If you haul for money in Texas, the tarp is not optional.
Texas Transportation Code Chapter 725 is short, and it is not vague. But most of what is written about it online is wrong — including the statute number and the fine. Here is what the law actually says, quoted from the state's own text, with a link so you can read it yourself.
If your vehicle is a commercial motor vehicle hauling loose material — dirt, sand, gravel, refuse — the load must be covered, and the cover must be secured front and back. There is no "it wasn't loaded high enough to blow out" defense for commercial vehicles. The fine runs $25 to $500.
- Statute
- Tex. Transp. Code §§725.001–725.022 (penalty at §725.003)
- Penalty
- $25–$500 — a misdemeanor, fine only
- Last verified
- 2026-07-28
The number everyone gets wrong
Search for Texas tarp law and you will repeatedly find "Texas Transportation Code §725.004, fine $25–$200." It is wrong twice over. The penalty section is §725.003, and the range is $25 to $500 — two and a half times the ceiling those pages quote.
We are pointing this out because it tells you something useful about the rest of what you will read: most of it was copied from another page that copied it from somewhere else, and nobody opened the statute. We did, and we linked it at the bottom.
What counts as "loose material"
The chapter defines it broadly, and your payload is almost certainly inside the definition. Aggregate, fill dirt, sand, demolition debris, mulch — all of it. Natural agricultural products hauled by a farmer are the notable thing outside it.
"Loose material" means material that can be blown or spilled from a vehicle because of movement or exposure to air, wind currents, or other weather.The part that decides your case: (c) versus (e)
Section 725.021 is where the covering duty lives, and it contains two different rules for two different kinds of driver. This distinction is the single most important thing on this page, and we have not seen anyone explain it plainly.
Under subsection (c), a driver has an out: the load does not have to be covered if it "does not blow from or spill over the top of the load-carrying compartment." That is the below-the-rails argument — load it low, skip the tarp.
Subsection (e) takes that out away from commercial motor vehicles. If you are hauling for money, the load is covered or it is fully enclosed. Loading it low is not a defense. The chapter defines a commercial motor vehicle as one "used primarily in the business of transporting property" — which is every dump-truck owner-operator in Austin.
If the vehicle is a commercial motor vehicle transporting loose material, the load shall be covered and the covering firmly secured at the front and back or shall be completely enclosed by the load-carrying compartment.The rest of what §725.021 requires
The covering rule is not the only thing in the section. A truck can be perfectly tarped and still get written up on one of these:
- ·The bed "may not have a hole, crack, or other opening through which loose material can escape." A rusted-through floor is its own violation.
- ·The bed must be enclosed on both sides by side panels, on the front by a panel or the cab, and on the rear.
- ·"The tailgate of the vehicle shall be securely closed to prevent spillage during transportation."
- ·Under §725.022, spillage on the parts of the truck that don't carry the load — frame rails, catwalk — must be cleaned off before you drive, and residue must be removed after you unload.
What it costs
One line, and it is the line most often misquoted:
An offense under this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $25 or more than $500.No jail time. Note that this is the statutory fine only — what you actually pay at a Texas JP or municipal court includes court costs and state fees on top, which routinely exceed the base fine. That add-on structure is general Texas court practice and is not stated anywhere in Chapter 725, so treat the real number as "more than the fine" without a figure we can cite.
Who is exempt
Very few people. The chapter applies to any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer on a public highway, and carves out only construction or mining equipment moving between barricades on a public works project, or equipment crossing a public highway.
That is the complete list of exemptions in §725.002. If someone tells you that you are exempt for another reason, ask them which subsection says so.
What we could not verify
Most pages in this industry state everything with equal confidence, including the parts that are wrong. Here is what we checked and could not confirm — treat these as open questions, not facts.
The "under 30 mph" exemption.
Several trade pages and AI summaries report that Chapter 725 does not apply below 30 miles per hour. We read §725.002 directly and it contains no speed threshold at all — its only carve-outs are construction/mining equipment between barricades and equipment crossing a highway. We could not find this exemption anywhere in the chapter. Do not rely on it.
Who enforces it, and how often.
Chapter 725 is a Transportation Code offense, so as a general matter any Texas peace officer can write it on a traffic stop, not only DPS Commercial Vehicle Enforcement at a scale. We could not find an Austin-area enforcement statistic to tell you how likely that actually is.
Primary sources
Every claim on this page links to the government's own text. Read it yourself — that is the point.
- Tex. Transp. Code Ch. 725, "Transportation of Loose Materials" — Texas Legislative Council
- Same chapter on the Texas Statutes site (slower, occasionally down)
Last verified: 2026-07-28
This is a plain-language summary written by a tarp shop, not legal advice. We cite the primary sources so you can check us. If you are fighting a ticket, talk to a lawyer.
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