Arizona's motor carrier limits start above 20,000 pounds. Under that line, a work pickup answers to the same floor as a family car.

$750,000. The combined single limit A.R.S. 28-4033 requires on a vehicle carrying nonhazardous property with a gross vehicle weight of more than 26,000 pounds (A.R.S. 28-4033, Financial responsibility requirements, read on September 22, 2026).

Two sets of Arizona limits, and which one your vehicle falls under

Arizona has a general liability floor for every vehicle and a separate, higher schedule for motor carriers. Most small businesses only ever have to meet the first one. Where the second one starts comes down to a weight.

The general floor is A.R.S. 28-4009. For policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2020, an owner's policy has to carry at least $25,000 for bodily injury to one person. It also needs $50,000 for bodily injury to two or more people, and $15,000 for property damage. A.R.S. 28-4135 makes coverage of that kind a condition of operating any motor vehicle on an Arizona highway. A half-ton pickup titled to an LLC and a family sedan answer to the same numbers.

The higher schedule lives in the motor carrier financial responsibility article, and A.R.S. 28-4032 says who it reaches. There are four groups:

• A person who operates, in the furtherance of a commercial enterprise in Arizona, a motor vehicle or vehicle combination with a declared gross weight of more than 20,000 pounds.
• A person transporting hazardous materials, substances or wastes for commercial purposes, with exemptions for transport that's incidental to the principal purpose and for small quantities.
• A person who operates a bus used to transport passengers for hire, other than a qualifying car pool.
• The owner on record of a taxi, livery vehicle or limousine used to transport passengers for hire.

The first group is the one contractors miss. You don't have to haul for hire to land in it. If you're moving your own equipment and your own materials in a heavy truck, you're operating in furtherance of a commercial enterprise, and the article applies once that declared gross weight is over 20,000 pounds.

What A.R.S. 28-4033 requires

A.R.S. 28-4033(A) says a person subject to the article must carry combined single limit liability insurance, meaning one limit for bodily injury and property damage together, at these amounts.

Source: A.R.S. 28-4033, read September 22, 2026.

Two points about that table. First, the passenger tiers apply to the passenger operations 28-4032 names, which are buses for hire and taxis, livery vehicles and limousines. A crew van carrying your own employees to a job isn't one of them. Second, the statute's words are "declared gross weight" in 28-4032 and "gross vehicle weight" in 28-4033. Neither phrase is the same as the manufacturer's GVWR on the door-jamb sticker, and A.R.S. 28-4031 sends you to A.R.S. 28-5431 for the definitions. Check the weight on your registration before you assume which side of 20,000 pounds a truck sits on. Our split limits vs combined single limit page explains how a CSL policy pays compared with the 25/50/15 format.

Leasing changes who carries it. Under A.R.S. 28-4033(B) and (C), a leased or rented vehicle has to be insured by the lessor or the lessee. A lessee who uses the vehicle for a purpose that calls for a higher limit has to carry that higher amount.

Where Arizona's carrier rules start for a business with trucks

For an ordinary service business, the line falls at a declared gross weight of more than 20,000 pounds. Below it, a pickup, a cargo van or a stake-bed truck meets the law at 25/50/15. What you buy above that is your call. Contracts and commercial umbrellas often ask for more, so the statutory floor usually isn't the number that ends up on the policy.

Above it, you're inside 28-4033 whether or not you haul anything for hire. If the hauling is the business, meaning you're paid to move other people's goods or you run passengers for hire, that's a different kind of operation. Trucking insurance in Arizona covers those operations. Heavier trucks that a contractor owns to move its own material are covered on our heavy trucks and fleets page, and everything under 10,001 pounds is on cars and light trucks.

Uninsured and underinsured motorist: Arizona requires the offer, and the declarations page is the record

A.R.S. 20-259.01(A) says every insurer writing automobile or motor vehicle liability policies must make uninsured motorist coverage available to the named insured and offer it by written notice. The offer has to reach limits not less than the policy's bodily injury liability limits. Subsection B applies the same duty to underinsured motorist coverage. The offer is made on a form approved by the director.

The section doesn't carve out business auto policies. Subsection L only relieves insurers of the duty on a general commercial liability policy, an excess policy, an umbrella, or another policy that doesn't provide primary motor vehicle insurance for a specifically insured vehicle. A business auto policy on scheduled trucks provides exactly that primary insurance, so the offer applies to it. Your commercial umbrella falls inside the exception.

What catches people is how Arizona records the decision. Under 20-259.01(A), the declarations page sent to the named insured is the final expression of the named insured's decision to buy or reject uninsured motorist coverage. That record applies to every person insured under the policy. The same subsection says the offer need not be made again on the reinstatement of a lapsed policy or on the transfer, substitution, modification or renewal of an existing policy. A lower selection made when the account was first written can carry through years of renewals and a change of vehicles without another form.

Subsection G describes when underinsured coverage applies: when all the bodily injury liability limits available at the time of the accident total less than the damages. For a business, the people that protects are usually your own employees, riding in your own trucks. Our uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage page explains how it pays.

Personal auto or commercial auto for Arizona contractors, landscapers and service businesses

A lot of Arizona trade businesses start with one truck on a personal policy, and plenty keep it there longer than they should. Whether it holds up depends on the policy and the company. A few facts usually decide it.

The truck is titled to the business. Personal auto policies are generally built around vehicles owned by individuals. Put the truck in the LLC's name and you'll often need a commercial policy instead.

Employees drive it. A personal policy is underwritten on a household. An employee behind the wheel isn't part of that household, and it's a different risk. Our page on how an unlisted driver can void truck coverage covers what happens when a driver isn't on the schedule.

It pulls a trailer or carries equipment. Landscapers with mowers on a trailer and contractors with tools in a van are hauling property the auto policy may not reach. Tools and equipment usually need inland marine insurance, and trailers need to be scheduled correctly.

It goes to job sites. Some claims start with the vehicle parked and a crew working next to it. Loading, unloading and running equipment attached to the truck can fall into the gap between the auto policy and the general liability policy. Read the two together.

Employees use their own cars. A crew lead who picks up supplies in his own car creates exposure for your business even though you own nothing. Hired and non-owned auto is how that's usually handled. Our commercial auto vs personal auto for business use page goes deeper, and landscapers can start with whether a landscaping work truck can stay on personal auto.

Arizona checks the plate as well as the policy

Arizona tracks insurance on registered vehicles continuously. Under A.R.S. 28-4148, insurers report cancellations, nonrenewals and new policies to the department by electronic data interchange within seven days of processing. The insurer also has to tell the policyholder that the department has been notified and that the registration may be suspended.

A.R.S. 28-4149 then gives the owner or lessee a notice of intent and 15 days from the mailing date to show proof of financial responsibility. Without it, the registration and plate are suspended until proof is filed. If you're changing companies, that's why the effective dates matter. Make sure the new policy starts the day the old one ends, and check that every truck made it onto the new schedule.

The driver side has its own penalties. A.R.S. 28-4135 sets civil penalties starting at $500 for operating without the required coverage, and a first violation can already suspend or restrict the driver's privileges. A second or later violation within 36 months also suspends the registration and plates on the vehicle involved.

What to compare on an Arizona commercial auto quote

Price is one line on the page. Two Arizona quotes on the same trucks can be built very differently, and you find out how after a claim.

• The liability limit, and whether it's written as a combined single limit or as split limits.
• The uninsured and underinsured motorist limits, and what the declarations page shows you selected.
• The covered auto symbols, which decide whether a newly bought truck or an employee's car is covered at all.
• Hired and non-owned auto, if anyone drives a vehicle the business doesn't own.
• Comprehensive and collision deductibles, and how each vehicle is valued.
• Any additional insured, waiver of subrogation or primary wording your contracts require.
• Radius and garaging. Our page on vehicle use and garaging address explains why the overnight location changes the rate.

Who this page is for

This page is for Arizona businesses with one truck up to a small fleet. That means contractors, landscapers and lawn care crews, handymen, electricians, concrete and masonry outfits, cleaning and mobile service companies, and professional practices with a vehicle in the firm's name. Vantage Point Risk is licensed in Arizona, one of twelve states, and we handle Arizona business from our office in Eugene, Oregon. If you're starting up or buying your first work vehicle, commercial auto for a new business covers what companies ask on a first policy. If a driver has a rough record, see commercial auto when a driver has violations.

What to send us

• Every vehicle you own or lease, with the VIN, the weight shown on the registration, and one line on what it does.
• Any trailers, with what they carry.
• The address where each vehicle is parked overnight.
• Every driver, with date of birth and license number, including occasional ones.
• Whether employees run errands in their own cars, and roughly how often.
• Your current declarations page, including the uninsured and underinsured motorist selection.
• Any contract clause that sets a limit, an additional insured or a waiver of subrogation.
• Loss runs for as many years as your current insurer will provide.

Where we usually start

Kemper writes commercial auto in Arizona, and its program fits the one-truck contractor through the small fleet. Kemper says it covers over 1,000 occupations, from one-person operations to small fleets, including pickups and vans, and it names landscaping trucks. Its coverages include a general liability endorsement for work outside the vehicle and roadside assistance. Kemper says its commercial auto can be paid monthly, quarterly or in full. A Kemper distribution partner publishes a list of what the program will look at. It describes vehicles of 54,000 pounds gross vehicle weight or less when not for hire, liability limits up to $1 million CSL where available, and new ventures as welcome. That list names landscaping, lawn care, contractors and handymen, electricians, drywall, masonry, concrete, welding and auto repair among its target classes. It lists dirt, sand and gravel hauling, for-hire livery, towing, heavy haul and for-hire long haul, and timed delivery as ineligible. We quote Kemper alongside the other commercial companies we work with, and each one decides eligibility and terms on its own underwriting.

Reviewed for insurance accuracy by Richard Sweet, owner of Vantage Point Risk and an independent insurance advisor. Last reviewed September 24, 2026. How we review this.