IRP Registration: What is It and How to Do It

IRP stands for the International Registration Plan. This is an agreement made between the 48 continental states in the US, Washington DC, and the ten provinces of Canada. This agreement allows commercial drivers to operate throughout various jurisdictions while driving for their commercial trucking business. Drivers must pay a fee to their home state in which they registered the truck they drive. This fee is then distributed to the IRP program of the various places in which they drove through in the past year. To put it simply: the IRP is the fee paid yearly when a truck driver renews their truck’s registration, much like the fee paid to renew any vehicle’s registration. The difference for this fee is that it is paid to the home state, but then distributed throughout all jurisdictions in which a truck was driven. This money helps contribute to maintenance of roads, highways, and bridges.

It is Important to Know That Not All Truck Drivers Contribute to the IRP.

If you are an entirely intrastate driver, then your fee only goes to the singular state you drive within. If you only occasionally drive interstate, you still do not necessarily have to contribute to the IRP and be permitted with it. Rather than contributing to the IRP, one can also receive individual trip permits for a smaller fee which lasts for a short-term period. The individual cost of this type of permit is dependent on which state it is for; however, it still may be more worthwhile for a driver to obtain these trip permits, rather than buying into the entire IRP. To learn more about your options and find out which is best for you, contact us today by calling (888) 202-4927, or submitting a quote request online!