keeps the certificate quiet. The 60-day window makes the first verification the most important one: confirm with DOR that both the Form E and the tariff actually posted, in the right name, before assuming the certificate is coming, because the dismissal letter arrives after the deadline, not before it.
Real questions Indiana carriers seeking intrastate authority ask
How do I get Indiana intrastate authority?
Apply through DOR Motor Carrier Services, then deliver the insurer-filed Form E and your tariff within 60 days, after which the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity issues. Prepare both documents before applying and the deadline is a formality.
Who files the Form E in Indiana?
The insurance company, with DOR, in the applicant's exact name at the federal-mirror tier for the operation. The carrier's half of the deadline is the tariff, the rate document that must arrive in the same 60 days.
What is a tariff and why does Indiana still require one?
A rate schedule surviving from regulated-era practice, filed alongside the insurance proof. Unfamiliar to open-market operators but routine to prepare, and the second cause of 60-day dismissals after late insurance.
What happens if the 60-day window passes?
The application dismisses and the process restarts with new filings. Prevention is preparation: coverage quoted and the tariff drafted before the application goes in.
Does the Indiana certificate cover interstate loads?
No. Interstate freight requires federal authority with its own BMC filing and MCS-90, held alongside the state certificate by most Indiana carriers given crossroads geography. Each filing verifies independently.
Can Morrow write trucking insurance in Indiana?
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 Indiana, we can refer you to a licensed Indiana agent, and this guide still shows you exactly what to ask that agent for. Everything above comes from public Indiana and federal sources, not from us selling you a policy.
Related Indiana trucking guides
The other Indiana trucking questions, answered the same way.
- Trucking insurance in Indiana (start here)
- Trucking insurance requirements
- Minimum liability limits for trucks
- Cost of trucking insurance
- Business insurance in Indiana
- Federal minimum liability limits by commodity
- What is an MCS-90 endorsement?
- FMCSA filing timeline and the 20-day rule
- Trucking and transportation insurance overview
This guide is general information, not legal, tax, or insurance advice. Limits, forms, and deadlines change, so verify current requirements with Indiana DOR Motor Carrier Services before you rely on them. Morrow is a brand name of Afthonea Inc. Last updated: July 2026.