New Authority Launch Kit
Your authority got filed. Now the clock is running.
From the day your application hits the FMCSA register you have 10 days of protest window, 20 days to get insurance and BOC-3 filings on record, and a first quarter that decides whether the business works. The kit is the paperwork side of that quarter, done for you.
Why it exists
The first 90 days are a paperwork ambush
New authorities get hit from two directions at once: federal deadlines that are real but scattered across regulations nobody hands you in one place, and a phone that starts ringing with "compliance services," factoring pitches, and outright scams the same week you file — because your application is public the day it publishes.
The kit puts the real obligations in one ordered checklist, gives you fill-in templates for the documents brokers actually request, and flags the factoring and dispatcher-agreement traps that catch new authorities. Plain documents, no portal, no upsell inside.
File by file
What's in the ZIP
| File | Format | What it does for you |
|---|---|---|
| New Authority Master Checklist | The full ordered sequence from zero to active interstate authority, keyed to the real federal deadlines with citations on the page: the 10-day protest window, the 20-day insurance and BOC-3 filings, issuance, and the first 12 months. | |
| First-Year Cost Calculator | Spreadsheet | Startup fees itemized with their sources, an insurance cash model, a full cost-per-mile model, and a breakeven calculator. Live formulas — type your quotes, get your number. |
| Insurance Shopping Pack | The federal minimums table, what brokers actually demand, a word-for-word agent call script, and a five-quote comparison worksheet so you are not comparing apples to nothing. | |
| Waiting-Period Action Plan | Day-by-day from the moment your application publishes to activation day — the two compliance filings first, then state, tax, equipment, and revenue prep in order. | |
| Factoring Decision Worksheet | Recourse vs. non-recourse in plain English, a fee comparison grid that surfaces the hidden add-ons, and the red flags that should end a conversation. No affiliate links, no recommended vendor. | |
| Carrier Packet Template | Word doc | The packet brokers ask for, ready to fill in: cover, company profile, authority letter, COI and W-9 placeholders, references, factoring NOA note. |
| Dispatcher Agreement Template | Word doc | Editable agreement with the agency structure that keeps a dispatcher from drifting into unauthorized brokerage. Watermarked: have an attorney review. |
| Independent Contractor (Owner-Operator) Agreement | Word doc | Built around the federal truth-in-leasing requirements (49 CFR Part 376), with the mandatory provisions flagged. Watermarked: have an attorney review. |
| Broker Setup Tracker | Spreadsheet | If you are adding broker authority: setup checklist with status tracking, BMC-84/85 bond quote grid, and a carrier onboarding log. |
| First 90 Days: Benchmarks | What the 2026 new-carrier field looks like, computed from the FMCSA Daily Register and the FMCSA Company Census File (June 2026). Real fleet-size and state data — no revenue folklore. | |
| README-FIRST | The order to use everything in, and how free updates through 2026 work. |
Straight answers
Kit FAQ
Who is the kit for?
Owner-operators and small fleets that just filed (or are about to file) for FMCSA operating authority — carriers and brokers in their first 90 days. It assumes no compliance background.
What exactly do I get?
A ZIP download with the eleven files listed on this page: six PDFs, two Excel workbooks with live formulas, and three editable Word templates. The files are yours to keep and reuse.
Is this legal advice?
No. The kit organizes public federal requirements and operating practice into usable checklists and templates. It is not legal advice, and for legal questions you should talk to a transportation attorney.
Why $49 one-time instead of a subscription?
Because launching is a one-time problem. The kit covers your first 90 days; you should not need to keep paying for it after that.
What if it is not useful to me?
Email us within 14 days of purchase and we refund it. We would rather refund than have the kit sit unused.
Where does the deadline information come from?
The federal rules themselves — 49 CFR Part 365 (application, protest window, effective date) and related FMCSA filing requirements — cross-checked against the register FMCSA publishes daily. Sources are cited inside the kit.
Want the deadlines explained free first?
The weekly note covers new-authority basics alongside the filing data. Read a few, then decide if the kit is worth $49.