$25 plus $5 a vehicle
ARDOT for-hire permit
ARDOT intrastate authority FAQ and general freight packet, 2026
Arkansas · state requirements
Commercial auto insurance in Arkansas
For Arkansas businesses running pickups, vans and trucks: the state’s liability minimums, the coverage that stays on your policy unless you reject it, ARDOT rules for hauling for pay and what a lapse costs.
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Get commercial auto quotes in Arkansas
What similar businesses pay
- ARDOT for-hire permit
- $25 plus $5 a vehicle
- Fine for driving uninsured
- $100–$250 first offense
- Registration reinstatement
- $100 fee
Published benchmarks, not quotes. Your price depends on underwriting.
Cost
What commercial auto insurance in Arkansas costs
$100–$250 first offense
Fine for driving uninsured
Ark. Code 27-22-103, rising to $500–$1,000 by the third
$100 fee
Registration reinstatement
Ark. Code 27-22-209, after an online verification suspension
No Arkansas agency publishes premium medians for commercial auto, so the figures above are the fixed costs the state sets: ARDOT’s fee to register a general freight carrier for in-state hauling, the court fine for driving uninsured and the fee to lift a registration suspension. Your premium is set by each insurer and depends on the vehicles, their radius, your drivers and the limits you choose. Buying only the 25/50/25 floor costs least but leaves the most risk; a for-hire carrier starts at ARDOT’s 50/100/30, and many customers ask for more.
What moves your price
- Where each vehicle is garaged and how far it runs from base
- Vehicle type and weight, from a cargo van to a loaded tractor-trailer
- Whether you haul your own goods or carry for pay, which brings ARDOT’s higher 50/100/30 floor
- Each driver’s motor vehicle record and experience
- The liability limits your customers write into contracts
- Whether you keep or reject in writing the uninsured motorist and PIP coverage Arkansas puts on a policy by default
- Any gap in coverage, which insurers and the state both see
Arkansas
What’s different in Arkansas
25/50/25 is the floor, from an insurer cleared for Arkansas
Ark. Code 27-22-104 requires $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for injuries plus $25,000 for property damage. The policy must come from an insurer authorized or eligible to do business in Arkansas, unless the vehicle has a certificate of self-insurance.
Uninsured motorist cover stays on unless you reject it in writing
Under Ark. Code 23-89-403, UM bodily injury coverage is part of every policy on a vehicle registered or garaged in Arkansas unless a named insured rejects it in writing, and that rejection stands until withdrawn in writing. Insurify reports an Insurance Research Council estimate that about 12.1% of Arkansas drivers are uninsured.
PIP benefits come with passenger vehicles
Ark. Code 23-89-202 builds first-party benefits into policies on private passenger vehicles: up to $5,000 in medical expenses, 70% of lost income up to $140 a week and a $5,000 death benefit. You can reject them in writing under 23-89-203.
No card, or no match, means you are presumed uninsured
Ark. Code 27-22-104 presumes a vehicle is uninsured if the driver cannot show a proof-of-insurance card or the state’s online system shows no coverage. The verification law lets the Insurance Commissioner exempt vehicles on commercial policies, so a fleet truck may not show up online. Keep a card, paper or on a phone, in every cab.
A lapse suspends the registration, even after you fix it
When the online system flags an uninsured vehicle, Ark. Code 27-22-209 suspends its registration even if you buy coverage later or sell the vehicle, and reinstating costs $100. A court can also fine a driver $100 to $250 for a first offense and up to $1,000 or a year in jail for a third.
Hauling for pay inside Arkansas needs ARDOT authority
ARDOT requires every for-hire carrier of property or passengers operating wholly within Arkansas to hold intrastate authority, with liability of $50,000/$100,000/$30,000 shown on an ACORD certificate. Interstate carriers need it too, and the permit is renewed every year.
Coverage
Coverage Arkansas businesses need
Commercial auto liability
Pays for injuries and property damage your vehicles cause to others. It is the coverage measured against Arkansas’s 25/50/25 floor and ARDOT’s 50/100/30.
How commercial auto works →Uninsured and underinsured motorist
Pays for injuries to your drivers when the at-fault driver has no insurance or too little. In Arkansas UM is included unless rejected in writing, and underinsured cover is tied to having UM under Ark. Code 23-89-209.
How commercial auto works →Personal injury protection
First-party medical, lost income and death benefits under Ark. Code 23-89-202, paid regardless of fault. It applies to policies on private passenger vehicles unless rejected in writing.
How commercial auto works →Physical damage
Collision and comprehensive for your own vehicles. Not required by the state, but lenders and lessors usually require it.
How commercial auto works →Hired and non-owned auto
Covers your business when employees drive rented vehicles or their own cars on errands, deliveries or site visits. Their personal policies may exclude business use.
How commercial auto works →Umbrella or excess
Adds limits above your auto liability when a contract asks for $1 million or more, well beyond the state and ARDOT floors.
How umbrella / excess works →Rules
Arkansas requirements
Arkansas sets one liability floor for every vehicle and a higher one for carriers hauling for pay inside the state. Interstate for-hire trucks also answer to federal minimums, and customers often ask for more than any of them.
| Requirement | Applies to | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum liability | Every motor vehicle operated in Arkansas | $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident and $25,000 property damage under Ark. Code 27-22-104(b). |
| Approved insurer or self-insurance | Every motor vehicle operated in Arkansas | A policy from an insurer authorized or eligible in Arkansas, or a self-insurance certificate under Ark. Code 27-19-107, per Ark. Code 27-22-104(a)(1). |
| Proof of insurance | Drivers at a traffic stop or arrest | A proof-of-insurance card, on paper or a phone. Without it, or a match in the online system, the vehicle is presumed uninsured under Ark. Code 27-22-104(a)(2). |
| Uninsured motorist coverage | Policies on vehicles registered or principally garaged in Arkansas | Included unless a named insured rejects it in writing; insurers must offer limits up to your liability limits, per Ark. Code 23-89-403. |
| Penalty for driving uninsured | Drivers | $100–$250 first offense, $250–$500 second, then $500–$1,000 or up to a year in jail, under Ark. Code 27-22-103. |
| Online verification suspension | Owners of vehicles flagged as uninsured | Registration suspended even if you insure or sell the vehicle afterward; $100 reinstatement fee plus proof, under Ark. Code 27-22-209. |
| ARDOT intrastate authority | For-hire carriers of property or passengers operating wholly within Arkansas | Liability of $50,000/$100,000/$30,000 under ARDOT Rule 13.1, an ACORD certificate, a $25 application fee and $5 a vehicle for general freight; renewed yearly. |
| Federal minimum liability | For-hire interstate property carriers with vehicles of 10,001 lb or more | $750,000 for general freight under 49 CFR 387.9, higher for hazardous materials. |
Compare commercial auto options in Arkansas.
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Pay less
How to lower the cost
- Keep coverage continuous: a lapse caught by the online system costs $100 to reinstate the registration even if you insure the vehicle the next day.
- Check whether you need ARDOT authority at all: private carriers hauling their own freight, carriers inside their commercial zone and owner-operators leased to a for-hire carrier do not, per ARDOT.
- Decide on uninsured motorist and PIP deliberately: rejecting them in writing lowers the premium, but the UM rejection stays in force until you withdraw it in writing.
- Run motor vehicle records on every driver before adding them and recheck them yearly.
- List each vehicle at its true garaging address and radius so the rate matches how you actually operate.
- Compare several quotes at renewal; Florin is an independent broker that compares options from several insurers.
Before you start
What underwriters ask for
- USDOT number and ARDOT intrastate permit number, if you haul for pay
- Vehicle list with VINs, years, weights, values and any lienholder
- Garaging address for each vehicle and your typical radius
- Driver list with license numbers, dates of birth and years of experience
- What you haul or carry and whether it is your own goods or for hire
- Loss runs from your current and prior insurers
- Current declarations page, including any signed UM or PIP rejections
- The liability limits your customers or contracts require
Common questions
Commercial auto insurance in Arkansas: questions
What are the minimum commercial auto insurance limits in Arkansas?
The same 25/50/25 floor applies to business and personal vehicles under Ark. Code 27-22-104: $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident and $25,000 for property damage. Carriers hauling for pay inside Arkansas need $50,000/$100,000/$30,000 for ARDOT authority.
Is uninsured motorist coverage required in Arkansas?
It is included on every policy unless a named insured rejects it in writing, under Ark. Code 23-89-403. The rejection carries over to renewals until you withdraw it in writing.
Do I need ARDOT authority to haul within Arkansas?
You do if you carry property or passengers for pay entirely within Arkansas. ARDOT says private carriers moving their own freight, carriers staying inside their commercial zone and owner-operators leased to a for-hire carrier do not.
I have federal operating authority. Do I still need an Arkansas permit?
Yes. ARDOT says interstate carriers must still apply for intrastate authority, though they pay the yearly renewal through the federal UCR system rather than twice.
What happens if I am caught without insurance in Arkansas?
A first offense carries a mandatory fine of $100 to $250 under Ark. Code 27-22-103, and the registration is suspended if you cannot show coverage when the case is decided. A third offense can bring $1,000 or a year in jail.
Can an out-of-state insurer’s policy satisfy Arkansas law?
Only if the insurer is authorized or eligible to do business in Arkansas, under Ark. Code 27-22-104. Check this before moving vehicles or a new location into the state.
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Sources (11)
- ARDOT: Arkansas intrastate operating authority FAQ (2026)
- ARDOT: intrastate registration packet for general freight carriers
- Justia: Ark. Code 27-22-104, insurance required and minimum coverage (2025)
- Justia: Ark. Code 27-22-103, penalties (2025)
- Justia: Ark. Code 27-22-207, online verification exemptions
- Justia: Ark. Code 27-22-209, suspension of registration
- Justia: Ark. Code 23-89-403, uninsured motorist coverage (2024)
- FindLaw: Ark. Code 23-89-202, first-party benefits
- CourtListener: Brown v. Markel American Insurance Co., on Ark. Code 23-89-209
- Insurify: Arkansas car insurance costs, citing the Insurance Research Council (2026)
- eCFR: 49 CFR 387.9, minimum levels of financial responsibility
Figures are published third-party estimates, not quotes. Coverage depends on policy terms and underwriting, and rules vary by state. Updated November 2026.