Does a Mississippi truck need a USDOT number for in-state work?

We could not confirm Mississippi’s rule from its official sources. Ask the Mississippi Department of Public Safety before assuming you are exempt.

Checked against Mississippi’s official sources in September 2026.

The rule in Mississippi

Who it covers: State safety oversight covers holders of Mississippi for-hire certificates and permits, commercial enterprises operating vehicles rated over 10,000 lb, and any placarded hazmat vehicle. Intrastate-only vehicles rated 26,000 lb or less are excluded unless they carry hazmat or 16+ passengers.

The weight line: The Mississippi statute that brings trucks under the federal safety rules excludes intrastate-only vehicles, including pickups, with a GVWR or GCWR of 26,000 lb or less, unless they carry placarded hazmat or 16+ passengers. This is the safety-rule line. No Mississippi source was found on a USDOT-number line.

Exemptions the state lists:

Intrastate-only vehicles (including pickups) with GVWR or GCWR of 26,000 lb or less, unless placarded hazmat or 16+ passengers
Farmer-owned vehicles hauling own farm products or supplies within 150 air miles (private carrier, no placarded hazmat)
Vehicles exclusively hauling gravel, soil or other unmanufactured road-building materials
Log and pulpwood haulers from harvest to first processing
Government-owned vehicles; school transport; emergency vehicles; occasional non-commercial personal-property transport

“(g) Motor vehicles, including pickup trucks, that have a GVWR or GCWR of twenty-six thousand (26,000) pounds or less, operating intrastate only, provided that such vehicle does not: (i) Transport hazardous material requiring a placard; or (ii) Transport sixteen (16) or more passengers, including the driver.” source

The rule: Miss. Code Ann. § 77-7-16 (supervision and inspection of safe operation of certain motor vehicles)

Who to ask: Mississippi Department of Public Safety (inspection/enforcement under § 77-7-16); Mississippi Department of Transportation, Office of Enforcement / Permit Motor Carrier (intrastate operating authority)

Safety rules for in-state trucks

The statute directs the Mississippi Transportation Commission to adopt USDOT motor vehicle safety rules as its own, and the Department of Public Safety enforces them. We did not locate the adopting rule itself. (Miss. Code Ann. § 77-7-16(1))

Vehicles exclusively hauling gravel, soil or other unmanufactured road-building materials are outside § 77-7-16. This may matter to landscaping and dirt haulers.

The federal lines, which apply in Mississippi too

10,001 lb and interstate commerce: a USDOT number, a medical card, a driver qualification file, the hours-of-service rules and daily inspections (49 CFR 390.5).
26,001 lb: a CDL, for a single vehicle or a combination towing more than 10,000 lb (383.5). The CDL rules cover in-state driving as well (383.3), and drug and alcohol testing follows the CDL (382.103).

Check your own truck and trailer

Questions

Does Mississippi require a USDOT number for intrastate trucks?

We could not confirm Mississippi’s rule from its official sources. Ask the Mississippi Department of Public Safety before assuming you are exempt.

What is the CDL weight in Mississippi?

The same as everywhere: 26,001 lb for a single vehicle, or a combination of 26,001 lb towing more than 10,000 lb. The federal CDL rules apply to in-state driving too (49 CFR 383.3), and drug and alcohol testing follows the CDL (382.103).

Who administers the rule in Mississippi?

Mississippi Department of Public Safety (inspection/enforcement under § 77-7-16); Mississippi Department of Transportation, Office of Enforcement / Permit Motor Carrier (intrastate operating authority).

What we could not confirm

Mississippi is not on FMCSA's list of states that require an in-state USDOT number, and we found no Mississippi statute, rule or agency page that requires one — but none that says it isn't required either. The in-state for-hire authority application has a USDOT number field without saying it is mandatory.
The Mississippi rule that adopts the federal safety regulations, and who needs in-state for-hire authority, were not confirmed.

Sources

General information, not legal advice. It summarises Mississippi’s published rules as read in September 2026; confirm with the Mississippi Department of Public Safety or FMCSA.