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Accident with a delivery driver in Texas: who insures package and app delivery drivers

What Texas law says when a crash involves someone making deliveries: the 2025 delivery network company law, why the rideshare insurance chapter is written for rideshare, how TDI describes personal and business auto policies for delivery work, and the federal rules for larger delivery trucks and mail trucks.

11 min readPublished October 29, 2026Last updated October 29, 2026Edited by Joseph Budzinski, CTO, InjuryClaimGuide

The short answer

Texas regulates app-based delivery companies as "delivery network companies" under Occupations Code chapter 2402, which since September 1, 2025 requires a state permit, background and driving-record checks, and an intoxicating-substance policy (Tex. Occ. Code ch. 2402). Texas's rideshare insurance law, Insurance Code chapter 1954, is written for rideshare companies and their drivers (Ins. Code §1954.001), and the delivery part of chapter 2402 contains no insurance section of its own. The Texas Department of Insurance says some personal auto policies may cover a paid delivery and others will not cover driving for business (TDI).

This guide provides general informational guidance and is not legal advice. It does not say which policy covers any crash, whether any driver was an employee or a contractor, or which deadline applies to anyone; an attorney can tell you that.

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Key facts (as of October 29, 2026)

  • Delivery network companies are defined in state law. A business that offers or uses a digital network to arrange delivery of food, beverages or consumer goods from a restaurant or retail establishment to a delivery customer (Occ. Code §2402.001(1-a)).
  • A state permit is required. A delivery network company may not operate in Texas without a permit (§2402.051), issued by TDLR (TDLR).
  • Local rules are preempted. Regulating these companies and their logged-in delivery persons is "an exclusive power and function of this state," not of a city (§2402.003).
  • The rideshare insurance chapter is written for rideshare. Chapter 1954 defines its terms around transportation network companies, drivers and prearranged rides (§1954.001).
  • Personal policies can exclude paid delivery use. Chapter 1954 leaves in place policy exclusions for vehicles "used to carry persons or property for compensation" (§1954.151(d)).
  • Every vehicle needs financial responsibility. No one may operate a motor vehicle in Texas without it (Transp. Code §601.051).

What kind of delivery was it?

"Delivery driver" covers several different arrangements, and Texas and federal law treat them differently:

  • App-based delivery of restaurant food, groceries or retail goods arranged through a company's digital network, which may fit the state's definition of a delivery network company;
  • a business's own delivery drivers, such as a store or restaurant delivering what it sells;
  • package delivery by a carrier, its contractors or their drivers, sometimes in vehicles large enough to be commercial motor vehicles under federal rules; and
  • mail delivery by the U.S. Postal Service, a federal agency.

Which category a crash falls into depends on the facts, including who the driver was working for and what vehicle was involved. The sections below describe the law for each in general terms.

The Texas delivery network company law

In 2025 the Legislature added delivery network companies to chapter 2402 of the Occupations Code, which already covered rideshare companies; the changes took effect September 1, 2025 (Occ. Code ch. 2402).

Definitions. A "delivery network company" is "a business entity that offers or uses a digital network to arrange for the delivery of food, beverages, or consumer goods from a restaurant or retail establishment to a delivery customer." The term "does not include an entity that only delivers products that the entity produces or stores on the entity's premises." A "delivery person" is an individual who undertakes a digitally prearranged delivery in Texas using the company's digital network (§2402.001).

Not motor carriers. Delivery network companies, and delivery persons logged in to the company's digital network, "are not common carriers, contract carriers, or motor carriers" (§2402.002).

What the delivery subchapter requires. Subchapter C-1 (§§2402.131–.134) requires a delivery network company to:

  • implement an intoxicating substance policy that prohibits a logged-in delivery person "from any amount of intoxication," post notice of it, and provide a way to complain about a suspected violation;
  • before authorizing a delivery person, confirm the person is at least 18 and has valid photo identification, or a valid driver's license if delivering by motor vehicle, run a criminal background check, and, for motor vehicle deliveries, obtain and review the person's driving record;
  • refuse access to people with certain convictions in the preceding seven years, including driving while intoxicated, and, for motor vehicle deliveries, people with more than four moving violations, or a conviction for fleeing police, reckless driving, or driving without a valid license or with an invalid license, in the three years before the driving record was issued; and
  • adopt a nondiscrimination policy.

TDLR, which issues the permits, says complaints about a driver go directly to the company through its app or website, and complaints about the company itself can be made to TDLR online or at 800-803-9202 (TDLR).

Houston. Because regulation of these companies and their logged-in delivery persons "is an exclusive power and function of this state" and "may not be regulated by a municipality or other local entity" (§2402.003), a city such as Houston may not impose its own tax, license or permit, rates, or operating or entry requirements on them, and the chapter does not affect a local authority's ability to enforce state traffic laws on public roads (§2402.003(e)). A crash in Houston is reported and documented the same way as any other Houston crash.

Who insures a delivery driver under Texas law?

Texas law does not have one insurance rule for every kind of delivery. These are the provisions that bear on the question.

Every vehicle needs financial responsibility. "A person may not operate a motor vehicle in this state unless financial responsibility is established for that vehicle," for example through a motor vehicle liability insurance policy (Transp. Code §601.051). Our guide to Texas minimum auto insurance and our §601.072 reference entry explain the minimum amounts.

The rideshare chapter. Insurance Code chapter 1954 sets insurance periods and coverage for "transportation network company" drivers, defined around prearranged rides given to riders through a digital network (§1954.001). Occupations Code §2402.101 says, "The requirements of Chapter 1954, Insurance Code, apply to transportation network companies and drivers logged in to a digital network" (§2402.101). The delivery network company subchapter, §§2402.131–.134, covers intoxicating substances, delivery person requirements, nondiscrimination and independent-contractor status, and does not contain an insurance section (§§2402.131–.134).

What TDLR says. TDLR's permit page says, "Transportation and Delivery Network companies must provide and maintain proof of insurance with the policy coverage required by Texas Insurance Code, Chapter 1954," and that coverage is verified electronically before a permit is issued (TDLR).

The statute and the agency page are both set out here as written. How they apply to a particular company, driver or delivery is a legal question this guide does not answer. Our rideshare crash guide and our chapter 1954 reference entry explain the rideshare coverage periods.

Personal auto policies. Chapter 1954 lets insurers exclude coverage under a personal policy while a rideshare driver is logged on or giving a ride, and adds that it "may not be construed to invalidate or limit an exclusion contained in a policy form... that excludes coverage for automobiles used to carry persons or property for compensation or available for hire by the public" (§1954.151).

How TDI describes insurance for delivery work

The Texas Department of Insurance publishes a page for people who deliver restaurant orders or packages. It is written for drivers, but it explains how the policies involved generally work (TDI):

  • Personal policies. "Some personal use auto policies may cover you if you get into an accident during a paid delivery, even if that's not the primary use of your vehicle. Other personal use policies won't cover driving for business." TDI tells drivers to tell their insurer if they drive for business, because otherwise "the company could deny your claims."
  • Business policies. "Some businesses have auto insurance that covers their drivers." TDI warns of coverage gaps: a policy "might cover you when you are carrying goods for delivery, but not your drive to pick the goods up, the return trip, or side-trips for lunch or errands."
  • Employers. TDI says an employer "may be liable for damages if you have an accident while driving for business purposes," and that, as a result, some businesses require drivers to have a commercial auto policy. TDI also suggests drivers ask their insurer or agent whether optional coverage for deliveries can be added to a personal policy.

Employee or independent contractor?

Texas has a specific rule on whether an app-based delivery person is an employee or an independent contractor. Under §2402.134, a delivery person "is considered an independent contractor for all purposes, and not an employee of a delivery network company in any manner," if:

  • the company does not prescribe the specific hours the person must be logged in, restrict the use of other delivery networks, prescribe the territory for deliveries, or restrict the person from another occupation or business; and
  • the company and the delivery person agree in writing that the person is an independent contractor.

That section applies only to delivery network companies. Other delivery arrangements, such as a store's own drivers or a package carrier's contractors, are governed by other law. This guide does not say whether any driver was an employee or a contractor; an attorney can.

Larger delivery trucks and federal rules

Some delivery trucks are commercial motor vehicles under federal law. A "commercial motor vehicle" includes a vehicle used on a highway in interstate commerce to transport property when it has a gross vehicle weight rating, gross combination weight rating, or actual weight of 10,001 pounds or more, among other categories (49 C.F.R. §390.5). A self-propelled commercial motor vehicle subject to the rules must be marked on both sides with the operating carrier's legal or trade name and its USDOT number (49 C.F.R. §390.21T). Whether a particular delivery vehicle meets the definition depends on its weight rating and use. Our guide to truck accidents on Texas highways explains the federal motor carrier rules.

Mail trucks and other government delivery vehicles

The U.S. Postal Service is a federal agency. "The provisions of chapter 171 and all other provisions of title 28 relating to tort claims shall apply to tort claims arising out of activities of the Postal Service" (39 U.S.C. §409(c)). Our guide on crashes with a Texas government vehicle explains the federal claim form and the two-year presentment rule, along with the notice rules for city, county and state vehicles.

What Texas law requires at the scene

A delivery driver has the same duties after a crash as any other Texas driver. Under §550.023, the driver of a vehicle involved in a collision that injures or kills a person or damages a vehicle that is driven or attended by a person must give their name and address, the registration number of the vehicle they were driving, and the name of their motor vehicle liability insurer, show their driver's license if asked and available, and give reasonable assistance to anyone injured. Under §601.053, the operator, on request, must show a person involved in a collision with them evidence of financial responsibility, such as the policy, a standard proof-of-insurance card or an image on a phone. Our chapter 550 reference entry prints the reporting duties.

Rideshare drivers have an extra duty under chapter 1954 to disclose, on request, whether they were logged on to the company's network or engaged in a ride at the time of the collision (§1954.056(b)); that section is written for rideshare drivers.

Your own coverage

A Texas auto liability policy must include uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage and personal injury protection unless a named insured rejects the coverage in writing (Ins. Code §1952.101; §1952.152). Whether either applies to a crash depends on the policy. Our guides to uninsured and underinsured motorist claims and personal injury protection explain how those coverages generally work.

The general filing period

Texas generally requires a personal injury suit to be brought not later than two years after the day the cause of action accrues, with exceptions the Code states (Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §16.003). Our guide to the Texas statute of limitations for injury claims explains the general rule. A federal claim against the Postal Service follows the federal rules instead.

Records people commonly keep after a crash with a delivery driver

It can help to keep these in one place:

  • Photos of the vehicles, including any company name, logo, USDOT number or license plate, if it was safe to take them
  • The driver's name, insurer and vehicle registration number, as exchanged under §550.023, and a photo of any proof of insurance they showed
  • The date, time and exact place, including the street and nearest cross street
  • The crash report number and the agency that took the report
  • Names and contact details of any witnesses who spoke with you at the scene
  • Medical bills and records, repair estimates, and records of missed work and pay
  • Your own auto policy's declarations page and any claim numbers or letters from an insurer

Our guides on what evidence helps an injury claim, getting a crash report in Houston and what to do after a car accident in Houston explain how records like these are commonly used. If you were the person making deliveries and were hurt, our guide on being injured at work in Texas covers workers' compensation in general terms.

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About InjuryClaimGuide

InjuryClaimGuide is a legal advertising service. We are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice. We do not recommend or endorse any attorney, and we do not analyze the merits of any potential claim. Routing to participating firms is based on geography, practice area, language, and firm capacity.

Frequently asked questions

Does Texas have a law for app-based delivery companies?
Yes. Since September 1, 2025, Occupations Code chapter 2402 covers delivery network companies, defined as businesses that offer or use a digital network to arrange the delivery of food, beverages or consumer goods from a restaurant or retail establishment to a delivery customer. The definition does not include an entity that only delivers products it produces or stores on its own premises. A delivery network company needs a permit from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
Does the Texas rideshare insurance law cover delivery drivers?
Insurance Code chapter 1954 is written for transportation network companies and their drivers, and defines its terms around prearranged rides for riders. Occupations Code §2402.101 applies chapter 1954 to transportation network companies and drivers logged in to a digital network, and the delivery network company subchapter of chapter 2402 has no separate insurance section. TDLR's permit page says transportation and delivery network companies must keep proof of insurance with the coverage chapter 1954 requires. This guide does not say how these provisions apply to any particular delivery.
Does a personal auto policy cover someone driving for deliveries?
The Texas Department of Insurance says some personal auto policies may cover an accident during a paid delivery, even if delivery is not the vehicle's primary use, while other personal policies will not cover driving for business. Insurance Code §1954.151(d) also preserves policy exclusions for vehicles used to carry persons or property for compensation. What a particular policy covers depends on its terms.
Is a delivery driver an employee or an independent contractor in Texas?
Occupations Code §2402.134 says a delivery person is considered an independent contractor for all purposes if the delivery network company does not set the hours the person must be logged in, restrict the use of other delivery networks, prescribe the territory or restrict other work, and the two agree in writing that the person is an independent contractor. Other delivery arrangements are not covered by that section. This guide does not say how it applies to any particular driver.
What information does a delivery driver have to give after a crash?
The same as any Texas driver. Under Transportation Code §550.023, a driver involved in a collision that injures someone or damages an attended vehicle must give their name and address, the registration number of the vehicle and the name of their motor vehicle liability insurer, and give reasonable assistance to anyone injured. Under §601.053, the operator must show evidence of financial responsibility to a person involved in a collision who asks.
What if the delivery vehicle was a mail truck?
Tort claims arising out of Postal Service activities fall under the federal tort claims provisions of title 28 of the United States Code (39 U.S.C. §409(c)). Our guide on crashes with a Texas government vehicle explains the federal claim process.
Can InjuryClaimGuide tell me which insurance covers a crash with a delivery driver?
No. InjuryClaimGuide is a legal advertising service. We do not apply the law to anyone's situation and do not evaluate any claim. An attorney can advise you about your specific situation.

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