California commercial auto insurance requirements
Commercial auto insurance is liability for automobiles used in a business. The legal floor depends on the vehicle: a car or pickup in business use, an intrastate motor carrier of property, a passenger carrier for hire, or an interstate carrier. Insurance City quotes commercial auto from Stockton for businesses statewide by phone (209) 670-1556.
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What limits apply to a car or pickup used in the business?
A car or pickup used for business still has to meet California's financial-responsibility floor. For a policy issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, Vehicle Code section 16056(a)(2) sets $30,000 for one person's injury or death, $60,000 for more than one person, and $15,000 for property damage.
Read Insurance Code section 11580.1 beside Vehicle Code section 16056. The Department of Insurance restated the 30/60/15 figures in its January 2025 alert. The DMV driver handbook prints the same three figures, and the CDI automobile guide calls 30/60/15 the minimum for a standard auto policy. That floor is not a motor-carrier filing.
The CDI commercial guide describes commercial auto as liability for automobiles used in the business. Title in a person's name does not answer the use question. See the contractor work truck page, the commercial auto product page, and the glossary.
What does the DMV require of an intrastate motor carrier of property?
A motor carrier of property files proof of liability with the DMV and keeps it on file while the permit is active. The permits page says the combined single limit runs from $300,000 to $5,000,000 by vehicle and property. The dollar rows are on form MC 706 M, which the DMV still links. Vehicle Code section 34601 is the definition to read.
The DMV Motor Carrier Permits page, checked October 17, 2026, says a permit is required when someone is paid to transport property, regardless of vehicle size, and that a commercial vehicle with a GVWR of 10,001 pounds or more generally needs one, including private use. Hazardous-materials operations need one. The page also lists operations that do not. The MC 706 M instructions (REV. 1/2016) print the chart the table copies. Vehicle Code section 34631.5 is the limits statute those instructions carry out. Proof is a certificate (MC 65 M), a surety bond, or self-insurance. A box-truck question is box-truck DOT number requirements. A tow operation is tow truck commercial auto.
What insurance does the CPUC require for a passenger carrier for hire?
A charter-party carrier keeps liability on file with the CPUC for the life of the authority. Public Utilities Code section 5391 requires that protection. The dollar tiers are not in the statute. They are in General Order 115-G, and they follow seating capacity, counting the driver. A van with paying passengers is not filed as a property carrier.
The CPUC passenger-carrier insurance page says a lapse can suspend or revoke the authority. General Order 115-G (amended March 21, 2024; PDF read October 17, 2026) sets the seating tiers in the table, counting the driver. A Class C certificate is $750,000. Public Utilities Code sections 5433 and 5384.3 have their own rows. Medical transport that is not charter-party is our NEMT page.
Where do interstate carrier limits live?
Interstate for-hire property carriers follow the schedule in 49 CFR 387.9, and FMCSA checks the filing. This page does not reprint that federal schedule. The MCS-90 and BMC-91 comparison is already on our FMCSA page. Open it when the route leaves the state.
The current text of 49 CFR 387.9 is on ecfr.gov. Our write-up is FMCSA liability requirements, MCS-90, and BMC-91. A California motor carrier permit does not replace that federal filing when the route crosses a state line.
Which rule sets the minimum, and who checks it?
One vehicle can touch more than one row. A pickup that only drives to jobs is the financial-responsibility row. Paid hauling, or a GVWR that crosses the permit line, opens the DMV row. Paying passengers move to the CPUC row. A route that leaves California moves to 49 CFR 387.9. The links above are the sources for every figure in the table.
| Vehicle or business | Rule | Minimum | Who checks it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car or pickup in business use, not a motor carrier filing | Veh. Code 16056(a)(2), with Ins. Code 11580.1 | $30,000 / $60,000 / $15,000 on a policy issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025 | Driver carries proof; DMV at registration and after a crash |
| Intrastate motor carrier, non-hazardous property, GVWR 10,000 lb or less | DMV MC 706 M; Veh. Code 34631.5 | $300,000 combined single limit | DMV, on the Motor Carrier Permit |
| Same carrier, GVWR 10,001 lb or more | DMV MC 706 M; Veh. Code 34631.5 | $750,000 combined single limit | DMV, on the Motor Carrier Permit |
| Hazardous materials not in a higher row, listed oil, or California-only hazardous waste | DMV MC 706 M | $1,000,000 combined single limit | DMV, on the Motor Carrier Permit |
| Petroleum products in bulk | DMV MC 706 M | $1,200,000 combined single limit | DMV, on the Motor Carrier Permit |
| Specified cargo-tank hazardous substances, large gas tanks, poison gas, or listed explosives | DMV MC 706 M | $5,000,000 combined single limit | DMV, on the Motor Carrier Permit |
| Charter-party vehicle, 8 seats or fewer including the driver | Pub. Util. Code 5391; GO 115-G | $750,000 | CPUC, for the life of the authority |
| Charter-party vehicle, 9 to 15 seats including the driver | GO 115-G | $1,500,000 | CPUC |
| Charter-party vehicle, 16 seats or more including the driver | GO 115-G | $5,000,000 | CPUC |
| Interstate for-hire carrier | 49 CFR 387.9 | Federal schedule, on our FMCSA page, not reprinted here | FMCSA |
What do contracts ask for beyond the legal minimum?
A customer contract often asks for a certificate, additional-insured status, and hired and non-owned auto. None of the three raises the legal floor by itself. The certificate reports the policies. Additional-insured status exists only on an endorsement. Hired and non-owned auto covers an errand in someone else's car. It does not replace the scheduled truck.
Insurance Code section 384 is the statute to read before treating a certificate as the policy. See the certificate page and hired and non-owned auto. Copy the contract wording. Do not assume a waiver is already on the form.
How do you line the vehicle up before a conversation?
Write the GVWR, the cargo, who pays for the haul, and whether the route leaves California. Then match one row in the table. Ordinary business use, a motor carrier permit, a charter-party van, and an interstate filing are four different checks. The list below is the order to send.
- Write the year, the door-sticker GVWR, the cargo, whether anyone pays to haul their property, and whether the route leaves California.
- Match one table row. Ordinary use stays on section 16056. Paid hauling, a heavy commercial vehicle, or hazardous materials opens the DMV permit. Paying passengers open General Order 115-G. An interstate route opens the FMCSA page.
- Name every driver, the garaging address, and any personal car used for a supply run.
- Copy certificate wording if a customer sent it. Note an additional-insured or waiver request.
- Call Stockton. Insurance City quotes commercial auto from Stockton for businesses statewide by phone (209) 670-1556, or use the contact form.
Insurance City Agency, LLC reads the facts. We do not promise the account will be written.
Questions
Is 30/60/15 the commercial auto limit for every California business?
No. Those figures are the financial-responsibility floor for a standard auto policy issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025. A motor carrier permit, a charter-party permit, and an interstate filing each use a different schedule. A customer contract can ask for more than any of those floors.
Does a contractor pickup need a Motor Carrier Permit?
Sometimes. The DMV says a person paid to haul property needs a permit regardless of vehicle size, and that a commercial vehicle at 10,001 pounds GVWR or more generally needs one even in private use. A pickup that only carries the contractor's own tools may sit outside that description. Read the permits page for the exemptions before assuming either answer.
Where are the interstate liability numbers?
In 49 CFR 387.9. This page does not reprint that federal schedule. The comparison of the filing forms, including the MCS-90 and the BMC-91, is on our FMCSA liability page.
Does a certificate raise the limit on the policy?
No. Insurance Code section 384 is the statute to read: a certificate offered as evidence of insurance is not the policy. Additional-insured status exists only when an endorsement provides it. Hired and non-owned auto is a separate question for a car the business does not own.
Will every commercial auto account be written?
No. A market accepts or declines after it reads the vehicles, the drivers, the commodity, the radius, and the loss history. Insurance City Agency, LLC can quote the file. This page does not promise a policy or a filing.
Sources
- Vehicle Code section 16056 and Insurance Code section 11580.1. Section 16056(a)(2): 30/60/15 for a policy issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025.
- CDI alert, January 2025, the CDI automobile guide, and the DMV handbook. Same 30/60/15 figures. Checked October 17, 2026.
- DMV Motor Carrier Permits and MC 706 M (REV. 1/2016), read October 17, 2026. Range $300,000 to $5,000,000, citing Vehicle Code section 34631. Chart by GVWR and commodity. Section 34631.5 and section 34601.
- Public Utilities Code section 5391 and General Order 115-G (PDF read October 17, 2026). Seating tiers, counting the driver.
- 49 CFR 387.9 (ecfr.gov, October 1, 2026 edition, read October 17, 2026). Not reprinted here.
- Insurance Code section 384 and the CDI commercial guide.
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