Interstate commerce, in the federal rules, is transportation between a place in one state and a place outside it, or between two places in the same state when the trip passes through another state or is part of a movement that began or will end outside the state. Everything else is intrastate. Interstate carriers and drivers are under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations directly; intrastate operations are under their state’s rules, which must match the federal ones in most respects but may differ in a few defined ways, most notably allowing drivers from age 18.
The definitions
49 CFR 390.5T defines interstate commerce as trade, traffic or transportation in the United States:
- between a place in a State and a place outside of such State (including a place outside of the United States);
- between two places in a State through another State or a place outside of the United States; or
- between two places in a State as part of trade, traffic, or transportation originating or terminating outside the State or the United States.
Intrastate commerce is "any trade, traffic, or transportation in any State which is not described in the term interstate commerce."
Point 3 is what surprises people. A driver who never leaves Texas can still be in interstate commerce if the freight is on a journey that started or will end outside Texas, for example an import container moving from a port to an in-state warehouse on its way from overseas. Whether a particular leg is part of a continuing interstate movement depends on the facts of the shipment; if your business depends on the answer, ask your state’s motor carrier office or FMCSA.
What changes: the side-by-side view
| Topic | Interstate | Intrastate |
|---|---|---|
| Safety rules (Parts 390 to 396) | Apply directly (390.3T(a)(1)) | State law, compatible with the federal rules except for allowed variances (350.305) |
| CDL rules (Part 383) | Apply | Apply equally (390.3T(b)) |
| Drug and alcohol testing (Part 382) | Applies to CDL drivers | Applies to CDL drivers "in commerce in any State" (382.103(a)) |
| Minimum driver age | 21 (391.11(b)(1)) | At least 18; the state decides above that (350.305(e)) |
| Medical certificate | Federal standard, 391.41 | State standard; states may grandfather or grant variances (350.305(f)) |
| Hours of service | Part 395 | State rules; may allow 12 hours driving / 16 on duty, 70/7 or 80/8 (350.305(d)) |
| USDOT number | Required (390.19T(a)(1)) | Federally only for intrastate hazmat needing a safety permit (390.19T(a)(2)); state rules vary |
| Operating authority (MC) | For-hire regulated carriers | Not federal; states may license intrastate for-hire carriers |
| Federal insurance minimums (Part 387) | For-hire property carriers; all hazmat carriers | Hazmat carriers only (387.3(b)); otherwise state law |
| UCR | Yes | Only if the state opts in (49 U.S.C. 14504a(j)) |
| IRP and IFTA | Yes, if qualified and running in 2+ jurisdictions | No |
| Heavy vehicle use tax (Form 2290) | Yes at 55,000 lb+ | Yes at 55,000 lb+: it is a federal tax on highway use, not tied to crossing state lines |
The CDL: self-certification and the K restriction
Every CDL applicant has to pick one of four categories under 383.71(b)(1):
| Category | What you are certifying | Federal medical certificate? |
|---|---|---|
| Non-excepted interstate | You operate or expect to operate in interstate commerce and are subject to and meet Part 391 | Yes (391.45) |
| Excepted interstate | Interstate, but only in operations excepted from Part 391 (for example under 390.3(f) or 391.2) | No |
| Non-excepted intrastate | You operate only in intrastate commerce and are subject to your state’s driver qualification rules | State requirement |
| Excepted intrastate | Intrastate, in operations excepted from all or part of the state rules | Depends on the state exception |
Most over-the-road drivers are non-excepted interstate. A driver who will only work in one state can certify non-excepted intrastate, but should expect a K restriction: 383.153(a)(10)(vii) lists "K for Intrastate only" among the restriction codes shown on a CDL, and the same code appears for commercial learner’s permits. How the codes work is in CDL classes and endorsements, and the medical side in DOT physical requirements and how long a medical card is valid.
Moving from intrastate to interstate work means changing your self-certification with your state, meeting the federal physical standard, and being at least 21.
What "excepted" covers
The excepted categories point back to operations the federal rules leave out. 390.3T(f) lists them: school bus operations; transportation by federal, state or local government; occasional transportation of personal property by individuals not for compensation or business; transporting human corpses or sick and injured persons; fire trucks and rescue vehicles in emergencies; vehicles for 9 to 15 passengers not for direct compensation (with some rules still applying); and drivers of propane winter heating fuel or pipeline emergency vehicles where the rules would prevent an emergency response. 391.2 adds custom harvesting, beekeepers moving bees seasonally, certain farm vehicle drivers, covered farm vehicles (for the physical rules) and pipeline welding trucks. A driver for a city public works department, for example, is outside the federal qualification rules because government transportation is excepted by 390.3T(f)(2).
Drivers of lighter interstate CMVs
The interstate line matters even without a CDL. Under 390.5T a vehicle of 10,001 pounds or more used in interstate commerce is a commercial motor vehicle, and the Part 391 driver qualification rules, including the minimum age of 21 in 391.11(b)(1), apply to its driver. So a 20-year-old may be able to drive a 14,000-pound box truck without a CDL inside his state, if state law allows it, but not on a business trip into the next state. The carrier also needs a USDOT number for that interstate operation (USDOT vs MC).
Age: 18 intrastate, 21 interstate
391.11(b)(1): a person is qualified to drive a CMV in interstate commerce only if at least 21 years old. For intrastate commerce, 350.305(e) sets the federal floor states must respect: "All intrastate CMV drivers must be at least 18 years of age." Whether a state allows 18- to 20-year-olds to drive CMVs within its borders is up to its own law. Getting the CDL itself is covered in the commercial learner’s permit and skills test guides; practice for the knowledge test with the CDL practice test, and find schools in the CDL training directory.
What states may and may not change for intrastate
States that receive federal motor carrier safety funding must keep their rules compatible with the federal ones. 49 CFR 350.305 lists the only variances allowed for intrastate commerce:
- Smaller vehicles (350.305(a)): a state may exempt a CMV from all or part of its rules if its weight rating or weight is under 26,001 pounds, but not if it carries placarded hazardous materials or is designed or used to carry 16 or more people including the driver.
- No exemptions by type of business (for-hire vs private), except pre-April 1988 industry exemptions still in force (350.305(b)).
- No distance-based exemptions beyond those in the federal rules themselves (350.305(c)).
- Hours of service (350.305(d)): a state may allow a 12-hour driving limit with no driving after 16 hours on duty; limits of 70 hours in 7 days or 80 hours in 8 days; and a 150 air-mile radius for the local exception, or the federal radius if greater. Compare the federal limits on the hours of service page, or run a schedule through the HOS calculator (it uses the federal rules).
- Age: at least 18 (350.305(e)).
- Medical (350.305(f)): drivers who were qualified under state law before the state adopted the federal physical standards may stay qualified if their condition has not substantially worsened and no new disqualifying condition has developed; states may run medically based variance programs.
- Other variances only with FMCSA approval, if the state rule achieves substantially the same purpose, does not apply to interstate commerce and is unlikely to hurt safety (350.305(g)).
So "intrastate" does not mean "unregulated." It means state rules that mirror the federal ones with a few permitted differences. Your state’s DMV or department of public safety publishes its own version.
Hazardous materials: federal rules reach intrastate
Hazmat is the main exception to the federal/state split:
- 387.3(b): the Part 387 insurance minimums apply to motor carriers transporting hazardous materials, substances or wastes in intrastate commerce too, with limited exceptions for non-bulk intrastate loads in 387.3(c)(2).
- 390.19T(a)(2): an intrastate carrier that needs a hazardous materials safety permit must file Form MCS-150B and get a USDOT number.
- Placarded loads are also outside the state small-vehicle exemption in 350.305(a)(2).
Business credentials
- Operating authority: the federal MC number is for interstate for-hire carriers (385.301T(a)). Intrastate for-hire carriers deal with their state. See USDOT vs MC number.
- UCR: interstate carriers pay; for intrastate-only carriers a state "may elect to apply" the UCR agreement (14504a(j)). Interstate carriers may also leave vehicles used only in intrastate transportation of property out of their UCR count (14504a(f)(3)). See UCR registration.
- IRP and IFTA: only for vehicles travelling in two or more jurisdictions; Colorado’s IFTA page says carriers that "do not travel out of state do not qualify for IFTA." See IRP and IFTA.
- Form 2290: applies to any taxable vehicle used on public highways, interstate or not. See Form 2290.
Worked examples
Example 1. A 19-year-old with a Class A CDL drives a dump truck for a quarry, hauling gravel between sites inside one state, and the gravel never leaves the state. That is intrastate commerce. He must be non-excepted intrastate on his CDL, will carry a K restriction, and can drive only if his state allows CMV drivers under 21 intrastate (the federal floor is 18). He is still subject to Part 383 and Part 382 drug and alcohol testing.
Example 2. A driver in Ohio picks up at a Cincinnati warehouse and delivers across the river in Kentucky, 15 miles away. That is interstate under definition 1: all federal rules apply, including the age of 21 and the federal medical certificate.
Example 3. A driver moves loads between two cities in the same state, but the fastest route cuts through a corner of a neighboring state. Definition 2 makes that interstate commerce.
Example 4. A private carrier running a 24,000-pound box truck making deliveries within one state. It is under 26,001 pounds and not placarded, so under 350.305(a) the state may exempt it from all or part of its rules. What actually applies depends on the state’s law.
Common mistakes
- Assuming that never crossing a state line means intrastate. Definitions 2 and 3 say otherwise.
- Certifying intrastate on the CDL and then taking an interstate load. A K restriction limits the license to intrastate operation.
- Assuming intrastate drivers are outside drug and alcohol testing. Part 382 applies to CDL drivers in any state.
- Assuming intrastate carriers have no hours-of-service limits. State limits apply, within the 350.305(d) ranges.