General Requirements (Trucker)

If you wish to transport across state lines, the International Registration Plan (IRP) allows you to easily maintain your vehicle registration in multiple jurisdictions. In 2015, the Full Reciprocity Plan (FRP) was implemented to make the IRP more efficient. Refer to the International Fuel Tax Agreement section of Motor Carrier Services in the ADOT website for more information.

Additional information can be found on the International Registration Plan website. 

You may also wish to open an International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) account. It is designed to simplify the reporting of motor fuel taxes by interstate motor carriers. IFTA reporting significantly reduces the paperwork and standardizes motor fuel tax reporting for both carriers and jurisdictions. For more info, refer to the International Fuel Tax Agreement section of Motor Carrier Services in the ADOT website. 

The Davis-Bacon laws specify that laborers and mechanics must be paid their full wage, and they must be paid at least once a week. Truck drivers are covered under the Davis-Bacon laws for time spent on-site, time spent loading or unloading material on-site, and time spent transporting materials between a facility deemed part of the work-site and the project site. However, Davis-Bacon does not apply to truck drivers at other times.

Because of the status of owner-operator truckers, it can sometimes be unclear whether a trucker is considered a subcontractor. The following example may help clarify those situations. In this example, trucking is taking place on the project site with rented trucks with operators, and with trucks that are owner-operators:

• If the trucks are rented by the contractor and the driver is an employee of and paid directly by the contractor on its payroll, then this is not considered a subcontract.
• If the trucks are rented by the contractor and the contractor payroll shows these trucks on their payroll as owner-operator, then this is still not considered a subcontract.
• If the contractor rented the truck and pays another company directly for the truck and operator, and the other company pays the operator, then this is work disposed of by the contractor and requires a subcontract and certified payrolls.
• If the subcontractor rents or acquires other trucks, and all of the drivers are employees of the subcontractor and show up on his payrolls, then no further action is required. However, if the subcontractor rents trucks from another company, and this company pays for the operators, then this is technically a second-tier subcontract and all of the subcontracting and certified payroll requirements apply.

Owner-operators must sign a subcontract request form certifying that they are bona fide owner-operators.

Truckers working as owner-operators do not need to show the hours worked or rates paid in certified payrolls. This does not apply to owner-operators of other equipment.

When transporting very heavy or oversized loads, you need to plan your route ahead of time. For information to help plan your route, see the appropriate contacts in the Commercial Permits section of the ADOT website.

A permit is required to move oversized or very heavy loads.

You may obtain a Class A permit if your load

• is nonreducible.
• has a specifically described load.
• has a width and/or load of 14 feet or less.
• has a height and/or load of 16 feet or less.
• has a length and/or load of 120 feet or less.
• has a combined weight of vehicle and/or vehicle combination of 250,000 pounds or less.

If your load exceeds any of those criteria, you must seek a Class C permit. You can learn more about Class C permits in the Permits section of the ADOT website. 

Learn more about oversize weight permits on the Commercial Permits section of the ADOT website.

ADOT has a website called ePro that is dedicated to permitting. Accessing the ADOT ePro site is necessary for many permits and applications including Class C permits.

You may be required to obtain single trip permits or use fuel permits if your vehicle is not properly registered in Arizona. See the Commercial Permits section of the ADOT website for more information.

Prime contractors are required to pay their subcontractors within seven days of receiving payment from ADOT, and subcontractors are required to pay tier subcontractors within seven days as well. Similarly, contractors are required to make final payment to any subcontractors of all monies owed within seven days of receiving payment.

Many public agencies throughout the country hold “retainage” on construction contracts, which means that part of the agency’s owed payment is withheld as a safeguard against defects or failure to satisfactorily complete a project. ADOT does not hold retention from prime contractors. However, if the prime contract allows for retainage, then prime contractors may hold a retention against a subcontractor, and that subcontractor may hold a similar retainage from tier subcontractors. If a retention is held during the project, it must be paid along with the final payment. A prime contractor may not hold a retention from a subcontractor for reasons unrelated to the current project.

ADOT monitors prompt payment.  It is important for subcontractors  and truckers to report to ADOT in the ADOT DBE and OJT Online Reporting System (DOORS), formerly known as the ADOT DBE System and to the Resident Engineer or Field Office if they have not been paid promptly.  This reporting must be done in a timely manner so that prompt action can be taken.

ADOT pays contractors based on quantities determined by ADOT Inspectors for work completed during a specific time period. There are certain monthly cutoff dates for contractor’s work to be evaluated so that payment for work can be issued by ADOT each month.  See Contractor Cycle Dates section of the ADOT website for a list of cutoff dates for the current year. 

For more information on prompt payment requirements, watch this video on the FHWA website. 

Subcontractors are also required to submit payroll information for all of their employees using the ePayroll system. Any project that received federal funding requires payroll reporting for all employees working on the project. This is done through the LCPtracker program. 

When prevailing wages are being paid, payroll information must also be tracked using the LCPtracker program to generate a Certified Payroll Report (CPR). Payroll information is entered separately for each individual employee being paid. A CPR must be submitted by the prime every week, which means that they rely upon you to provide your payment information promptly.

The first time a prime or subcontractor adds you to a project in LCPtracker, you should be provided with an LCPtracker ID and password by the agency which awarded you the contract.

Required payroll information includes pay rates, hours worked, fringe benefits and deductions. This information may be uploaded from a spreadsheet instead of being input manually on the website. You may also be asked to submit information about the numbers and types of employees (e.g., managers, supervisors, clerks) working on the project.

A subcontractor or trucker not completing/submitting required payroll information will cause the prime contractor to be sanctioned by ADOT and cause payment to the subcontractor to be delayed. 

ADOT also holds workshops on Certified Payroll reporting every month. You can learn more about Certified Payroll Reporting classes on the same website.

ADOT is required by law to collect contractor, subcontractor and tier subcontractor payment information (a tier subcontractor is a company that subcontracts to a subcontractor). This means that a prime contractor or consultant must enter all subcontractor payment information into the ADOT DBE & OJT Online Reporting System. Subconsultants are then responsible for adding information about tier subconsultants, if necessary.

After receiving its first payment from ADOT (and every month thereafter while the project is ongoing), the prime contractor must submit information on the payments it has made to each of its subcontractors on the DBE website.

Once a project is complete and all payments have been made and confirmed, each utilized DBE subcontractor must sign a certification payment form for the prime contractor to submit to ADOT. This form certifies that all payments have been made to the DBE subcontractor. The DBE Certification of Payments Form can be found in the Contract Specs and Forms of the ADOT Website.