Commercial Auto Symbols Explained: What Symbol 1, 7, 8 and 9 Mean on Your Policy
By Joe Hensler, Principal Broker · Published
The numbers next to each coverage on a business auto declarations page are covered auto symbols, and each one answers a single question: which vehicles does this coverage apply to? Symbol 1 means any auto. Symbol 7 means only the vehicles listed on your schedule. Symbol 8 adds vehicles the business rents or borrows, and symbol 9 adds vehicles it does not own, lease, rent or borrow, such as an employee's car on a company errand. Liability on symbol 1 treats any auto as a covered auto, subject to the rest of the policy; liability on symbol 7 alone follows the listed vehicles and little else. The form language is quoted below so you can check your own policy.
Which form you have
The standard contract is the Insurance Services Office (ISO) Business Auto Coverage Form, CA 00 01, which carriers use as written or adapt. The ISO edition listed for California is CA 00 01 11 20, the November 2020 edition (FC&S, ISO Commercial Auto Forms List, February 1, 2024), and it is the edition quoted here. ISO is implementing a 2026 revision of its commercial auto forms for policies written on or after September 1, 2026, but California was not among the 32 jurisdictions in ISO's February 2026 implementation notice (FC&S Circular Tracker, February 3, 2026). The edition printed in the footer of your form is the one that governs.
The form's rule is one sentence: "The symbols entered next to a coverage on the Declarations designate the only 'autos' that are covered 'autos'" (ISO, CA 00 01 11 20, Section I). Each coverage line carries its own symbols, and a line with no symbol and no premium is not on the policy.
The symbols, one by one
| Symbol | Form title | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Any "Auto" | Any auto |
| 2 | Owned "Autos" Only | Autos you own, including ones acquired after the policy begins; for liability, non-owned trailers attached to your power units |
| 3 | Owned Private Passenger "Autos" Only | Private passenger autos you own, including ones acquired later |
| 4 | Owned "Autos" Other Than Private Passenger "Autos" Only | Owned trucks, vans and other non-private-passenger autos, including ones acquired later; trailer rule as in 2 |
| 5 | Owned "Autos" Subject To No-fault | Owned autos required to have no-fault benefits where licensed or principally garaged; nothing in California (see below) |
| 6 | Owned "Autos" Subject To A Compulsory Uninsured Motorists Law | Owned autos that by law "are required to have and cannot reject Uninsured Motorists Coverage" |
| 7 | Specifically Described "Autos" | Only autos described in Item Three of the declarations "for which a premium charge is shown"; for liability, non-owned trailers attached to a described power unit |
| 8 | Hired "Autos" Only | Autos "you lease, hire, rent or borrow," except from your employees, partners, LLC members or members of their households |
| 9 | Non-owned "Autos" Only | Autos you do not own, lease, hire, rent or borrow that are used in connection with your business, including autos owned by employees, partners, members or their households "but only while used in your business or your personal affairs" |
| 19 | Mobile Equipment Subject To Compulsory Or Financial Responsibility Or Other Motor Vehicle Insurance Law Only | Land vehicles that would be "mobile equipment" under the policy if a motor vehicle insurance law did not apply to them where licensed or principally garaged |
Source: CA 00 01 11 20, Section I.A.
There is no symbol 10 through 18 in the business auto form; the list jumps from 9 to 19. Any other number comes from a different form or the carrier's own wording. ISO's Motor Carrier Coverage Form (CA 00 20), for example, uses 61 through 71 and 79 in its 2013 edition, including trailer interchange symbols 69 and 70 (FC&S, motor carrier coverage form covered autos, December 4, 2015).
Whenever the policy provides liability, three things are covered for liability regardless of symbol: trailers "with a registered Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of 3,000 pounds or less designed primarily for travel on public roads"; mobile equipment while carried or towed by a covered auto; and a non-owned auto used with its owner's permission as a temporary substitute for a covered auto you own that is out of service (Section I.C).
How symbols are usually paired with coverages
The form does not assign symbols to coverages; the declarations do, within each carrier's underwriting rules. In our experience, California business auto policies usually look like this:
| Coverage | Symbols we commonly see |
|---|---|
| Covered autos liability | 1, or 2 (or 7) with 8 and 9 |
| Medical payments (optional) | 2 or 7 |
| Uninsured and underinsured motorists | 2 or 7 |
| Personal injury protection | None for California-garaged autos; California does not require no-fault benefits |
| Comprehensive, collision, towing | 7 (rated vehicle by vehicle on value), plus 8 for hired auto physical damage |
On symbol 7, a vehicle listed without a premium for a coverage does not have that coverage: a truck listed for liability only has no collision. And with liability on symbol 7 alone, no rented car or truck and no employee's own car is a covered auto, apart from a temporary substitute and the trailers and towed mobile equipment described above.
Any auto versus scheduled autos: the truck you buy mid-term
Under symbols 1 through 6 and 19, "you have coverage for 'autos' that you acquire after the policy period begins of the type described for the remainder of the policy period" (Section I.B.1). Under symbol 7, a newly acquired auto is covered only if both conditions hold: "We already cover all 'autos' that you own for that coverage or it replaces an 'auto' you previously owned that had that coverage," and "You tell us within 30 days after you acquire it that you want us to cover it for that coverage" (Section I.B.2).
The test runs coverage by coverage. A contractor has three trucks on symbol 7, all with liability and two with collision, and buys a fourth in March. It is covered for liability if reported within 30 days, because every owned truck has liability. It is not covered for collision unless it replaces one of the two trucks that had collision and is reported within 30 days. With liability on symbol 1 or 2, the fourth truck is covered for liability from the day it is acquired; in our experience the carrier still wants it reported and charges for it.
The 2020 edition added that an auto leased or rented to you without a driver for at least six continuous months, under a written agreement that calls for you to insure it on a primary basis, "will be considered a covered 'auto' you own" (Section I.B.3).
Hired and non-owned: symbols 8 and 9, and who needs them
Symbol 8 covers what the business leases, hires, rents or borrows: the rental truck for a weekend job, the borrowed trailer. A vehicle rented or borrowed from an employee, partner, LLC member or their household is carved out. Symbol 1 has no such carve-out.
For physical damage, symbol 8 is hired auto physical damage. The form treats the rented vehicle as one you own, so the coverage is primary, but a vehicle hired "with a driver is not a covered 'auto'" (Section IV.B.5.b). The coverage also pays loss-of-use charges under a written rental contract, up to $30 a day and $900 in all (Section III.A.4.b).
Symbol 9 covers vehicles the business does not own, lease, hire, rent or borrow that are used in its business: employees' own cars, or a partner's or LLC member's, on a bank run or a client visit. Two provisions shape it:
- It protects the business, not the driver. The insureds exclude "Your 'employee' if the covered 'auto' is owned by that 'employee' or a member of his or her household," and a partner or LLC member for an auto he or she owns (Section II.A.1.b). The employee relies on his or her own policy.
- It is excess. "For any covered 'auto' you don't own, the insurance provided by this Coverage Form is excess over any other collectible insurance" (Section IV.B.5.a). The employee's policy normally answers first, and symbol 9 responds to the claim against the business beyond it.
A business whose people drive their own cars for work has a non-owned auto exposure, and one that rents or borrows vehicles has a hired auto exposure, even if it owns no vehicles. In our experience a business with no owned vehicles buys them as a business auto policy on symbols 8 and 9 alone or as a hired and non-owned endorsement to its general liability or businessowners policy (see BOP vs. general liability).
California uninsured and underinsured motorists
Insurance Code section 11580.2 does not exempt business auto policies: no auto bodily injury liability policy may be issued in California "unless the policy contains, or has added to it by endorsement" uninsured motorists coverage. Policies whose auto liability "is provided only on an excess or umbrella basis," or is "incidental to some other basic coverage," are left out (Insurance Code § 11580.2).
| Rule | What § 11580.2 says |
|---|---|
| Limits offered | Equal to the policy's bodily injury limits, but not required above $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident ((m)) |
| Rejecting or reducing | The insurer and any named insured may, "by agreement in writing" in the statutory form, delete UM or delete it for a driver designated by name ((a)(1)). The statute also allows a limit below the (m) amount but not below the Vehicle Code § 16056 minimums; since 2025 both are $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident, so that option no longer leaves room |
| Who it binds | The agreement "shall be binding upon every insured" and continues through renewals, a replacement policy issued "by the same insurer," and a reinstatement within 30 days of a lapse ((a)(1)) |
| Who is protected | When the named insured is "an entity other than an individual," the insureds are the people "in or upon or entering into or alighting from an insured motor vehicle" ((b)) |
| Underinsured | Included: "An uninsured motor vehicle includes an underinsured motor vehicle" ((a)(3)). UIM pays up to its limit less what was paid by or for those liable ((p)(4)) |
The state minimums are $30,000 per person, $60,000 per accident and $15,000 for property damage on policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025 (Vehicle Code § 16056).
The binding rule is the practical point. A rejection signed when the policy was first written carries into every renewal and into a replacement policy from the same insurer, so a business can carry $1,000,000 of liability and no UM without anyone remembering the choice. The statute does not carry it to a policy from a different insurer. Check the UM line. It is also why symbol 6 fits poorly here: it describes autos that "cannot reject" UM, and California lets a named insured reject it in writing.
California does not require PIP
Personal injury protection is the no-fault benefit that pays your own and your passengers' injuries regardless of fault. California's auto insurance system is, in the Legislative Analyst's words, "based on the concept of fault" (Legislative Analyst, Proposition 200, 1996), and voters rejected the 1996 initiative that would have required PIP by about 65 percent to 35 (UC Law SF ballot archive). California does not require personal injury protection, so the PIP line stays blank on California-garaged autos and symbol 5 has nothing to describe for them. What pays occupants' medical bills regardless of fault is medical payments coverage, which the Department of Insurance's guide says "pays limited medical expenses for people injured in the car you are driving when you have an accident, whether or not you are at fault," and which is optional: "You may be offered this coverage, but you can choose not to buy it" (CDI, Automobile Insurance guide, February 2025). For employees hurt on the job, workers' compensation is what pays, and the standard ISO auto medical payments endorsement excludes injuries to the named insured's employees that arise out of and in the course of their employment (FC&S, Auto Medical Payments Coverage, October 30, 2023).
The federal MCS-90
Who needs it. The MCS-90 rules apply to "for-hire motor carriers operating motor vehicles transporting property in interstate or foreign commerce," and to hazardous materials carriers in interstate, foreign or intrastate commerce (intrastate non-bulk loads aside), but not to a vehicle under 10,001 pounds gross vehicle weight rating unless it carries certain high-hazard materials (49 CFR § 387.3). A for-hire interstate carrier that runs only vehicles under 10,001 pounds still needs $300,000 on file with FMCSA for its operating authority (FMCSA, Insurance Filing Requirements). The minimums are $750,000 for nonhazardous freight in vehicles of 10,001 pounds or more, $1,000,000 for oil and many hazardous materials, and $5,000,000 for the most hazardous loads (49 CFR § 387.9, eCFR, current as of October 22, 2026).
What it does. The MCS-90 is an endorsement on the auto policy, kept at the motor carrier's principal place of business (§ 387.7(d)). The insurer agrees to pay "any final judgment recovered against the insured for public liability resulting from negligence in the operation, maintenance or use of motor vehicles" subject to the federal requirements, "regardless of whether or not each motor vehicle is specifically described in the policy" (FMCSA, Form MCS-90).
What it does not do. It protects the public, not the motor carrier. The insured agrees to reimburse the insurer for any payment "that the company would not have been obligated to make under the provisions of the policy except for the agreement contained in this endorsement," so if the policy would not have covered the loss, the motor carrier owes the money back. It does not apply to the motor carrier's own employees injured on the job, or to "property transported by the insured, designated as cargo." Cancellation takes 35 days' written notice (§ 387.7(b)(1)). A motor carrier seeking federal for-hire authority also needs its insurer to file proof with FMCSA on Form BMC-91 or BMC-91X (FMCSA, Insurance Filing Requirements).
California: the DMV Motor Carrier Permit
Who needs it. The DMV requires a Motor Carrier Permit of anyone "paid to transport property in their motor vehicle," "regardless of vehicle size, type, or weight," and generally of anyone "operating a commercial vehicle with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of 10,001 pounds or more," for hire or as a "private" carrier hauling its own goods (DMV, Motor Carrier Permits, updated August 7, 2026). The statute reaches the operator of "any motortruck of two or more axles that is more than 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating," and calls a business that "transports only their own property" a private carrier (Vehicle Code § 34601). So a contractor's two-axle truck rated over 10,000 pounds, hauling only its own tools and materials, generally needs a permit, which in turn needs a CA number from the Highway Patrol and proof of workers' compensation or a signed exemption.
How much. At least a $750,000 combined single limit for most carriers of property; $300,000 for a carrier that "operates only vehicles under 10,000 pounds GVWR" and hauls no bulk petroleum or listed hazardous materials; more for those loads. Cargo hauled for a shipper is not part of the requirement (Vehicle Code § 34631.5).
The filing. The proof is a certificate of insurance (the DMV's Form MC 65 M) from a California-licensed insurer "or by a nonadmitted insurer subject to Section 1763 of the Insurance Code" (§ 34631.5(b)(1)), "submitted to the department by the motor carrier's insurance provider," with a DMV endorsement attached to the policy (13 CCR § 220.06). It "shall not be cancelable on less than 30 days' written notice to the department," and on cancellation the permit "shall stand suspended immediately" until a new certificate is filed (§ 34631.5(b)(3) to (b)(7)).
Passenger carriers and household movers
Charter-party carriers answer to the Public Utilities Commission, whose General Order 115-G sets minimum liability by seating capacity, counting the driver: $750,000 for 8 persons or less, $1,500,000 for 9 through 15, $5,000,000 for 16 or more (CPUC, General Order 115-G); passenger stage corporations fall under General Order 101. Insurers and brokers file through the CPUC's Transportation Carrier Portal, policies carry the CPUC's Form PL-912 endorsement, and a cancellation is filed at least 30 days ahead (CPUC, Passenger Carriers Insurance Requirements).
Household movers left the CPUC on July 1, 2018, when Senate Bill 19 moved them to the Department of Consumer Affairs bureau now named the Bureau of Household Goods and Services (CPUC, Transfer of Authority). The statute has the bureau require at least $250,000 per person and $500,000 per accident for bodily injury, $100,000 for property damage and $600,000 combined, plus $20,000 of cargo insurance unless the bureau approves a lower cargo amount (Business and Professions Code § 19248), on 30 days' notice of cancellation (§ 19251). A household mover under its bureau permit is outside the DMV permit program (Vehicle Code § 34601(a)).
A five-minute check of your declarations
- Liability: symbol 1, or 2 or 7 with 8 and 9 if the business rents or borrows vehicles or its people drive their own for work.
- Schedule: every owned vehicle in Item Three, with a premium for each coverage you expect it to have.
- New vehicles: on symbol 7, each reported within 30 days.
- UM: a limit, or a rejection on file from an earlier year.
- Filings: MCP, MCS-90, CPUC or bureau filings matching the policy's named insured and dates.
What we do with it
Our commercial auto insurance page describes how we set symbols, filings and limits to fit how the operation runs. We quote admitted carriers first. When admitted carriers decline a fleet after the diligent search Insurance Code section 1763 requires, a surplus lines policy can still carry the DMV filing, since Vehicle Code § 34631.5(b)(1) accepts a nonadmitted insurer subject to section 1763. Start a quote with your vehicles, drivers and radius, or send your declarations page and we will read the symbols with you.
Sources and verification
Checked on November 1, 2026 against the form text of ISO CA 00 01 11 20 (a published specimen with ISO's 2019 copyright line) and CA 00 20 10 13; FC&S's ISO forms list and circular summaries for the edition status; the Insurance, Vehicle and Business and Professions Code sections and 13 CCR § 220.06 as linked; the DMV permit page; 49 CFR Part 387 and FMCSA's MCS-90 and filing pages; the CPUC's General Order 115-G and its passenger carrier and transfer pages; the Legislative Analyst's 1996 Proposition 200 analysis; and the Department of Insurance's February 2025 auto guide. Pairings described as what we commonly see are our practice, not form requirements. Carriers adapt these forms, and your policy governs. This is a general description, not legal advice; we plan to update it when ISO's 2026 revision reaches California or these rules change.