How to start a junk removal business

The steps, in order

1. Pick a business structure — most start as a sole proprietor or an LLC — and register it with your state.
2. Get an EIN from the IRS. It's free at irs.gov; you don't need to pay a service. Open a business bank account with it.
3. Ask about local licenses. Call your city clerk and your county's solid waste department: “Do I need a license or permit to haul residential junk for pay?”
4. Check sales tax. Some states tax junk removal; Texas, for example, lists “garbage and other waste collection or removal” as a taxable service. Ask your state's revenue department.
5. Get insurance: general liability, commercial auto (don't assume a personal policy covers hauling for pay), and workers' compensation once you hire.
6. Set up the truck without crossing the licensing lines below.
7. Map your disposal sites and their commercial rates.
8. Set your prices from your costs.
9. Get found: a Google Business Profile, a one-page website, and referral partners.

Licenses and the CDL line

Most junk haulers never need a commercial driver's license, but trailers trip people up. Under federal rules you need a CDL to drive:

• Class A: a truck-and-trailer combination rated 26,001 lbs or more, when the trailer is rated over 10,000 lbs.
• Class B: a single vehicle rated 26,001 lbs or more.

Add the weight ratings on your truck's and trailer's door stickers before you buy. A heavy-duty pickup and a big dump trailer can cross the Class A line together even when neither feels large.

Separately, a USDOT number is required for vehicles rated 10,001 lbs or more used in interstate commerce, and many states require one for in-state hauling too — FMCSA's list includes Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia and Ohio.

Workers' comp rules vary by state. Texas is unusual: private employers can choose not to carry it, but those that opt out must notify their employees and the state.

Dump fees: the cost you don't control

Landfills charge by weight; customers describe junk by volume. The EPA's standard conversion factors put mixed household junk at 250–300 lbs a cubic yard and construction debris at about 417 lbs. A refrigerator is about 250 lbs; a washer or stove about 150.

Across the 297 landfills and transfer stations we've verified that publish a per-ton rate, the median is about $65 a ton, and rates run from $18.50 to $300. Minimum charges run from $1 to $125, and for a small load the minimum is usually what you pay. See every rate in what it costs to dump at a landfill.

Three things new haulers miss at the gate:

• Resident rates aren't your rates. Free and cheap city drop-offs usually refuse businesses. Knox County, Tennessee turns away business, rental-property and paid-contractor waste; Nashville's centers refuse vehicles with commercial tags or advertising.
• Untarped-load fees. Posted examples run from $5 in Lufkin, Texas to $40 in Dallas and a $200 surcharge in Gastonia, North Carolina. A tarp and straps pay for themselves on the first trip.
• Per-item fees. Mattresses cost $10 each at Clarksville's Bi-County landfill and $25 in Rutherford County, Tennessee; appliances with refrigerant are $50.40 each at DeKalb County, Georgia's Seminole Road landfill.

Find the rates, minimums and rules for the sites near you with the search on our homepage.

What you can't haul to the landfill

• Whole tires are banned from landfills in Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio and Tennessee. See tire disposal.
• Car batteries are banned in all six; retailers generally take them back. See battery disposal.
• Refrigerators, freezers and AC units need their refrigerant recovered before disposal under the Clean Air Act. See appliance disposal.
• Appliances generally are banned from landfills in North Carolina and Florida; TVs and computers in North Carolina. See electronics recycling.
• Paint, chemicals and fuel aren't landfill waste. See paint disposal.

Put your do-not-take list on your website and estimate form. Customers accept a rule they saw in advance.

How to price a junk removal job

Most haulers quote by volume — a minimum, then fractions of a truckload — plus item fees and a surcharge for heavy materials. Whatever you show customers, build the number underneath from your costs:

1. Disposal: weight × your commercial rate per ton (or the minimum), plus item fees.
2. Labor: crew × hours, including driving and dumping × your cost per hour.
3. Truck: round-trip miles × your cost per mile. The IRS 2026 business rate — 72.5 cents a mile for January to June, 76 cents from July 1 — is a starting reference until you track your own.
4. Overhead: a percentage for insurance, phone, advertising and the rest.
5. Price = total cost ÷ (1 − your target margin).

Worked example (illustrative): 16 cubic yards of household junk is about 4,400 lbs. At the City of Knoxville's posted $85 a ton, disposal is $187. Two people for two hours at $20 an hour is $80; 20 miles at 70 cents is $14; 15% overhead brings the break-even to $323.15. At a 35% margin, the price is $497.15. Run your own numbers in the free junk removal pricing calculator.

Margin isn't markup. A job that costs $200 and sells for $300 has a 50% markup but a 33% margin. Mixing them up is one of the easiest ways to underprice.

A one-page junk removal business plan

You don't need a 30-page document to start. Answer these on one page and you have a plan you can act on — and show a bank if you need a truck loan:

• Service area: the towns and ZIP codes you'll serve, and how far you'll drive.
• Services and exclusions: household junk, cleanouts, light demolition — and what you won't take.
• Disposal sites: every landfill, transfer station, scrap yard and recycling center you'll use, with commercial rates, minimums and hours.
• Pricing: your minimum, your load fractions, your item fees, and the cost-plus math behind them.
• Startup budget: truck, trailer, insurance, registration, tools and gear, website, first month of advertising, and a cash reserve for dump fees.
• Customers: homeowners, people moving, estates, landlords and property managers, real estate agents, contractors — and which you'll reach first.
• Licenses and insurance: what your city, county and state require, and your coverage.
• First 90 days: how many jobs, reviews and referral partners you're aiming for.

Finding your first customers

• Google Business Profile. It's free, and it's what shows in the map when someone searches “junk removal near me.” Fill in every field and ask each customer for a review the same day.
• Referral partners. Real estate agents, property managers, estate sale companies, movers and remodelers send the steadiest work. Visit with a one-page flyer and a certificate of insurance.
• A one-page website with what you haul, where you work, how pricing works, what you won't take, and a tap-to-call phone number.

30-day launch checklist

• Week 1: register the business, get an EIN and bank account, ask about local licenses and sales tax, call an insurance agent.
• Week 2: check your truck and trailer ratings, buy a tarp, straps, dollies and safety gear, and list every disposal site within 30 miles.
• Week 3: research local prices, set your minimum and item fees, create your Google Business Profile and website.
• Week 4: visit five referral partners, do your first jobs, ask for reviews, and compare actual costs with your estimates.