How to Become a Hot Shot Driver: Paths, Rules and Your First Year

A hot shot driver hauls time-sensitive freight on a flatbed or gooseneck trailer pulled by a one-ton or medium-duty truck. It's one of the few ways into trucking that doesn't start with a semi, and that's why so many people look at it. This guide covers what the job is day to day, the three ways in, the license and medical rules, and what a realistic first year looks like. If you're still deciding whether hotshot work suits you at all, start with what hotshot trucking is.

What hot shot driving looks like day to day

Hot shot driving is regional and long-haul flatbed work on a smaller scale. A typical day:

• Pickup. Back up to a dock, yard or job site, check the load against the rate confirmation, and load or watch it loaded.
• Securement. Strap or chain the freight, then check it again within the first 50 miles and at every stop.
• The run. Often 300 to 600 miles, sometimes overnight, with weigh stations, fuel stops and logs along the way.
• Delivery. Get the bill of lading signed, take photos, send paperwork, and find the next load before you're empty.

The freight is whatever needs to move quickly and doesn't fill a semi: equipment, oilfield parts, construction materials, steel, ag machinery. Loads are often partials, so a hot shot truck driver may haul two or three in a week, or several short ones in a day.

One note on the phrase: some job ads say "hot shot delivery driver" for local same-day parts runs, usually in a pickup without a trailer. That's courier work. This guide covers the trucking kind.

Three ways to become a hot shot driver

Company driver

A hotshot carrier owns the truck and trailer, finds the freight and pays you. Fewer hotshot carriers hire company drivers than semi fleets do, and many want a year or two of towing or flatbed experience. Carriers have to check your driving record for the last three years when they hire you. If you can find a company job, it's the lowest-risk way to learn.

Leased operator

You own the truck, and you run under a carrier's USDOT number and authority. Federal leasing rules require a written lease that spells out who controls the equipment, how and when you're paid, and which costs are charged back to you (49 CFR 376.12). Read the chargebacks line by line: fuel advances, insurance, trailer rental and escrow all come out of your settlement.

Your own authority

You become the motor carrier: USDOT number, MC authority, process agent, insurance, and every bill. You keep the whole rate and carry the whole risk. The steps in order are in how to start a hotshot business.

Hot shot driver license and age rules

The federal rules apply to anyone driving a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce, which covers most hotshot rigs because they weigh over 10,000 lb.

1. Age 21 for interstate work. That's the federal minimum (49 CFR 391.11). Some states allow younger drivers on in-state routes only.
2. English. The same rule requires that you can read and speak English well enough to talk with the public, read road signs, answer officials and fill out reports.
3. DOT medical card. You need an exam from a certified medical examiner at least every 24 months, sooner if the examiner sets a shorter card (49 CFR 391.45). This applies without a CDL too.
4. The right license for the rig. See the next section.

CDL or non-CDL

The license follows the weight. A combination with a GCWR of 26,001 lb or more, towing a trailer rated over 10,000 lb, needs a Class A CDL (49 CFR 383.91). Keep the combination at or under 26,000 lb and a regular license works.

• Non-CDL: quicker to start, no CDL drug testing program, but lighter freight. Most non-CDL rigs carry a few thousand pounds of freight once the truck and trailer ratings are added up. The non-CDL requirements guide has the full rule and EXAMPLE setups.
• Class A: heavier and better-paying freight opens up, along with DOT drug and alcohol testing, which applies to CDL drivers (49 CFR 382.103).

Getting a Class A for hotshot

1. Pass your state's knowledge tests and get a commercial learner's permit. You must be at least 18 for a CLP and drive with a qualified CDL holder beside you (49 CFR 383.25).
2. Complete entry-level driver training from a provider on FMCSA's Training Provider Registry. It's required for anyone getting a Class A or B for the first time (49 CFR 380.609).
3. Take the skills test in a vehicle that represents the class. A Class A test needs a combination that qualifies as Class A; ask your state whether a heavy-rated pickup and gooseneck is accepted.

Skills that keep a hot shot trucker working

• Securement. Knowing how many straps a load needs and where they go is what keeps you out of trouble at inspections.
• Weight sense. Reading your truck's and trailer's ratings and knowing when to scale a load. See hotshot weight limits.
• Backing and tight sites. Job sites and yards don't have truck-stop room.
• Paperwork. Rate confirmations, bills of lading, logs and receipts, sent the same day.
• Phone work. If you run your own authority, you or a dispatcher spend hours a week on broker calls.

Your first year, honestly

The first year is where the money gets tested, more than the driving. Expect:

• Higher insurance on a new authority or a new driver, often the biggest surprise.
• Uneven weeks. Some weeks pay well, some leave you parked. Keep cash for slow stretches.
• Deadhead. Hotshot freight doesn't always start where the last load ended.
• Learning the brokers. Some pay fast, some slow, and some aren't worth the call.

How much hot shot drivers actually make depends on all of this. Our hotshot driver income guide has EXAMPLE monthly P&Ls for CDL and non-CDL setups, and the rate calculator shows what a load pays per mile once deadhead is counted.

Growing past one truck

Some hot shot drivers end up owning the company: two trucks, then four, with hired drivers in the seats. That's a different job, closer to running a small fleet than driving. If that's your plan, our hotshot fleet dispatch page shows how we run a desk for 2 to 10 trucks with mixed CDL and non-CDL units.