Business Mailing Address & Carrier Entity Setup
Your trucking filings are public. If you run the business from home, that means your home address is public too. We give you a business mailing address to use instead, and set the company up properly behind it.
Important: Clear Path Document Services is a non-attorney document preparation service and cannot provide legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created. Read full disclaimer
Quick Answer
Federal and state trucking filings are public records, so the address you put on your USDOT and authority paperwork can be looked up by anyone — including the marketers who flood new carriers with mail and calls. Clear Path offers a business mailing address you can use to receive company mail and documents, so a home address doesn't have to go on those filings, and we prepare the Michigan LLC or corporation and EIN paperwork that the rest of your compliance depends on. This is a mail-receiving service — we are not a registered agent or a process agent.
Who qualifies for this service?
This document preparation service is a fit for Michigan residents who match the criteria below. If your situation is different, contact us and we'll tell you whether we can help or whether you should speak with an attorney.
- New owner-operators running the business from home
- Carriers who don't want their home address in public FMCSA records
- Carriers who want company mail separated from personal mail
- New trucking companies that need an LLC or corporation formed before applying for authority
- Drivers going from leased-on to their own authority
- Out-of-state owners setting up a Michigan-based operation
How the process works
Clear, predictable steps from intake to court-ready paperwork.
Short form
Tell us whether you need the address, the entity, or both.
Review
We check name availability and confirm which addresses each filing will accept.
Written quote
Flat fee for preparation, plus state filing fees listed separately.
Entity prepared
We prepare the Michigan LARA formation documents and your EIN application materials.
Address set up
Your business mailing address is set up and we tell you how mail reaches you.
Ready for authority
With the entity, EIN, and address in place, your USDOT and authority filings go out clean.
Paperwork we organize for you
Document preparation only. We do not represent you in court.
Documents and information you'll need
- Desired company name and a backup name
- Owner name(s), ownership percentages, and contact information
- Government-issued photo ID for each owner
- Physical address for the business (kept off public filings where the rules allow)
- Type of trucking operation you plan to run
- Existing entity documents, if the company already exists
Common mistakes to avoid
Small errors can cost you weeks. Here's what we see most often.
- Putting a home address on the federal application and then trying to change it later, which creates mismatches across filings.
- Using a mailbox address where a physical business location is required — different filings have different rules.
- Applying for authority before the entity exists, so the names don't match.
- Getting an EIN under a personal name instead of the company.
- Assuming a mailing address satisfies the Michigan resident agent requirement. It doesn't.
- Treating marketing mail dressed up to look official as a real government notice.
Local Michigan considerations
Michigan LLCs and corporations must maintain a resident agent with a physical Michigan street address — that's a separate requirement from a mailing address, and Clear Path does not act as a resident agent. What we provide is a business mailing address for receiving your company's mail and documents, so your personal address doesn't have to appear where the rules allow an alternative. Some federal trucking filings require a principal place of business rather than a mailbox, so we tell you exactly which address goes on which form instead of letting you find out when an application gets rejected.
Key Terms
- Business mailing address
- An address used to receive a company's mail and documents, separate from the owner's home address.
- Principal place of business
- The physical location where a company's operations are managed — required on some federal trucking filings.
- Resident agent
- The person or company designated to accept legal papers for a Michigan LLC or corporation, requiring a physical Michigan street address. Clear Path does not serve in this role.
- Articles of Organization
- The document filed with Michigan LARA that creates an LLC. The state filing fee is $50.
- Annual statement
- The Michigan filing due each February 15 for LLCs, with a $25 fee, confirming the resident agent and address.
People Also Ask
Reviewed and updated by the Clear Path document team. Informational only — not legal advice.
Ready to get your paperwork started?
Start the guided intake, or call or text us — we review every matter before quoting a price, and nothing is purchased online.