Amazon Relay for box trucks — the honest picture

Checked October 2026

The short answer: yes, Amazon Relay takes box trucks — a 16-foot or a 26-foot box truck with a working tuck-under liftgate. It does not take cargo vans, sprinters, or box trucks under 16 feet. And it will not take a brand-new carrier: your DOT authority must have been active for at least 180 days before Relay lets you book.

The requirements, from Amazon's own page

• Equipment: 26-foot or 16-foot box truck with a functional tuck-under liftgate. (Day cabs and sleeper tractors are the other doors; cargo vans are out.)
• Authority: a DOT number with interstate authority active for a minimum of 180 days, and a valid MC number. Amazon will let you apply early and wait — but you cannot book until the 180 days run.
• Insurance: $1,000,000 auto liability, at least $100,000 cargo, general liability at $1,000,000 per occurrence / $2,000,000 total, and workers' compensation where you operate.
• Safety record: Amazon watches your FMCSA scores. If your Unsafe Driving or Hours-of-Service score reaches 60% or higher, Amazon can reject or suspend you.

What the work is

Relay is Amazon's own load board for carriers. The freight moves between Amazon buildings — facility to facility — in spot loads and short contract runs. It is not package delivery to doorsteps; that is a different Amazon program with different vehicles. Box truck work on Relay is linehaul-style: pick up a loaded run at one Amazon site, deliver to another, often at night, often with tight appointment times.

The pay shape

Relay posts loads with prices attached, and contract runs pay per run. Rates move with the lane and the season — the fourth quarter pays like the fourth quarter. Drivers who do well on Relay treat it as an anchor, not a whole business: the rates are honest on busy lanes and thin on quiet ones, and Amazon sets the clock on every appointment. It pays faster than the net-30 world — but it also grades every run, and the grade decides your future loads.

The honest limits

Three, stated plainly. First, the 180-day wall: a new business cannot start here, so the "start with Amazon" advice you see in videos skips a half-year step. Second, the insurance bar costs real money — a new authority already pays $1,000 to $2,085 a month for cover before Relay's limits are met. Third, Relay is one customer wearing a giant's clothes: drivers who depend on it alone feel every rate dip at once. Use it as the anchor. Build the company list beside it. That list is this book.