Hauling fuel in North Carolina: terminals, tanker endorsements and paperwork

The short version

North Carolina has no refineries. Its gasoline and diesel arrive by pipeline or ship, and tank trucks carry it from terminals to stations, according to NCDOT's 2023 freight plan. [1]

In NC, a CDL driver hauling a loaded fuel tanker needs the X endorsement, which covers tank vehicles carrying hazardous materials. The X test is retaken at every renewal. [32]

Every load out of a terminal needs an NC shipping document showing the destination state. Delivering to a different state without a confirmation number from the Department of Revenue can cost the truck's registered owner $5,000. [19]

Before dropping into a station's underground tank, check that its NC operating permit certificate is posted and not expired. A driver isn't liable when an unexpired certificate is posted, unless they know or should know the permit isn't valid. [33]

Spill 25 gallons or more of petroleum, or any amount near water, and it must be reported to NCDEQ within 24 hours. [33]

Where NC's fuel comes from

NCDOT's hazardous materials profile (January 2023) says the state imports all of its petroleum fuel. No crude oil moves through NC, and the state has no refining capacity. [1]

Two product pipelines carry most of it. Colonial runs 673 miles in NC and Plantation 424 miles. Together, pipelines move over 60% of the state's petroleum fuel to five terminal market areas: Charlotte, Greensboro, Apex, Selma and Fayetteville. [1]

As of 2023 the profile counted 38 inland fuel terminals, all with truck loading. It lists 12 in Charlotte's Paw Creek area, 10 in Selma, 7 in Greensboro, and one each in Apex and Fayetteville. [1]

Greensboro is the primary hub. NCDOT says about 60% of fuel demand in the mid-Atlantic and lower Northeast flows through it on the Colonial and Plantation lines. [1]

Wilmington is different. Its six private marine terminals take fuel by ship or barge, then send it out by rail and truck. Denton has an ethanol terminal fed by rail. [1]

NCDOT estimates nearly 2 million tank truck loads leave these terminals each year. It also flagged tight truck access at the Denton and Apex sites, and unsafe splash blending in back lots near the Star and Midland butane transloads. [1]

Your license: the X endorsement

Federal rules call a truck a tank vehicle if it carries liquid or gas in tanks of more than 119 gallons each and 1,000 gallons or more in total. A gasoline or diesel transport easily qualifies. [2]

NC's endorsement table splits it three ways. H covers placarded hazmat in vehicles other than tank vehicles. N covers tank vehicles not carrying hazmat. X covers tank vehicles carrying hazmat. [32]

Bulk diesel still needs placards even when it's reclassed as a combustible liquid, so a loaded diesel tanker is a hazmat tank vehicle too. That points to X for both gasoline and diesel loads. [9][32]

The tank knowledge test covers cargo surge, braking with full, partly full and empty tanks, baffled and unbaffled tanks, and handling on grades and curves. The hazmat test adds papers, placards, loading, attendance and emergency response. [5][6]

NC charges $25.50 per year for the CDL and $5 per year for each endorsement. A CDL with H or X expires when your TSA security threat assessment does. [32]

The tank: inspections and test markings

A spec cargo tank with a test or inspection due can't be filled and sent out until it passes. A tank loaded before the due date may finish that trip. [7]

For a typical fuel tanker, the external visual inspection and leakage test are due every year. The internal visual inspection and pressure test are due every 5 years. [7]

Gasoline tankers with vapor collection gear may use EPA Method 27 for the leakage test. That shows up on the tank as "K-EPA27". [7][8]

Test dates go on the tank near the spec plate or on the front head, in letters at least 1.25 inches high. V is external visual, I internal visual, P pressure and K leakage. [8]

There is no federal ban on wetlines, the fuel left in a tanker's loading lines. PHMSA withdrew its proposal on Dec. 30, 2015, as Congress required. [37]

At the rack and the drop: attendance, engines and bonding

A qualified person must attend a cargo tank the whole time it's being loaded, and the motor carrier must make sure one attends all unloading. [10]

Attending means staying alert within 25 feet of the tank, with a clear view of the tank and hose where practical. Some remote monitoring and automatic-shutoff setups can substitute. [10]

Don't load or unload gasoline with the engine running unless the engine drives the pump. A diesel engine may run if it's 10 degrees Fahrenheit or colder. [11]

Loading through an open fill hole, connect the bond wire to the tank before opening any fill hole, and leave it until the last one is closed. Vapor-tight connections don't need bonding. [11]

Unloading combustible liquid, the attendant must stay within 150 feet of the tank and 25 feet of the hose. On drops over 5 minutes, check the tank and the receiving tank at least every 5 minutes. [11]

Don't drive off with any hazmat aboard until every manhole is closed and secured and every discharge valve is closed and not leaking. [10]

Gasoline, ethanol blends and diesel: the ID numbers

Gasoline, including blends with no more than 10% ethanol, is UN1203, Class 3. Blends with more than 10% ethanol, such as E15 and E85, are UN3475. [14]

Diesel fuel is listed as NA1993 for domestic shipments or UN1202 for international ones, both Class 3, packing group III. [14]

Diesel with a flash point of 100 degrees Fahrenheit or more may be reclassed as a combustible liquid on the highway. Combustible liquids have flash points above 140 and below 200 degrees. [12]

Even then, bulk loads still need shipping papers, ID numbers, placards, training, emergency response information and incident reports. Don't treat a diesel load as "not hazmat". [9]

NC fuel tax paperwork: licenses and shipping documents

NC's fuel tax law calls anyone who hauls fuel for hire by transport truck or tank wagon a motor fuel transporter. A transporter hauling for hire needs a license from the NC Department of Revenue. [15][16]

The terminal or bulk plant gives you a shipping document at the rack. It shows where the fuel came from, the fuel type, load date, gallons, the transporter and the destination state. [19]

Carry it while hauling, show it to an officer on request, give a copy to the receiver, and keep a copy at your main place of business for 3 years. [19]

To deliver to a state other than the one shown, notify the Department of Revenue first, get a confirmation number, and write the new state and number on the document. [19]

Hauling without a proper document, or delivering to the wrong state, is a $5,000 civil penalty for the truck's registered owner. Tank wagons follow similar rules with a $1,000 penalty. [19][20]

Failing to get a required license, or to show a shipping document, is also a Class 1 misdemeanor. Revenue agents may stop a vehicle to take a fuel sample. [21][22]

Dyed diesel and the 2026 fuel tax

Using dyed diesel in a licensed highway vehicle is a Class 1 misdemeanor in NC. The registered owner also owes a civil penalty of $1,000 or 5 times the tax on the fuel in the tank, whichever is greater. [23]

Dispensing untaxed fuel into a highway vehicle carries a $250 penalty each time. Dyed fuel storage tanks must be marked for nontaxable use only. [24][25]

New this fall: from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, 2026, NCDOR won't penalize dyed diesel from bulk storage used on the highway for farming, if the state excise tax is paid. Federal and other states' penalties may still apply. [26]

NC's motor fuel excise tax is 41.0 cents a gallon for all of 2026, up from 40.3 cents in 2025. [27][28]

Dropping at stations, and spills

NC law bars putting petroleum into an underground tank at a site without a valid DEQ operating permit. The site must post a certificate showing the number of tanks and the expiration date. [33]

A delivery driver isn't liable if an unexpired certificate is displayed, unless the driver knows or should know the permit isn't valid. Violations of that part of the law can bring penalties up to $10,000. [33]

Before a drop, the station owner must make sure the tank has room for the load and that the transfer is watched the whole time. The federal rule names API RP 1007, a guide to loading and unloading MC-306 and DOT-406 tankers, as one way to comply. [34][35]

For 25 gallons or more of petroleum, a sheen on water, or a spill within 100 feet of water: contain it, report to NCDEQ within 24 hours, and start cleanup. Smaller spills away from water must be cleaned up right away. [33]

Weekdays, report to the NCDEQ regional office. After hours, call NC Emergency Management at 800-858-0368. Bigger incidents also go to the National Response Center within 12 hours. [39][40][41]

When fuel runs short: what the 2021 and 2024 orders did

After Colonial's May 7, 2021 ransomware shutdown, Executive Order 213 (May 10, 2021) waived state hours limits and some size, weight, registration and fuel tax filing rules for trucks hauling refined fuel, for 30 days. [29]

It kept limits: no more than the truck's rating or 90,000 pounds gross, 42,000 pounds on a tandem and 22,000 on a single axle. Insurance was still required. [29]

Before Helene, Executive Order 315 (Sept. 25, 2024) waived NC hours limits for essential fuel loads and federal hours limits for 14 days. Drivers had to show papers proving the load supported relief. [31]

Neither order lifted hazmat rules, and the Helene order kept posted bridge and light-traffic road limits. NCDOT notes that when Colonial broke in Alabama in 2016, most NC stations were out of fuel within two weeks. [1][29][31]