About Us

First Load HQ helps drivers go independent — from the leased-on-vs-own-authority decision, through every federal and state filing, to the day you book your first paid load and the months after it.

The DIY-first rules

1. You can file your own authority, and we show you how — first. The government fees for a new authority run a few hundred dollars, and every filing step on this site links the official FMCSA or state portal where you pay exactly that. "Authority packages" that charge hundreds more for form-filling are this niche's oldest trap; our warning page about them carries no paid links at all. Paid services appear here as clearly-labeled convenience options, never necessities.
2. We are not the FMCSA, the DOT, or any government agency. Requirement pages explain what the rules are and link the official source for every filing; when a rule is state-specific, your state's page links that state's portal.
3. No easy-money financing, ever. We do not promote merchant cash advances, equipment-loan lead-gen, or "guaranteed approval" anything — the most predatory corner of trucking will never appear here. Freight factoring is covered honestly, including its costs and when NOT to use it, and we never advertise it.
4. No guaranteed-loads hype. Nobody can guarantee you freight, and dispatch services that promise it to brand-new authorities are a red flag we write about, not a product we sell. The honest path to your first load is insurance on file, a clean profile, and the load boards every carrier actually uses.

How we make money

Some links pay us a commission — insurance quotes, ELDs, load-board subscriptions, formation services, and fuel cards — clearly marked, never required, and never affecting your price. The filing guides, the official links, and the Cost Per Mile Index earn us nothing and exist because you needed them before your first load.

Our pages are researched and maintained by the First Load HQ editorial team. Corrections are welcome at hello@firstloadhq.com.

Advertiser disclosure: First Load HQ may earn a commission when you get a quote or sign up for a service through links on this site. It never changes your price, and it never changes the path we show you — every government filing on this site links the official FMCSA or state portal, where the only cost is the government fee.

Contact

Blue Services LLC 1900 Camden Ave. Suite 101, San Jose, CA 95124 USA Email: hello@firstloadhq.com