General information only, last reviewed October 25, 2026. Full notice at the end of the page. A date on this page has passed. Check the current rule at the source before you rely on it. Dates to watch
An MCS-90 is a one-page endorsement attached to your truck's liability policy, and it does one job: it promises that anyone your truck injures, and any property your truck damages, gets paid even if your own insurer would otherwise deny the claim. It exists only to protect the public. For a tank truck hauling gasoline or diesel, the federal rules set that guarantee at a minimum of $1,000,000, and it climbs to $5,000,000 for a few trucks carrying listed hazardous materials in bulk, propane transports among them.
What the MCS-90 actually is
The full name is the Endorsement for Motor Carrier Policies of Insurance for Public Liability under the Motor Carrier Act of 1980. The FMCSA requires it when a carrier meets the federal minimum with insurance; the other routes are a surety bond on Form MCS-82 or FMCSA-approved self-insurance (49 CFR 387.7(d)). Once it is attached to your auto liability policy, your insurer agrees to pay any final court judgment against you for bodily injury, property damage, or environmental restoration caused by the negligent operation of your vehicles.
The word that matters is any. The endorsement responds even when the truck involved was left off the policy schedule, even when the driver was hauling a load he was not supposed to, and even when a pollution exclusion in the policy would normally block the claim. If a member of the public wins a judgment against you, the MCS-90 makes sure that person is paid up to the federal minimum. It is a backstop written for the injured party.
The federal minimums under 49 CFR 387.9
The dollar figures live in a short table at 49 CFR 387.9. They apply to for-hire carriers hauling property across state lines, and to for-hire and private carriers hauling hazardous materials or oil, within one state or across state lines. Two exceptions in 49 CFR 387.3(c) matter to a fuel business: a vehicle rated under 10,001 pounds GVWR, and oil or hazardous materials hauled within one state in a load that is not "in bulk," which 49 CFR 387.5 defines as tanks holding more than 3,500 water gallons on the vehicle. So these rules reach your own fleet as well as the common carriers you hire: every fuel truck that crosses a state line and every transport. A tank wagon of 3,500 water gallons or less that never leaves your state falls outside the federal minimum, and your state's insurance rules govern it.
- $750,000. General freight and other nonhazardous property.
- $1,000,000. Oil and petroleum products, including gasoline, diesel, and heating oil, plus most hazardous materials.
- $5,000,000. Certain listed hazardous substances hauled in cargo tanks larger than 3,500 water gallons, propane and other flammable or nonflammable gas in tanks that size, explosives and poison gas in any quantity, and highway route controlled radioactive material.
Why petroleum lands at $1,000,000
Gasoline, diesel, and heating oil are Class 3 flammable liquids and count as oil listed in the hazardous materials table, so a standard fuel tank truck sits on the $1,000,000 line. Propane is different. LP-gas is a Division 2.1 flammable gas, and 387.9 puts Division 2.1 in bulk, more than 3,500 water gallons, on the $5,000,000 line, so a propane transport needs five times the gasoline minimum while a bobtail of 3,500 water gallons or less crossing state lines stays at $1,000,000, a point worth keeping in mind if you run a propane operation alongside the fuel side.
The $5,000,000 tier is narrow. It is reserved for listed hazardous substances above threshold quantities, bulk gases such as propane by the transport load, and a handful of high-risk cargoes. Most gasoline and diesel jobbers never touch it. A carrier moving specific bulk chemicals or transport loads of propane does, and it is worth confirming your product mix against the hazmat table.
The catch: it pays the public, then bills you
If your insurer pays a claim under the endorsement that your policy would not otherwise have covered, the endorsement includes a reimbursement clause, and you owe that money back. So the MCS-90 is a promise to the public that runs through your own checkbook. That is the reason it is no substitute for well-built auto liability limits and a real environmental policy. Lean on the endorsement alone and a single tanker rollover can turn into a seven-figure bill your business has to repay.
How it shows up in your filings
Two things live in two places. The MCS-90 endorsement itself stays with your insurance policy. Separately, if you haul for hire, your insurer files a Form BMC-91 or BMC-91X with the FMCSA as proof you meet the minimum (49 CFR 387.301). A private carrier hauling its own fuel files nothing with FMCSA; it keeps the proof at its principal place of business and shows it on reasonable request (387.7(d) and (e)). Keep a copy of the endorsement where both dispatch and the back office can pull it fast, because a compliance review or a claim adjuster will ask for it, and a driver may be asked during a roadside inspection. Loose insurance documents are one of the small back-office gaps that good jobber software is built to close, storing certificates and endorsements alongside the driver files they belong with.
What this means for the back office
Hazmat auto premiums are a fixed cost that rides on every gallon you move, and they belong on the list of quiet items in where fuel margin leaks. When money is involved, precision pays: confirm the endorsement is current at every renewal, confirm the BMC filing is active with the FMCSA if you haul for hire, and confirm your primary limits are high enough that you are never relying on the statutory floor to make an injured party whole.
The MCS-90 also earns a line on any deal sheet. If you are buying or selling a jobber business, the endorsement, any BMC filing, and the loss history behind them are standard due diligence. A lapse or a large past payout tells you something about how the fleet has been run, and it can move the price.
Questions people ask
Does the MCS-90 apply if I only haul within my own state?
For fuel hauled in bulk, yes, and for this rule 49 CFR 387.5 defines bulk as tanks holding more than 3,500 water gallons on the vehicle. The federal financial-responsibility rules in 49 CFR 387 cover oil and hazardous materials moved in bulk in intrastate commerce, so a transport running local routes is still in scope. A tank wagon of 3,500 water gallons or less that never leaves your state falls outside the federal minimum, and your state's insurance rules govern it. Your state may also add its own filing or a different limit, so check the rules where you operate.
If I hire a third-party carrier to move my product, whose MCS-90 covers the truck?
The carrier operating the vehicle carries its own endorsement and filing. Before you tender loads to a for-hire hauler, verify their FMCSA financial-responsibility status is active. If they are running uninsured or lapsed, an incident with your product on board can still pull you into the dispute.
Does the MCS-90 pay to replace the fuel I lose in a wreck?
No. The endorsement covers injury and damage to other people and their property. The value of the product on the truck is cargo, and that is covered by a separate motor truck cargo policy. Many jobbers assume one policy handles both and find out otherwise after a wreck.
Is $1,000,000 really enough for a serious fuel spill?
Treat it as the legal floor. A tanker rollover that closes a highway and contaminates groundwater can run well past a million dollars once you add cleanup, third-party claims, and legal defense. Most established carriers hold higher primary auto limits plus an umbrella and a dedicated environmental policy above the statutory minimum.
Sources (read October 2026): federal regulations on eCFR, 49 CFR 387.3 (who is covered), 387.5 (in bulk means more than 3,500 water gallons), 387.7 (proof of coverage), 387.9 (minimum limits), 387.301 (FMCSA filings) and 171.8 (hazardous substance); FMCSA's Form MCS-90; FMCSA guidance on multi-compartment tanks (compartments add up toward 3,500 gallons).