Last Updated April 24, 2025
Most trucking company owners have a CDL and have experience behind the wheel. But what if you want to start a trucking company without a CDL?
This is a common thought that many have before entering the trucking industry. And while it is possible, understand that starting and running your own trucking company without a CDL still requires significant work–even without having to get behind the wheel.
However, if you decide to go this route, this article covers what you need to know about how to start a trucking company without driving or obtaining a CDL.
If you’re wondering, “Can I start a trucking company without a CDL?”, the answer is yes. However, even though you won’t be spending time on the road transporting loads, starting and running your own trucking company still requires a lot of work. Here’s a closer look at how to start a trucking company without driving or obtaining a CDL.
Can You Start a Trucking Company Without Driving?
You don’t need a CDL to own and operate a trucking company as long as you don’t plan on doing any driving yourself. However, while starting a trucking business without driving is definitely possible, it’s still best to have some experience in the trucking industry. After all, running a successful trucking company involves more than transporting loads. It requires effective dispatching processes, ensuring safety compliance, hiring drivers, and, of course, finding loads for your team to transport.
Pros and Cons of Starting a Trucking Company Without Driving
Starting a trucking company without driving has several pros and cons that are worth considering. Here’s what you should be mindful of:
| Pros | Cons |
| Can focus on finding clients and growing your business | Need to hire, train, and manage drivers to cover your loads |
| Better work-life balance without the physical demands of long-distance driving | Driver quality and availability may not match your business needs |
| Ability to remotely manage your fleet operations | Higher startup costs, especially if you need to use multiple vehicles |
| Can maximize earnings by focusing your efforts on finding good contracts | Driver wages, benefits, and expenses may lower your profit margins |
How to Start a Trucking Company Without Driving
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to start a trucking company without CDL experience.
Create Your Trucking Business Plan
A trucking business plan provides a roadmap for business growth by outlining your operating costs, projected profits, and goals. Your business plan is the foundation for your business, helping you determine what kind of equipment you need, establish criteria for drivers, and calculate how much money you’ll need to start your business. It should include a market analysis, sales and marketing strategy, financial projections, and an outline of your planned services.
Most importantly, a detailed business plan will help you decide if your business idea is worth pursuing. It will also show prospective lenders that your business is viable, which makes them more likely to lend to you.
Obtain Required Permits, Insurance, and Documentation
Even though you won’t need a CDL for yourself, your business still needs to obtain all required permits and documentation. Trucking businesses need a USDOT number, as well as trucking authority from FMCSA.
You’ll also need to establish an official trucking business structure, such as an LLC. This will allow you to obtain an EIN and open a business bank account. Other steps include filing a BOC-3 form for a process agent, getting an IFTA decal for fuel tax reporting, and planning for heavy highway use taxes.
Trucking businesses must also get insurance to cover their operations. You should obtain Unified Carrier Registration as part of this process. Depending on your location and the type of services you plan to offer, you might need additional licenses or permits before you begin operations.
Decide Whether You’re Going to Buy or Lease Your Truck
Deciding whether to lease or buy a semi-truck can have a significant impact on your funding needs and your future business operations.
Leasing a truck results in lower upfront costs, giving you the opportunity to use a new truck with fixed expenses and warranty coverage. However, truck mileage and usage can be restricted by the leasing company. In the long run, leasing tends to be more expensive.
Buying a semi-truck involves high upfront costs, which often require a loan. Many new businesses face an uphill battle because of tough credit requirements or significant lending needs, which can make it hard to afford a new truck. You’re also fully responsible for repair and maintenance expenses.
However, buying a truck gives you more freedom in how it is used, as there are no restrictions on mileage or the types of loads you carry. You can also customize the truck to better fit your drivers’ needs. And once the loan is paid off, you won’t have any monthly truck payments, helping you save money in the long run.
Create a Funding Plan
Regardless of whether you buy or lease your semi-truck, starting a trucking company is expensive, with average trucking startup costs around $25,900. For most trucking companies, this requires obtaining financing through a bank loan, an SBA loan, equipment financing, or a business line of credit.
Compare interest rates and credit requirements for these lending options so you can find the solution that will be most cost-effective for starting your business. For new businesses with no credit history, lenders may look at your personal credit score or require some other form of collateral.
Hire a Driver
If you’re not going to be doing any driving yourself, then you need to hire at least one driver. With only one driver, you may find yourself unable to schedule certain loads based on the driver’s availability (such as when they are sick or otherwise unable to work).
It may be helpful to have an on-call backup driver for times when your primary driver isn’t available. Of course, if you plan to scale your trucking business, you will need to hire multiple drivers anyway.
Get a CDL and DQF for Each Driver
While the answer to “Do I need a CDL to start a trucking company?” is no, you’ll still need to make sure each driver you hire obtains a CDL and that you keep an up-to-date driver qualification file (DQF) for each driver. A CDL and DQF are both required by the Department of Transportation to ensure the safety of all drivers on the road. Non-compliance can result in costly fines.
Begin Finding Loads and Securing Contracts
Once your business is set up, you can begin securing contracts and finding loads for your trucking business.
To find high-paying loads, use load boards and build strong relationships with freight brokers and shippers. Be mindful of market rates so you can negotiate competitive rates for shipments. If your drivers have any special qualifications (such as hazmat or oversized freight), consider bidding on these loads as well, which can be more lucrative for your business.
In-Summary: Starting a Trucking Business Without a CDL
If you’ve been wondering, “Can I start a trucking company without driving?”, the answer is a definite yes. However, understanding how to start a trucking company without driving still requires that you understand basic trucking business requirements, obtain the necessary equipment, and hire drivers who are qualified to transport the loads you secure.
Starting and running a trucking business without a CDL can be a lot of work, but by focusing entirely on the business side of your operations, you can turn your company into a profitable success.
Michael McCareins is the Content Marketing Associate at altLINE, where he is dedicated to creating and managing optimal content for readers. Following a brief career in media relations, Michael has discovered a passion for content marketing through developing unique, informative content to help audiences better understand ideas and topics such as invoice factoring and A/R financing.
