Kentucky Trucking Insurance

Trucking in Kentucky

Kentucky will tax you by the mile and insure you to a million. Those are the two facts every carrier needs before crossing the state line. The KYU Weight Distance Tax charges $0.0285 per mile for every vehicle at 60,000 lbs or more, with quarterly filing required even if you drove zero miles in Kentucky that quarter. Skip the filing and you face a $500 revocation fee plus penalties and interest. A 10-day temporary permit is available for occasional travel, but regular operators need a KYU account.

The insurance requirement is the other surprise: Kentucky mandates $1,000,000 CSL for commercial vehicles, which exceeds the federal $750,000 minimum. You cannot operate in Kentucky with just the federal floor. The upside is that the Kentucky state requirement aligns perfectly with what RMS recommends anyway and what most shippers and brokers require. The state makes the right coverage level non-negotiable.

Louisville is a logistics powerhouse. UPS Worldport at Louisville International Airport is the largest automated package handling facility in the world, and the Amazon Air Hub at CVG in Northern Kentucky adds to the freight volume. RiverLink tolls on the Ohio River bridges connecting Louisville to Indiana are all-electronic at approximately $16.01 for 5-axle vehicles with a transponder, increasing roughly 2.5% annually. I-75 runs 192 miles through the state with Jellico Mountain at the Tennessee border — steep grades, sharp curves, and a winter hazard that produces jackknife incidents with unpleasant regularity. Check your brakes and check the weather before that descent.

Starting a Trucking Company in Kentucky?

If you’re launching a new carrier in Kentucky, our free guide walks you through every step from business formation to passing your first FMCSA safety audit. Start with the decision guide or jump to insurance costs for new authorities.