GEORGIA CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES

DOT Compliance for Georgia Construction Companies

Your trucks probably never leave Georgia. That doesn’t take them out of the DOT rules. Georgia applies the federal safety rules to in-state trucks of 10,001 pounds or more, with a few Georgia changes.

THE KEY FACT Georgia applies its motor carrier safety rules to private carriers and for-hire carriers alike, in intrastate and interstate commerce. Source: Georgia Department of Public Safety, Rule 1-1

In-state does not mean exempt

The Georgia Department of Public Safety applies its motor carrier rules to private carriers as well as for-hire ones, in intrastate as well as interstate commerce (Georgia DPS Rule 1-1). A contractor hauling its own equipment to its own job sites is a private carrier. Its dump trucks, flatbeds, and pickups pulling equipment trailers are commercial motor vehicles once the weight rating, including the trailer, reaches 10,001 pounds (49 CFR 390.5).

What Georgia asks of a construction fleet

Every truck needs a USDOT number, shown as “USDOT 123456 GA” if you work only in Georgia (Georgia DPS Rules 1-390.19(j) and 1-390.21(h)). Drivers can be 18 for in-state work (Georgia DPS Rules 1-8 and 1-391.75), and each needs a qualification file and a medical certificate. Drivers who need logs use ELDs (Georgia DPS Rule 1-395.8), though many crews qualify for the 150 air-mile short-haul exception, as long as the company keeps six months of time records (49 CFR 395.1(e)).

Two federal provisions help construction specifically: the 24-hour restart for drivers used mainly to haul construction materials and equipment, and a rule that lets ready-mixed concrete drivers count 30 minutes or more of waiting with the truck at a job site or terminal toward the 30-minute break, as long as they do no other work during it (49 CFR 395.1(m) and (t)).

The truck most Georgia contractors overlook

It’s usually not the dump truck. It’s the superintendent’s pickup that tows the equipment trailer twice a week. It crosses 10,001 pounds combined, its driver has no qualification file, and its trailer has no maintenance record (49 CFR 396.3). That’s the truck that turns a routine roadside inspection into a problem.

WHAT YOUR PFM TEAM HANDLES
  • Every truck sorted: which ones are commercial motor vehicles, including the pickups with trailers
  • Your USDOT number, the GA marking and the MCS-150 kept current
  • Every driver file and medical card, complete before the first trip
  • Every driver’s logs or short-haul time records, read every working day
  • Maintenance records and annual inspections, truck and trailer
See everything we do for construction companies→

Common questions

Do Georgia construction companies need a USDOT number?Yes, if their vehicles meet the commercial motor vehicle definition, even when they work only in Georgia. Georgia DPS Rule 1-390.19(j) requires it, and trucks are marked with “GA” after the number.
Is a contractor hauling its own equipment a motor carrier?Yes. Hauling your own equipment and materials makes you a private carrier, and Georgia applies its rules to private carriers.
Can my dump truck drivers skip logs?Many can, under the short-haul exception: within 150 air miles and released within 14 hours, with six months of time records kept by the company. A day that runs past those limits needs a log.

This page explains the rules in general. It isn’t legal advice, and exemptions depend on the details of your operation.

See where your Georgia fleet stands before an investigator does

About 15 minutes on the phone, and you get a 12-page report on your gaps.

Book your free DOT Compliance Assessment