What Vehicles are Required to Register for the IRP?

Any commercial vehicle that does interstate business and operates with a combined gross weight (CGW) of 26,001 pounds or more, or has more than 2 axles (truck and trailer), is required to register for the IRP, also known as the International Registration Plan. Additionally, if the vehicle has three or more axles and operates between more than one state, you will need to register it with the IRP. If your vehicle qualifies for the IRP but you only occasionally do interstate business, you can instead obtain temporary trip permits as an alternative. Non-qualifying commercial vehicles can opt in to IRP registration.

What are IRP Apportioned Plates?

IRP apportioned plates are specialty license plates that indicate that the vehicle is registered with the International Registration Plan. The plates look like typical state license plates with the word “APPORTIONED” to show the registration status of the vehicle. In addition to being valid in your base jurisdiction, the apportioned plates allow you to travel in all 48 jurisdictions and affiliated Canadian provinces without trip permits. For carriers that consistently operate interstate, apportioned plates actually present a significant saving.

What are IRP Cab Cards?

IRP Cab Cards are registration cards that show evidence that the vehicle is registered with the International Registration Plan. The card identifies all jurisdictions in which the vehicle is allowed to operate. It also shows the combined gross weight permitted for each jurisdiction. The cab card should be kept safe, with a copy present in the truck at all times.

How Are IRP Registration Fees Calculated?

The apportioned registration fee for operating a commercial vehicle across state lines varies by base jurisdiction. It is primarily based on the gross vehicle weight, as well as vehicle make, model, and year. During renewal, the fee is also affected by the actual mileage traveled during the reporting period.

Why are the IRP Registration Fees So High?

The fees are based on the vehicle's base jurisdiction. This means that the price may vary depending on whether you register in California or Texas. Each jurisdiction has many factors that could increase the apportioned registration fee. Since every jurisdiction sets its own rates, they are also subject to change at any time. Rates could increase if a larger number of your fleet travels through jurisdictions with higher fees.

International Registration Plan

Professional IRP registration services

Apportioned plates and cab cards for owner-operators and fleets — prepared, filed and followed through in all 48 contiguous states. Our service fee is on screen before you pay; state fees are passed through at cost.

(888) 202-4927Specialists available now

Fast, accurate filings
Real IRP specialists
100% online

Start Your IRP Application Now

Free quote · No obligation · Takes about 2 minutes

Do you even need IRP?

Your vehicle qualifies if either of these is true

Apportioned registration applies to power units used in interstate commerce. Two separate tests — meeting either one is enough.

Over 26,000 lbGross vehicle weight or combined gross weight, operating across jurisdiction lines.

3+ axlesThree or more axles on the power unit, whatever the vehicle weighs.

Only cross a state line now and then? A temporary trip permit is usually cheaper than full apportioned registration — call us and we will tell you which way round it works out for your operation. Lighter two-axle vehicles may still be apportioned at the owner's option, which is why the application offers a bracket below 26,000 lb.

All services

Pick the filing you need

Sixteen IRP filings, mapped onto the application types the online form offers. Not sure which applies? Start anywhere — a specialist re-routes it before you pay.

Get started

New IRP Registration

Establish a new IRP account and get your first apportioned plate and cab card for interstate operation.

IRP Renewal

Renew apportioned registration for the coming registration year before your credentials expire.

New Fleet Registration

Open a second fleet under your registrant, grouped so the apportionment stays accurate.

Vehicles

Add Vehicle

Put another power unit on an existing IRP account, with fees prorated from the month it enters service.

Delete Vehicle

Remove a sold, totalled or retired vehicle from your IRP account and stop it being renewed and billed.

Plate Transfer

Move an apportioned plate to an eligible replacement vehicle and keep the credit you have already paid.

Amend Vehicle Information

Correct a VIN, year, make, model, unit number, axle count or ownership detail on a registered vehicle.

Account changes

Change USDOT Number

Update the USDOT number and responsible carrier on your IRP account, and reissue the cab cards.

Change Registered Weight

Increase or decrease declared operating weight, per jurisdiction, and get the cab card that proves it.

Change Business Name

Update a legal business name across your IRP account, cab cards and carrier record, in the right order.

Change Registration Class

Move a vehicle to the class that matches what it now does — and the fee schedule that follows from it.

Replacements

Replace IRP License Plate

Replace a lost, stolen or damaged apportioned plate — and get interim authority while it is made.

Replace IRP Cab Card

Get a replacement cab card — the credential an officer actually asks for, and the fastest one to reissue.

Replace IRP Sticker

Replace a missing or damaged registration sticker so your plate does not read as expired.

Replace IRP Decal

Replace a lost or damaged cab decal against the correct power unit, as the matched pair states issue.

Close out

Close IRP Account

Close an account you no longer need, cleanly, so it is not recorded as delinquent.

California · DMV ICP authorized agent

California IRP registration — same-day apportioned plates

IRP Registration Services is authorized through the California DMV Interstate Carrier Program (ICP), so we process California IRP registrations directly and issue apportioned plates, cab cards and decals from our own office — no DMV queue, no waiting on a mailed plate.

Start a California filing (888) 202-4927

Issued from our office in Burbank, California

Authorized under the California DMV ICP — We are permitted to process IRP registrations and issue credentials, not merely submit an application and wait.
Plates, cab cards and decals issued in our office — The physical credentials are produced here in Burbank.
As little as one business day — For a complete California filing, once your carrier and vehicle details are in.
No DMV appointment, no field-office queue — And no separate trip for a VIN verification we can arrange for you.
Every California filing type — New registration, renewal, added or deleted vehicles, weight and class changes, transfers, replacements and closures.

ICP authorization applies to California only. In the other 47 states we prepare and file your application and follow it through to issuance, but the credentials are produced and released by that jurisdiction.

Pricing

Your exact price, before you pay anything

IRP pricing is not one flat number, because IRP filings are not one flat job. Four things move it — and all four are answered in the form, so your total is on screen and itemised before any payment is taken.

Your base jurisdiction

Every state sets its own registration fees and its own rules under the Plan, so the same truck does not cost the same in California as in Texas.

The application type

A first-time registration is more work than a cab card reissue. Ten application types, each priced for what it actually involves.

How many vehicles

Priced per vehicle and tiered — the more units on the filing, the lower the per-vehicle fee.

Gross vehicle weight

The declared weight bracket for each unit. Above 80,000 lb is quoted by phone rather than online.

What the service fee covers

Our service fee for preparing and submitting the filing
An experienced IRP specialist on your file from start to finish
USDOT verification and carrier data pulled from federal records
A document checklist specific to your jurisdiction and filing
All communication with the state, including follow-up until issuance
Credentials sent to you the moment the jurisdiction releases them

Charged by the state, not by us

State apportioned registration fees, set by your base jurisdiction
Title, plate, decal or VIN inspection fees charged by the state
Any penalty or late fee a jurisdiction assesses on your account

Apportioned fees are the state's arithmetic, not ours: the share of your fleet's distance run in a jurisdiction, multiplied by that jurisdiction's own registration fee, adjusted for declared weight. We pass those through at cost.

Above 80,000 lb: the top weight bracket is quoted by phone — call (888) 202-4927.

(888) 202-4927

The process

Road-legal in three steps

Two short screens and a payment. We handle the preparation, the filing and the follow-up with your jurisdiction.

Tell us what you need

Four details and the filing you want: full name, email, business phone, base state. About two minutes, and nothing is charged.

Add carrier, owners and vehicles

Pick your registrant type and enter your USDOT — carrier name, address and EIN come back from federal records instantly. Then owner or officer details, and each vehicle. Your price updates as you add units.

Sign, pay, and we file

Sign the power of attorney electronically, pay by card or Apple Pay, and our specialists submit to your base jurisdiction. Your cab card is emailed the moment it is issued.

Where we file

All 48 contiguous states

Your base jurisdiction is the state where your business is established, where your distance is accrued and where your operational records are kept. It is a choice with consequences: it sets the fee schedule, the renewal window and the audit rules you live under. If you have an established place of business in more than one state, tell us both and we will work out which one is genuinely your base before anything is filed.

California: issued in our officeWe are authorized through the California DMV Interstate Carrier Program, so California plates, cab cards and decals are issued here — often within one business day. See California IRP

Valid in 59 jurisdictions, issued by oneThe Plan covers the 48 contiguous states, the District of Columbia and ten Canadian provinces. Your plate and cab card work in all of them, whichever state issues them.

Alaska and Hawaii are not IRP membersThere is no apportioned registration to file in either — operating there is a separate matter from the Plan.

Your base jurisdiction is a choice with consequences: it sets the fee schedule, the renewal window and the audit rules you live under. If you have an established place of business in more than one state, tell us both and we will work out which one is genuinely your base before anything is filed.

Adjacent obligations

IRP is one of several — here is what each one is

Carriers lose money by confusing these. IRP handles registration. It does not cover fuel tax, the federal heavy vehicle use tax, UCR, or your operating authority.

Program	What it covers	Who it applies to	Filed	You receive
IRP — apportioned registration	Registration fees for interstate operation	Above 26,000 lb GVW/CGW or 3+ axles	Annually, with your base jurisdiction	Apportioned plate + cab card
IFTA — fuel tax agreement	Fuel tax owed to each jurisdiction you run in	Above 26,000 lb GVW/CGW or 3+ axles	Quarterly returns	IFTA licence + decals
Form 2290 — federal HVUT	Federal heavy vehicle use tax	Taxable gross weight 55,000 lb or more	Annually, to the IRS	Stamped Schedule 1
UCR — Unified Carrier Registration	Annual federal-state registration fee	Interstate carriers, brokers, freight forwarders	Annually	UCR receipt
Trip permit	Short-term authority to enter one jurisdiction	Occasional interstate trips	Per trip	Temporary permit

Heavy vehicle use tax rules are published by the IRS Trucking Tax Center; fuel tax rules by IFTA, Inc. We can add IFTA to an IRP filing — the rest we will point you at rather than pretend to sell you.

Why choose us

Filed right the first time

A rejected IRP filing costs you days you cannot bill for. Everything below exists to stop that happening.

Fast, accurate filings

Most applications are prepared and submitted within one business day of receiving your details. Weight increases and cab card reissues often go out same-day.

Nothing to scan or upload

Your USDOT number is verified against federal records and the carrier data is filled in for you. No office visits, no scanner, no DMV forms to decode.

Experienced IRP specialists

Your filing is prepared by people who work in apportioned registration every day and follow each jurisdiction's current manual.

One named specialist

The same person owns your file start to finish. Call, text or email them directly — no ticket queue.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Talk it through

Not sure which filing you need?

Tell us what changed on the truck or in the business and we will tell you which application it is — before you pay for anything.