Texas Trucking Compliance: Intrastate Authority, Texas Hours, and What DPS Inspectors Find

The intrastate hours and age limits above are as stated in DPS form MCS-9 (revised May 2021), DPS's summary of 37 TAC 4.12. The rule was last amended effective December 11, 2025; the rule text cited below is the Legal Information Institute's reproduction, not the official Texas Administrative Code.

Who this guide is for

Texas has the second-largest carrier population in the country: 53,222 interstate carriers in FMCSA's census, plus 127,262 intrastate carriers listed in the same file. 86.8% of the interstate carriers run 10 or fewer power units. Texas also records more roadside inspections than any state except California: 700,384 in the most recent 24-month window.

This guide is for Texas owner-operators, fleets, and safety managers deciding which rules apply to which trucks. For deeper data on Texas carriers by fleet size, see our Texas Motor Carrier Safety Profile. Metro pages: Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio.

Texas intrastate rules vs federal rules

What Texas's intrastate rules mean in practice

Farm vehicles under 48,000 pounds are excluded from the Texas intrastate commercial motor vehicle definition (Transportation Code 548.001). A Texas truck that runs one load into Oklahoma or Louisiana is under federal Part 395 for that trip, so dispatch has to know which rulebook each run is under before the driver starts. Drivers who violate the intrastate 12- or 15-hour limits are placed out of service for 8 consecutive hours, according to DPS.

Two things the table does not change. Between 10,001 and 26,000 pounds, a Texas truck in interstate commerce is still fully under the federal rules. And the federal drug and alcohol testing rules follow CDL drivers regardless of the intrastate definition. Our interstate vs intrastate guide covers how a trip's character is decided.

TxDMV registration, USDOT numbers and UCR

Under Transportation Code chapter 643, a motor carrier may not operate a commercial motor vehicle (as defined in section 548.001) on Texas roads without registering with TxDMV. DPS calls this intrastate operating authority. Carriers that move household goods for pay must register regardless of vehicle size. The application must include an identification number issued by or under FMCSA; DPS says a USDOT number has been required to apply for, renew or reinstate intrastate authority since September 2009. The statute sets the application fee; check TxDMV for the current total before filing.

One common misunderstanding: DPS states that carriers participating in the Unified Carrier Registration program may be exempted from renewing TxDMV intrastate authority. That covers renewal only. Initial TxDMV registration is still required. See our guides to UCR registration and federal operating authority.

Who enforces trucking safety in Texas

The Texas Department of Public Safety handles commercial vehicle safety. Its Commercial Vehicle Enforcement service includes the Motor Carrier Bureau, which trains inspectors and runs new entrant evaluations, compliance reviews and enforcement cases. TxDMV, a separate agency, handles intrastate registration. Texas law lets the DPS director adopt the federal safety regulations by reference, requires state rules to be consistent with federal regulations, and gives DPS rules priority over conflicting federal rules for intrastate vehicles only.

What Texas roadside inspections find

Texas inspections are overwhelmingly about equipment. 62.2% of Texas vehicle inspections recorded at least one maintenance violation, against 48.9% nationally, and brakes alone account for more than a fifth of every violation Texas inspectors recorded. The vehicle out-of-service rate at Texas inspections was 25.1% (national 22.5%). Hours-of-service violations were comparatively rare, on 4.1% of driver inspections.

Source: Fleet Regulators analysis of FMCSA Safety Measurement System (SMS) input files, monthly run published October 2026, covering roadside inspections recorded September 25, 2024 to September 24, 2026. "In the state" means the inspection was reported by Texas, whatever the carrier's home state. Driver rates use Level 1, 2, 3 and 6 inspections; vehicle rates use Level 1, 2, 5 and 6. Group names are FMCSA's. Same method as our HOS roadside violations study.

Texas-based interstate carriers, wherever inspected, had a driver out-of-service rate of 7.4% and a vehicle out-of-service rate of 23.5%. Our Texas safety profile breaks those rates down by fleet size. These figures describe what inspectors recorded, not how safe carriers in the state are. Rates move with enforcement priorities, which inspection levels a state favors, where it inspects, and which carriers pass through.

For a Texas fleet, the cheapest improvement is usually a brake and lighting program: drivers who check pushrod travel, air leaks and lamps on every pre-trip, and a shop that fixes them the same day. See our Vehicle Maintenance BASIC guide.

Where Texas carriers get caught out

• Running Texas hours on an interstate trip. The 12/15 limits apply only to intrastate driving.
• Assuming UCR replaces TxDMV. UCR affects renewal of intrastate authority, not the initial registration.
• Light trucks in interstate commerce. A 16,000-pound truck can sit outside the Texas intrastate definition and still be fully regulated the day it crosses a state line.
• Age-18 drivers on the wrong loads. They may drive intrastate only; one interstate dispatch is a violation.
• Brakes and lamps. The most frequent findings in Texas inspection data by a wide margin.

Texas compliance checklist

• Classify every truck: over 26,000 lb (Texas intrastate CMV), 10,001 lb and up in interstate use (federal), placardable hazmat (both).
• Get a USDOT number and complete initial TxDMV registration before operating intrastate CMVs; keep UCR current for renewal.
• Mark each trip as intrastate or interstate; audit logs against the matching limits.
• Keep drivers under 21, and drivers with intrastate limb waivers or K restrictions, on intrastate dispatch only.
• Maintain driver qualification files (see the DQ file checklist) and Clearinghouse queries.
• Run a brake and lighting check on every pre-trip; document annual inspections.
• Prepare for new entrant evaluations in the first months of a new authority.

The Compliance Command Center workbook is an option for carriers that want to track this themselves.

How Fleet Regulators supports Texas carriers

Fleet Regulators is based in Austin, and every engagement, in Texas or elsewhere, runs remotely: log audits through your ELD portal, driver files in a shared system, and scheduled calls. For Texas carriers we can sort intrastate and interstate operations and audit logs against the right limits (HOS log auditing), build driver qualification files kept to the standard a DPS compliance review checks, prepare for audits and new entrant evaluations, and work down brake and maintenance violations that drive CSA scores. Carriers that want the safety function handled end to end use our fractional safety department.

About Fleet Regulators

Outsourced safety department, Austin, Texas

Fleet Regulators was founded by Rhythm Gandhi (The Safety Gal) and supports motor carriers remotely in all 50 states with DOT audit preparation, HOS log auditing, driver qualification files, and CSA score work. More about Rhythm and the team.