IRP apportioned registration: one plate for interstate trucks

Checked against official sources · Last reviewed October 6, 2026

Under the International Registration Plan (IRP), you register an interstate truck once, in your base jurisdiction, and pay registration fees split among the member jurisdictions by the share of miles you drive in each. You get one apportioned plate and one cab card, both from your base jurisdiction.

You register with your base jurisdiction's agency, not a national office. The details on this page come from the Texas DMV's apportioned registration packet and an Ohio rule. Other states' procedures, fees and dates may differ, so check with your own state's agency. [1][2]

Which trucks need apportioned plates

An apportionable vehicle is used, or meant to be used, in two or more member jurisdictions to carry people for hire or to haul property, and is:

• a power unit with two axles and a gross or registered gross weight over 26,000 pounds, or
• a power unit with three or more axles, whatever the weight, or
• used in a combination weighing over 26,000 pounds.

Vehicles at 26,000 pounds or less, recreational vehicles, restricted-plate vehicles and government vehicles don't require apportioned registration, though some may be apportioned if you choose. [1]

What the plate covers

An apportioned truck is fully registered in every jurisdiction listed on its cab card, for both interstate and intrastate driving.

Apportioned registration fees don't cover fuel taxes (that's IFTA), oversize or overweight permits, operating authority, or registration in jurisdictions that aren't IRP members. [1]

Your base jurisdiction needs a real place of business

To use a state as your base jurisdiction, you need an established place of business there, as the Texas packet quotes it: a physical structure you own or lease (on a lease of at least 12 months) with company signage and hours posted, open for business, and staffed at least 20 hours a week by one or more permanent employees, not independent contractors. [1]

What you'll need to apply (Texas example)

Texas asks a new apportioned account for:

• proof of residency and an established place of business in the state
• proof you own each vehicle
• proof you paid the federal heavy vehicle use tax, if it applies
• liability insurance
• a USDOT Number and taxpayer ID for the registrant, and for the carrier responsible for safety if that's someone else

Proof of Form 2290 payment is required to register vehicles of 55,000 pounds or more. [1]

How fees are figured

Your fees are based on the share of your total distance driven in each jurisdiction. On a first Texas application for a truck with no apportioned registration in the previous 18 months, Texas calculates fees from the IRP Average Per Vehicle Distance chart instead of your actual miles. At renewal you report the actual distance driven in each jurisdiction. Texas uses a July 1 to June 30 reporting period.

In Texas, a new registration runs 12 months and expires at the end of the month before you bought it: buy in April, and it expires the next March 31. [1]

Records to keep

Record all of a truck's distance: interstate and intrastate, loaded, empty, deadhead, bobtail and personal. Each trip needs an individual vehicle distance record showing:

• trip start and end dates
• origin and destination (city and state)
• beginning and ending odometer or hubodometer readings
• routes of travel
• total trip distance
• distance by state or province
• the power unit number or VIN

Keep these records for three reporting periods plus the current one, four in total. The Texas DMV says IRP requires Texas to audit 3% of the fleets that renew each year. [1]

Trip permits and temporary authority

A trip permit, issued by a member jurisdiction, can be used in place of apportioned or full registration. In Ohio, for example, an IRP trip permit is valid for 72 hours and costs $15, and a temporary authority to operate while your plates are in the mail is valid up to 45 days for a $2 fee. [1][2]

Common questions