You've got a truck, or you're about to buy one, and you want to know one thing: do you have enough experience to lease on and actually get moving? The short answer is that most carriers want around two years of verifiable driving experience — and there's a real reason behind that number.

Why carriers want about two years

It comes down to insurance, not gatekeeping. When you lease on and run under a carrier's authority, you're covered under that carrier's insurance policy. Insurers price that policy based on risk, and the single biggest risk factor they look at is verifiable experience.

Drivers with under two years statistically file more claims. That drives up premiums for everyone on the policy. So carriers set experience minimums to keep their insurance affordable — which in turn keeps their whole operation stable enough to pay you well and on time.

At ARI, the baseline is a CDL Class A, a clean record, being 25 or older, and roughly two years of experience. That's not an arbitrary hurdle. It's the line where the insurance math works in your favor and ours.

What actually counts as verifiable experience

"Verifiable" is the key word. It doesn't mean you personally remember driving — it means a carrier can confirm it through records. Here's what typically counts:

  • OTR or regional Class A driving where a former employer or carrier can verify your dates and mileage.
  • Time you already ran as an owner-operator, including miles under another carrier's authority.
  • Documented driving through an employment verification — pay records, DAC-style history, or a signed verification from a past carrier.

What usually doesn't count on its own: unverifiable local hauling with no paper trail, expired experience from many years ago with big gaps, or CDL school hours by themselves.

How to build toward the two-year mark

If you're short right now, you're not stuck — you're just early. A few practical moves:

  • Keep clean, verifiable miles. Stay with carriers that report properly so your time is documented and easy to confirm later.
  • Protect your MVR. A clean record matters as much as raw years. One at-fault incident can cost you more than a few extra months would have.
  • Get your paperwork in order. Keep employment records and any verification letters. When you're ready to lease on, having your history clean and confirmable speeds everything up.

Two years goes faster than it feels. The drivers who plan for it — running clean, documented miles — hit the mark and lease on without friction.

What experience buys you once you qualify

Here's the part worth understanding: meeting the experience bar isn't the finish line, it's the door. Once you're on with a real motor carrier, the experience keeps paying off.

Because ARI is a carrier that moves real volume and holds established shipper and broker relationships, running under ARI's authority opens access to freight a solo driver can't easily land alone. You also get a dedicated dispatcher who caps out at seven trucks, no forced dispatch, zero escrow, and same-day pay with no quick-pay fees. That's a very different setup than a self-dispatch app where you're on your own.

One clarification worth making: with ARI you run under ARI's DOT/MC authority — you don't need your own, and you can't run your own authority here. Getting your own authority exists as a separate industry path, but ARI is lease-on only. That's actually part of why the experience requirement is what it is: our insurance covers your miles.

If you've got the seat time and a clean record, take a look at what's available on our owner-operator opportunities page. And when you're ready to put your experience to work, you can start your application to lease on with ARI or call (888) 600-9098 to talk it through.