By the TruckerNavi compliance team, led by Dmitry Borovoy, a New Jersey-licensed insurance producer and author of "Safety Manager: From Zero to Expert".
Short answer: if a truck over 26,000 pounds (or with three or more axles) leaves its base state only occasionally, it does not need apportioned plates. You buy that state's temporary permit before you enter, and there are two layers of permit because there are two obligations: a registration trip permit in place of IRP (Section 525 of the IRP Plan) and a fuel trip permit in place of IFTA (Article R310 of the IFTA Articles of Agreement). In four states there is a third layer that neither IRP nor IFTA covers, the state's own road tax: Oregon weight-mile tax, New York HUT, Kentucky KYU, New Mexico weight distance or trip tax. A permit is bought before entry, lasts days rather than a year (Oregon 10 days, New York 3 days, Texas 20 days, Florida 10 days) and costs a fixed fee or a per-mile rate.
The states themselves push regular runners into IRP. Oregon stops selling temporary passes at five for one unit in a rolling 12 months, Texas allows five fuel trip permit entries a year, New York ten HUT trip certificates. Past that, permits cost you twice: in money, and in risk, because a vehicle without a current plate, cab card, valid trip permit or temporary registration is in violation in every jurisdiction on the route (New Jersey IRP Carrier Guide).
A trip permit is a state's short-term substitute for registration. Section 525(a) of the IRP Plan (edition amended October 2025) lets a member jurisdiction issue a Trip Permit for a vehicle or combination of vehicles in lieu of apportioned or full registration, in whatever form and manner that jurisdiction sets. Section 525(b) adds that an apportionable vehicle under a trip permit may be used in interjurisdictional or intrajurisdictional operations. For the days it covers, the permit does the job of the plate in that one state.
You only face the choice if the truck is apportionable. Article II of the Plan defines that as a power unit used in two or more member jurisdictions which has two axles and a gross or registered gross weight in excess of 26,000 pounds, or has three or more axles regardless of weight, or runs in a combination over 26,000 pounds; a lighter power unit may still be registered under the Plan at the registrant's option. There is a third document for the empty truck: under Section 530 every member jurisdiction must offer temporary registration of an unladen apportionable vehicle for a minimum fee, the hunter's permit, valid in all member jurisdictions; Florida's is $5 for 10 days. Federal law backs the system: under 49 U.S.C. 31704 a state outside the Plan may not enforce a registration law that limits the operation of a commercial motor vehicle registered under IRP in a member state. How the plate itself is obtained is in our IRP registration guide; this article is about the choice before that.
| Mode | When it fits | Valid for | What you buy in advance | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apportioned plate (IRP) plus IFTA | Power unit over 26,000 lb or with 3 or more axles, or a combination over 26,000 lb, regularly in two or more jurisdictions (Plan, Article II) | The base state's registration year | Application in the base state; stamped Form 2290 Schedule 1 for 55,000 lb and up (Kentucky IRP); IFTA license and decals | Does not cover the Oregon, New York, Kentucky or New Mexico road taxes, and does not replace fuel tax or operating authority (NJ Carrier Guide) |
| Base plate only (ordinary state registration) | Work inside one state, or a two-axle power unit at 26,000 lb or less | The state's registration year | Nothing interstate | Every state entered needs its own trip permit (Kentucky, Florida); a truck at 26,000 lb or less may apportion at the registrant's option |
| Trip permit (registration) plus fuel trip permit | Occasional trips outside the base state | Oregon 10 days; New York 3 days (HUT) and 72 hours (fuel); Texas 72 or 144 hours and 20 days (fuel); Florida 10 days | Before entry, separately in each state | Oregon 5 passes per unit or 35 per account; Texas 5 entries; New York 10 per year; fees usually non-refundable |
| Hunter's permit (Plan, Section 530) | Unladen apportionable vehicle, for example between leases | Set by each state (Florida 10 days) | Temporary registration at a minimum fee (Florida $5) | Unladen weight only; valid in all member jurisdictions |
Two obligations, two offices, two permits. Registration is the IRP side and belongs to the state's motor vehicle or motor carrier office. Fuel use tax is the IFTA side and belongs to the state's tax authority. Article R310 of the IFTA Articles of Agreement says that in lieu of motor fuel tax licensing under the Agreement, persons may elect to satisfy motor fuels use tax obligations on a trip-by-trip basis. IFTA, Inc. names who that is for: a carrier that usually operates only in one jurisdiction but makes occasional trips outside it may buy trip permits for that occasional travel, and permitting services sell them at truck stops. The qualified motor vehicle definition mirrors IRP: two axles over 26,000 pounds, three or more axles, or a combination over 26,000 pounds, across 48 states and 10 provinces.
Texas shows the two counters best. TxDMV sells the registration side: a 72-hour permit for $25 and a 144-hour permit for $50, full temporary registration for commercial vehicles, trailers, semitrailers and buses owned by residents of the United States, Canada or Mexico. The Texas Comptroller sells the fuel side: a trip permit for $50, valid for one entry into Texas and 20 days from the date of entry; a round trip through Texas counts as two entries, and after five entries in a calendar year you need an IFTA license. Florida is the same shape: a $30 temporary trip permit for registration and a $45 temporary fuel use permit, both for 10 days. New York says outright that a vehicle subject to both the highway use tax and the fuel use tax may need both a HUT trip certificate and a fuel use tax trip permit (TB-HU-116). If you already hold IFTA, the fuel side is closed in every member state; the license and the quarterly return are explained in our IFTA filing guide.
No. Four states charge a road tax that neither the plate nor the IFTA decal touches, and it catches apportioned carriers as often as permit carriers.
How these taxes sit next to IRP, IFTA and Form 2290 is compared in IRP vs IFTA vs NY HUT vs 2290; the New York certificate, decal and Form MT-903 have their own article, our NY HUT guide.
| State | Permit | Valid for | Covers | Does not cover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon | Weight-Mile Temporary Tax Pass, $9 plus weight-mile tax per mile | 10 days or the miles purchased | Weight-mile tax for the trip | Registration: a Heavy Motor Vehicle Trip Permit, $43 for 10 days, if Oregon is not on the cab card. Oversize or overweight: a separate variance permit |
| New York | HUT trip certificate of registration, $25 | Until midnight of the third day after issue | Highway use tax for that period; no HUT return | Fuel use tax (separate fuel use trip permit, $25 for 72 hours); vehicle registration |
| Kentucky | Temporary KYU permit, $40 plus bank charge | One trip, one truck | KYU weight distance tax (trucks at 60,000 lb and up) | IFTA (separate temporary IFTA permit, $40); registration (IRP or a trip permit) |
| New Mexico | Trip permit under the trip tax, paid at a Port of Entry; prepaid permits in increments of $50 or more | Per trip | Registration and use fees for a vehicle not registered in New Mexico: $0.07 to $0.16 per mile by weight | Fuel tax without IFTA (temporary special fuel permit, $5 for 48 hours, plus $0.05 per mile) |
Write the formula in words and the answer usually appears by itself: permit price in every state on the route, times the number of states, times the number of runs, counted separately for registration and for fuel, against one annual apportioned plate plus an IFTA license. For the plate, Kentucky's IRP office publishes the only official range we found: an 80,000-pound apportioned plate may cost approximately $1,250 to $2,500 a year, varying with weight, vehicle type, vehicle year, type of operation and previous year mileage. For IFTA, New York charges nothing for the license and $8 per pair of decals. A New Jersey base pays New Jersey's own fee schedule; the state-by-state comparison is in the IRP guide linked above.
Two things override the arithmetic. First, the states cap the permit route: Oregon stops issuing temporary passes at five for one unit or 35 per account in a rolling 12 months, Texas allows five fuel trip permit entries a year, New York ten trip certificates and ten fuel use trip permits. Second, the Plan's Official Commentary says that a vehicle not used in more than one jurisdiction for an entire registration year plus six additional months gives rise to a presumption that the registrant never intended to operate in two jurisdictions; the presumption can be rebutted, but it is where an auditor starts. A worked example: one New Jersey to Florida round trip on a plain plate means Florida's $30 registration permit and $45 fuel permit plus two permits in each transit state at that state's tariff, both ways. By the second or third long run of the year the plate wins.
| State | Registration instead of IRP | Fuel instead of IFTA | State road tax | Limit per year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon | Heavy Motor Vehicle Trip Permit $43, 10 days | IFTA member; fuel bought tax-free only with weight-mile enrollment | Temporary pass $9 plus weight-mile tax per mile, 10 days | 5 passes per unit or 35 per account in 12 months | oregon.gov/odot |
| New York | By state tariff (not verified for this article) | Fuel use trip permit $25, 72 hours | HUT trip certificate $25, 3 days | 10 fuel permits and 10 trip certificates per calendar year | tax.ny.gov |
| Kentucky | IRP or a trip permit (price not verified for this article) | Temporary IFTA permit $40 plus bank charge | Temporary KYU permit $40 plus bank charge | Not stated | drive.ky.gov, 601 KAR 1:200 |
| New Mexico | Trip tax at the Port of Entry, $0.07 to $0.16 per mile; prepaid from $50 | Temporary special fuel permit $5, 48 hours, plus $0.05 per mile | Annual weight distance tax permit for New Mexico-registered vehicles over 26,000 lb | Not stated | tax.newmexico.gov, MTPD Trucker's Guide |
| Texas | 72-hour $25, 144-hour $50 | Fuel trip permit $50, one entry, 20 days | None | 5 fuel permit entries per calendar year | txdmv.gov, comptroller.texas.gov |
| Florida | Temporary trip permit $30, 10 days; hunter permit $5, 10 days | Temporary fuel use permit $45, 10 days | None | Not stated | flhsmv.gov |
| New Jersey | IRP trip permit through an MVC-approved vendor (vendor tariff) | Temporary Permit (New Jersey IFTA) $25 | None | Not stated | nj.gov/mvc |
| TruckerNavi | Permits and temporary credentials from $200 (state fees extra). IRP and IFTA set up turnkey, price on request | /permits | |||
Each state runs its own counter, and the time it takes is the part nobody budgets for.
The "I will buy it at the border" plan works in New Mexico and fails in Oregon and Florida, which both require the permit before entry.
The states publish their own consequences, and we quote only those.
The federal layer does not go away either. A truck at 10,001 pounds and up in interstate commerce needs a USDOT number, marked on the vehicle with the name of the carrier responsible for it under 49 CFR 390.21; a credential stop that turns up no USDOT becomes a federal violation with a federal penalty on top of the state one. What the officer checks after the paperwork, level by level, is in DOT inspection levels explained.
No. A trip permit answers the registration question, not the size or weight question. Oregon requires oversize or overweight vehicles to obtain a variance permit before entry when the trip originates outside the state, ordered through ORION as single-trip or annual permits. Separately, a Temporary Registration Weight Increase raises commercial or apportioned registration weight for ten days and is the route to an oversize or overweight permit for operation over 80,000 pounds. Kentucky sells overweight and over-dimensional permits through its Automated Permit System, single-trip or annual: for example $250 a year for non-divisible loads under 14 feet wide and $500 for 14 to 16 feet. Texas caps its 72-hour and 144-hour permits at 80,000 pounds gross weight unless the vehicle runs under an oversize or overweight permit issued by TxDMV. Buy the registration credential and the variance permit as two items, and buy both before the wheels turn.
The same six names come up in almost every call about a permit that went wrong.
Which of these your route triggers is the first thing we check when you order through our permit service.
TruckerNavi issues temporary credentials for Russian-speaking carriers in NY, NJ, FL and beyond: Oregon temporary passes, New York HUT trip certificates, Kentucky KYU, New Mexico, IFTA fuel permits and the rest of the route, permits from $200 (state fees extra). Ready to stop buying permits? We set the truck up in IRP and IFTA turnkey, price on request. Safety Compliance (from $99/mo) keeps the renewal calendar and the quarterly returns. Opening a company from scratch? Authority Bundle, $499. Russian and English.
See permit services →Or just call: (315) 871-0833 · WhatsApp
An apportioned plate is a year-round registration issued by your base state under the IRP Plan and honored in all member jurisdictions, with one cab card listing every one of them. A trip permit is a state's stand-in for that registration under Section 525 of the Plan: one vehicle, one state, days rather than a year. Apportioned plates fit a truck over 26,000 pounds or with three or more axles that regularly works in two or more states; trip permits fit occasional trips, until the state's annual limits or the arithmetic push you into IRP.
It depends on the state and on which obligation the permit covers. Verified 2026 examples: Oregon Heavy Motor Vehicle Trip Permit $43 for 10 days, plus a weight-mile temporary pass at $9 plus tax per mile; Texas 72-hour registration permit $25, 144-hour $50, fuel trip permit $50 per entry; Florida trip permit $30 and fuel use permit $45, both for 10 days; New York HUT trip certificate $25 for three days and fuel use trip permit $25 for 72 hours; Kentucky temporary KYU or IFTA permit $40 plus a bank charge; New Mexico trip tax $0.07 to $0.16 per mile by weight. Permit services add their own fee.
If the truck is apportionable and has no apportioned plate, yes: each state you enter needs its own registration trip permit, and the New Jersey IRP Carrier Guide says a vehicle without a current plate, cab card, valid trip permit or temporary registration is subject to penalties in every jurisdiction on the route. With apportioned plates, every member jurisdiction is already on your cab card and no registration permit is needed. Without IFTA decals each state also needs a fuel trip permit, and Oregon, New York, Kentucky and New Mexico need their own road-tax credential either way.
Only where the state sells it there. New Mexico's Motor Transportation Police issue trip permits and IFTA fuel permits and collect trip tax at the Ports of Entry, where every commercial vehicle must stop. Oregon requires a temporary pass before operating in the state; a carrier without a CCD account gets it by phone at 503-378-6699, weekdays 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Florida sells trip permits only through the FLHSMV portal or by phone and rejects photocopies at roadside. Texas sells the fuel trip permit through Webfile or by cashier's check. Do not plan on the scale house selling you anything.
The pass itself is $9; on top of it you prepay Oregon's weight-mile tax at the rate for your declared weight. Under ODOT's Table A rates effective January 1, 2024, that is $0.0764 per mile at 26,001 to 28,000 pounds, $0.1517 at 60,001 to 62,000 and $0.2512 at 78,001 to 80,000. Example: 350 miles across Oregon at 80,000 pounds is 350 × $0.2512 = $87.92 plus $9, or $96.92; a 700-mile round trip on one pass is $184.84. The tax is the same on a CCD account; the pass adds $9 and is limited to five per unit or 35 per account in 12 months.
For one load, permits. IFTA, Inc. says a carrier that usually operates in one jurisdiction but makes occasional trips outside it may buy trip permits for that travel, and the IRP Plan lets each state issue a registration trip permit in lieu of apportioned plates. Count the cost per transit state on both layers against an annual apportioned plate, which Kentucky's IRP office puts at roughly $1,250 to $2,500 for 80,000 pounds. Then watch the calendar: Oregon stops selling temporary passes after five per unit in 12 months, Texas allows five fuel permit entries a year, New York ten trip certificates.
At a scale house the credentials check comes before the safety check. The officer looks for a registration that covers this state (an apportioned plate and cab card listing it, or a trip permit or temporary registration), IFTA decals or a fuel trip permit, and in Oregon, New York, Kentucky and New Mexico the state road-tax credential. Oregon requires temporary pass numbers and route maps on paper in the truck. Florida rejects a copy of a trip permit. New Mexico requires every commercial vehicle to stop at every operating Port of Entry. Only then is the inspection level picked.
They cover different taxes and come from different offices. An IRP trip permit, the registration trip permit, replaces apportioned registration for one vehicle in one state under Section 525 of the IRP Plan and comes from the state's motor vehicle or motor carrier office. An IFTA trip permit, the fuel trip permit, replaces the fuel use tax license under Article R310 of the IFTA agreement and comes from the state's tax authority. Texas shows it best: TxDMV sells the 72-hour and 144-hour registration permits, the Comptroller sells the $50 fuel trip permit. A truck without IRP or IFTA needs both, in every state it enters.
It depends on the state. In New Mexico the trip tax is normally paid at a Port of Entry, and prepaid permits come in increments of no less than $50. Oregon and Florida require the permit before entry: Oregon's temporary pass must be bought and carried before operating in the state, and Florida sells its $30 trip permit through the FLHSMV portal and rejects photocopies at roadside. Texas sells the fuel trip permit in advance through Webfile or by cashier's check.
The IRP Plan lets a member jurisdiction issue a trip permit for a vehicle or a combination of vehicles, and trailers come under the Plan only through an approved exception. In practice the trailer runs on its own plate and the permit is bought for the power unit or the combination under that state's rules; Texas, for example, issues its 72-hour and 144-hour permits for commercial vehicles, trailers and buses. Check what the state's permit page names before you rely on it.
Yes, if the truck is apportionable and the state is not on its cab card: registration rules do not care whether the trailer is loaded. For an unladen apportionable vehicle, Section 530 of the IRP Plan requires every member jurisdiction to offer temporary registration for a minimum fee, the hunter's permit; Florida's is $5 for 10 days. State road taxes are separate: Oregon's weight-mile tax is charged per mile at the declared weight, so empty miles in Oregon are still taxed.
No, you buy a new one. A New York HUT trip certificate expires at midnight of the third day after issue, and weekends do not extend it. An Oregon temporary pass lasts 10 days or the miles purchased, whichever ends first, and the next pass counts toward the limit of five per unit in a rolling 12 months. A Texas fuel trip permit covers one entry for 20 days, and a round trip through Texas is two entries and two permits.
The permit is tied to the vehicle: Oregon asks for the complete 17-digit VIN, New York issues the HUT trip certificate for one specific vehicle, and Florida does not accept a copy at roadside. Refunds are rare: New York states there is no refund for a trip certificate, and Oregon says temporary pass and trip permit fees are generally non-refundable, though a tax credit can be requested on form 9758. Buy a corrected permit before you enter and request a credit where the state provides one.
If you hold an IFTA license, yes: the IFTA Procedures Manual (P720.250) requires the quarterly return to show total distance in all jurisdictions, including operations with a trip permit. If you have no IFTA license, a fuel trip permit satisfies the fuel use tax obligation for that trip under Article R310, and no quarterly return is filed. How a licensee's trip-permit miles are taxed varies by jurisdiction, so confirm with your base state before filing.
Under IRP and IFTA the two-axle threshold is a weight in excess of 26,000 pounds, so a two-axle truck at exactly 26,000 is neither apportionable nor a qualified motor vehicle unless it has three or more axles or runs in a combination over 26,000. State road taxes start lower: New York HUT applies over 18,000 pounds gross, New Mexico trip tax from 12,001 pounds, and Oregon counts the combined weight of truck, trailer and load. Decide by the registered or gross vehicle weight on your registration, not by what the truck weighs today.
One short trip is usually cheaper on permits. Florida, for example, charges $30 for a 10-day trip permit and $45 for a 10-day fuel use permit, against an apportioned plate that Kentucky's IRP office estimates at roughly $1,250 to $2,500 a year for 80,000 pounds. But you count every transit state and both layers, and Oregon, New York, Kentucky and New Mexico add a third. From the second or third long run IRP wins, and state limits (Oregon five passes per unit, Texas five fuel permit entries, New York ten trip certificates) close the permit route regardless of money.
Yes, as far as registration goes. Section 525(b) of the IRP Plan says an apportionable vehicle under a trip permit may be used in interjurisdictional or intrajurisdictional operations, and Kentucky's credentials page says a vehicle operating intrastate in any member jurisdiction needs either IRP apportioned registration or a trip permit. Operating authority is a separate question: apportioned registration does not waive it, and neither does a trip permit.
No. A USDOT number is required for interstate operation at 10,001 pounds and up, and Oregon asks for it before issuing a temporary pass. UCR applies to any motor carrier in interstate or international commerce: $46 for 2026 for a fleet of 0 to 2 vehicles, and $55 for the 2027 registration year, which opens on October 1, 2026. New Jersey does not participate in UCR, so a New Jersey carrier registers through a participating state.