A fuel jobber buys fuel in bulk at the terminal rack and resells it to gas stations, dealers, and fleets. Becoming one comes down to supply, licensing, and a back office that can keep up. This guide walks the path step by step.
1. Understand the business you are entering
Fuel is high volume and thin margin. You make a few cents a gallon, so the money is in moving a lot of fuel and running clean books. Before anything else, get comfortable with how fuel is priced and supplied: read up on rack pricing and branded versus unbranded supply.
2. Line up your supply
Your fuel has to come from somewhere. You have two broad paths:
- Branded supply. A contract with a major oil company to carry its brand, its rules, and its image program.
- Unbranded supply. Fuel bought on price from suppliers, sold without a major brand on the canopy.
Many jobbers run both. Your supply contracts set your rack access and a lot of your economics.
3. Arrange transport
Fuel has to move from the rack to your customers. You can run your own trucks and drivers, or contract a hauler. Either way, freight is a cost of its own that has to be tracked per load and billed correctly.
4. Register, license, and bond
Fuel is taxed and licensed at the federal and state level. Plan to register with the IRS for federal excise tax, register in each state where you take title to or deliver fuel, and post the required bonds. The details differ by state, so handle each one you operate in. Our guide to motor fuel excise tax breaks down the layers.
5. Sign your first customers
Jobbers sell to a few kinds of buyers:
- Dealers and retailers you supply on wholesale terms.
- Commissioned-agent stations you own and have an agent run on commission. See what a commissioned agent is.
- Fleets and commercial accounts that buy through cardlock or delivery.
6. Put the back office in place
This is where new jobbers get buried. Every load is a bill of lading that has to become an invoice, with the right rack price, freight, and taxes, then post to the books. Doing this in spreadsheets breaks fast. Software built for the trade handles BOL-to-invoice, fuel tax, allocation, and settlements in one place. See our buyer's guide for what to look for.
The short version
Supply, transport, licensing, customers, and a back office. Get those five right and you have a fuel jobber business. The first four are relationships and paperwork. The fifth is the one that decides whether you keep your margin or lose it to double entry and missed taxes.
Common questions
How much does it cost to start a fuel jobber business?
Working capital is the biggest cost. One 8,500-gallon transport load ties up roughly $25,000 to $30,000 at recent prices once fuel taxes are included, and you usually pay the supplier days before your customer pays you. Add state fuel tax bonds, which are sized to your expected tax liability and can run from a few thousand dollars into six figures for high-volume operators. Fuel prices drift, so confirm current rack prices before you build a capital plan.
Can you start as a fuel jobber without owning trucks?
Yes. Many jobbers start by contracting common-carrier haulers and paying freight by the gallon, often a few cents per gallon on a short haul. You still take title to the fuel and bill the customer; the hauler just moves it. Buying trucks comes later, once steady volume justifies the equipment and the drivers.
What federal filings does a fuel jobber make?
Federal fuel excise tax is reported on IRS Form 720 each quarter, and certain activities, such as blending or holding fuel in the terminal, require IRS Form 637 registration first. Each state then layers its own distributor or supplier license on top, and most will not issue one until a fuel tax bond is posted.
How do fuel jobbers make money beyond the per-gallon markup?
Several smaller streams stack on top of the spread between rack cost and delivered price: prompt-pay discounts from suppliers, branded incentive or image money from the major whose flag you fly, freight margin when you haul your own loads, and rent or commissions from stations you control. Mature jobbers track each one as its own line.