Last Updated January 7, 2026
Fuel is the biggest and most unpredictable expense for any trucking company, which is why trucking fleets of all sizes rely on fuel cards to help save money on gas and other vehicle-related expenses. Unfortunately, the possibility of fuel card fraud can threaten profits and complicate operations.
Even with the most stringent fuel card programs, there remains the threat of fraud. Driver misuse can still happen, fuel cards can get stolen, or hackers can use skimming devices to steal card data.
Therefore, every trucking business needs to create a holistic company fuel card policy. Continue reading to learn what sort of details your policy should include, steps drivers should take to prevent fraud, and what to do if you do suspect fuel card fraud.
Key Takeaways
- Fuel cards help trucking businesses manage one of their largest expenses, but without a clear fuel card policy, they can lead to misuse and fraud.
- A well-defined company fuel card policy sets expectations for drivers, standardizes processes, and creates accountability across the fleet.
- Fuel card fraud can come from internal misuse by drivers or external theft, making regular monitoring and clear consequences essential.
- Reviewing, updating, and enforcing your driver fuel card policy over time helps protect your trucking business and support long-term operational efficiency.
What Is a Company Fuel Card Policy?
Fuel cards offer many benefits, from helping you manage expenses to reducing the risk of theft. Still, your business needs policies in place to ensure proper use.
A company fuel card policy is a set of rules that govern how employees can use fuel cards. It also provides guidance on how managers should monitor fuel card usage and what to do if they suspect fraud. The goal of a fuel card policy is to reduce confusion around how to use a fuel card while controlling expenses across your fleet.
For drivers, a company fuel card usage policy tells them:
- Which purchases are acceptable
- Where they can use the cards
- How to handle misplaced or lost cards
Proper guidelines help prevent misunderstandings as well as internal employee theft and external theft at truck stops. These policies remove ambiguity and create accountability, clarifying proper use from the start.
How Fuel Card Fraud or Driver Misuse Can Impact Your Trucking Business
One of the biggest benefits of having a driver fuel card policy in place is preventing theft and fraud. Unfortunately, fuel card fraud is a common and costly issue for trucking businesses. Left unchecked, fraud can quietly erode your bottom line.
While these instances of freight fraud tend to occur externally, fuel card fraud can result from employee misuse or from theft by outsiders. Fuel card fraud can also be harder to spot because it can happen in many ways, including:
- Unauthorized purchases
- Inflated transactions
- Card sharing
Other warning signs can include unusual purchase times, frequent declines followed by manual overrides, or patterns that don’t match your routes.
These activities hurt profits, create inaccurate reports, and strain relationships with your fuel vendors. Setting clear expectations with employees around fuel purchases from the start reduces opportunities for fraud. While policies alone may not prevent misuse, they clearly spell out the consequences of fraud, which will deter some employee theft.
How to Create a Company Fuel Card Policy
A strong fuel card usage policy reduces misuse and ensures everyone, from drivers to your accounting team, understands their responsibilities. Follow these steps to create a clear company fuel card policy.
Summarize Your Fuel Card Policy
First, offer a quick summary of the fuel card policy. This section should explain why you have the policy in place and how it supports your business goals. It should also:
- Outline who the policy applies to, including drivers, dispatchers, and managers
- Emphasize cost control and compliance
- Briefly explain standards for accountability
While you should require employees to read the full policy, adding a quick summary can help reduce confusion before they get into the specifics.
Emphasize Why Drivers Must Abide by the Policy
One of the most important parts of your driver fuel card policy is making it clear why adherence isn’t just a suggestion. Drivers are on the front lines of fuel purchasing, and their day-to-day choices directly affect fleet performance. Requiring everyone to follow the policy ensures you can continue to trust drivers to do a good job while maintaining the highest standard of accountability.
Following clear guidelines also supports safer, more efficient operations. For example, responsible fueling behavior can improve semi-truck fuel efficiency, which in turn helps lower overall fuel spend.
Explain How Fuel Cards Work
Every fuel card usage policy should spell out how to use the fuel card. This section of your company’s fuel card policy should walk drivers through exactly how a fuel purchase should be completed—from arrival at the pump to receipt submission—so there’s no ambiguity about acceptable behavior.
These directions will depend entirely on your business model and which fuel card you use. Keep the directions as simple as possible, since drivers may need to refer to them the first few times they use the card. Adding screenshots or photos can also help.
Define Proper Fuel Card Usage
Every company fuel card policy must define what constitutes proper usage and which uses aren’t allowed. Start by clarifying that fuel cards are to be used only by authorized drivers for approved vehicles and for fuel-related purchases. It should also specify:
- Required steps, such as entering a driver ID or PIN
- Verifying vehicle or odometer information
- Selecting the correct fuel type
- How to retain and submit receipts or digital logs
- How to report any issues
This section of your driver fuel card policy can also outline what doesn’t count as approved usage. Most of these guidelines are common sense and prohibit personal purchases or refueling at non-approved gas stations. Detailing which uses aren’t allowed may seem obvious, but being as clear as possible will prevent misunderstandings.
Make All Drivers Review and Sign the Policy
All drivers should sign the company fuel card policy before driving for your business. This formal acknowledgment confirms that drivers understand the rules, expectations, and consequences tied to fuel card use.
In many cases, this step primes employees to take fuel card usage seriously, preventing misuse before it can even happen. Requiring a signature can also protect your business. If an employee misuses a fuel card, your policy eliminates any ambiguity about whether they knew the rules.
Review and Refine Your Policy Over Time
A fuel card policy isn’t a one-and-done document. It should evolve as your fleet grows or your fuel costs fluctuate. Revisiting your company fuel card usage policy also allows you to identify gaps or patterns of misuse that may require tighter controls or clearer guidance. For example, recurring exceptions or frequent errors might signal a need to update your processes or monitoring.
For larger fleets, schedule quarterly reviews to update your fuel policies over time. Annual reviews are usually enough for small businesses.
What to Do if You Suspect Fuel Card Fraud
Even with a strong company fuel card policy in place, suspicious activity can still happen. If you notice unusual transactions, inconsistent fuel usage, or patterns that don’t align with assigned routes, it’s important to act quickly.
Start by reviewing transaction reports and comparing them against trip logs and receipts. In many cases, what looks like fuel card fraud may turn out to be a misunderstanding or data entry error that can be quickly resolved by clarifying with the driver.
If you suspect fuel card fraud, temporarily suspend the fuel card in question and speak directly with the driver to understand what happened. Your fuel card policy should clearly outline escalation steps, including documentation requirements and potential consequences if misuse is confirmed.
By taking action quickly, it can not only help you resolve the situation, but it also signals to your team that fuel card compliance is taken seriously.
In-Summary: Company Fuel Card Policy
While it can’t prevent all fraud, a well-defined driver fuel card policy controls costs by promoting accountability across your fleet. Clearly defining expectations and proper usage goes a long way toward protecting your business from unnecessary fuel expenses and misuse.
Pairing these safeguards with regular reviews ensures your company fuel card usage policy stays relevant as your business grows. Instead of treating this policy as a simple rulebook, consider it a helpful framework for building a culture of trust that supports a healthy business.
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.
