Trucking documents: keep your permit book current
A permit book is only as good as its oldest page. Credentials renew on different clocks, trucks and trailers change hands, and some states add papers of their own.
The permit book in numbers
The trucking documents in a permit book are the credentials an officer can ask to see in the truck: the IRP cab card, an IFTA license copy, annual inspection proof, the ELD packet, any lease, hazmat registration, and state permits for your lanes. Most can be digital. Update the book on every renewal and every equipment change.
Permit book problems are rarely about a document nobody ever had. More often it is one that was right last year: the cab card from before the renewal, the lease that ended, the instruction sheet for an ELD that was swapped out.
This guide covers what goes in each truck's book, which state credentials to add for your lanes, when to update it, and what can go digital. The company files that stay at your office are covered in our DOT compliance checklist.
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Key takeaways
One book per truck, built from separate rules
No single regulation defines a permit book. IRP, IFTA, and federal safety and hazmat rules each require their own document on the vehicle.
Insurance proof and driver files stay at the office
Federal rules keep MCS-90 proof at your principal place of business, unless you are a Canadian or Mexican carrier. State rules on insurance cards can differ.
Your lanes decide the state pages
New York, Oregon, New Mexico, and Kentucky each have a tax credential of their own on top of IRP and IFTA.
Events break books more often than dates
Renewals are easy to calendar. A sale, a lease ending, a weight change, or a new ELD is where pages go stale.
Most of it can be digital
IFTA licenses, IRP cab cards, and hazmat registration can be electronic. Decals, plates, and hazmat shipping papers cannot.
In this articleContents
What is a truck permit book?
A truck permit book is the set of credentials kept with one truck so the driver can produce them on request. No single rule defines it: each document has its own rule, and together they make up the book.
It is not the company file. Driver qualification files, maintenance records, and drug and alcohol records stay at your office. So does proof of your federal liability insurance, the MCS-90 or MCS-82, which 49 CFR 387.7 keeps at your principal place of business. Our DOT compliance checklist covers those office files and their deadlines.
Carriers domiciled in Canada or Mexico are the exception: their vehicles must carry a legible English copy of that insurance proof. State law can also require proof of insurance in the vehicle, so check the rule in your registration state.
What rides with the driver instead?
The driver's license, and for drivers who do not need a CDL, the original or a copy of the medical examiner's certificate (49 CFR 391.41). CDL and CLP holders stopped carrying the certificate on June 23, 2025, and since October 12, 2026 a paper certificate no longer counts as proof for drivers licensed outside Alaska.
A driver certified through a medical variance, such as an exemption letter or a skill performance evaluation certificate, carries a copy of that document too.
Which trucking documents go in the permit book?
The core trucking documents are the ones a federal rule or a multistate agreement requires on the vehicle. Check each truck for these:
| Document | Who needs it | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| IRP apportioned cab card | Trucks registered under the International Registration Plan | IRP Plan Section 605 |
| Copy of the IFTA license; two decals outside, one on each side of the cab | IFTA-qualified trucks | IFTA Articles R620, R625 |
| Annual inspection proof: the report or a qualifying decal | Every unit, including each trailer | 49 CFR 396.17(c) |
| ELD information packet: data transfer sheet, malfunction sheet, blank logs for 8 days | Drivers who log on an ELD | 49 CFR 395.22(h) |
| Copy of the lease, or the carrier's statement certifying it | Equipment leased to a carrier | 49 CFR 376.11(c) |
| Hazmat Certificate of Registration, or a document showing the "U.S. DOT Hazmat Reg. No." | Trucks hauling hazmat that requires PHMSA registration | 49 CFR 107.620(b) |
| Copy of the FMCSA hazmat safety permit, or a document showing its number | Only the materials listed in 49 CFR 385.403 | 49 CFR 385.415(a) |
Leased equipment also needs trip documents showing the owner, origin, departure, destination, and that the load moves under the carrier's responsibility, unless the lease already contains that information (376.11(d)).
What no longer needs to be in the cab?
- The ELD user's manual. FMCSA rescinded the in-cab manual requirement effective July 22, 2026. The two instruction sheets and the blank logs remain.
- A week of paper logs. The rule is a supply of blank graph-grid logs for at least 8 days.
- The medical card, for CDL and CLP holders, as covered above.
None of these rules asks for your MC authority letter in the cab. What the truck itself must show is your legal or trade name and USDOT number, on both sides and legible from 50 feet in daylight (49 CFR 390.21T).
Which state credentials does your permit book need?
It depends on your lanes. The IRP cab card lists every jurisdiction and weight the truck is registered for, and a few states add a tax credential of their own on top of IRP and IFTA.
- New York: a highway use tax certificate of registration and decal for each truck over 18,000 pounds gross, with the decal on the body near the front plate. Occasional visitors can buy a trip certificate instead, valid until midnight of the third day after issue, and should carry a copy in that truck.
- Oregon: a truck over 26,000 pounds without a weight-mile tax account needs a temporary pass before entering, carried as a legible paper or electronic copy. Our Oregon trip permits guide covers the pass and the trip permits.
- New Mexico: a weight distance tax electronic permit for each vehicle over 26,000 pounds, applied for every year. See our New Mexico truck permits guide.
- Kentucky: a KYU license for trucks with a combined license weight over 59,999 pounds. Our KYU license guide explains it.
Trip, fuel, and oversize permits join the book for the trip they cover and leave it when they expire. Our guide to truck permits maps which ones apply and when.
When does a permit book need updating?
On every renewal and on every change to the truck. Renewal dates are easy to calendar; equipment changes are where permit books go stale.
| Trigger | What to update |
|---|---|
| IFTA renewal | New license copies and decals may go in up to two months before January 1. In January and February, valid prior-year or current credentials are both accepted. |
| IRP renewal | Carry the old and the new cab card together until the new registration period begins. |
| Annual inspection | Replace the proof on each tractor and each trailer before its 12 months run out. |
| Trip or temporary permit | Remove it when it expires. An Oregon temporary pass lasts 10 days or the miles you bought. |
| Truck sold or lease ended | Pull the lease and state credentials. IFTA decals can't move to another truck without your base jurisdiction's approval, and a New York decal is surrendered within five days. |
| Weight or ELD change | Operating above the weight on a New York HUT certificate is a violation. A new ELD needs instruction sheets for that device. |
If a new IFTA truck can't wait for its decals, a base jurisdiction may issue a 30-day temporary decal permit. It goes in the book, on paper or as an electronic image, in place of the decals (IFTA R650).
Can a permit book be digital?
Mostly, yes. FMCSA lets any document its regulations require be kept electronically, as long as it accurately reflects the required information and can be reproduced for anyone entitled to see it (49 CFR 390.32).
- IFTA: member jurisdictions must accept a paper original, a paper copy, or an electronic image of the license (R620).
- IRP: since January 1, 2019, every U.S. state and Canadian province must accept an electronic image of the cab card on a computer, tablet, or phone, as New York DMV told its enforcement agencies.
- Hazmat registration: the certificate or registration number may be carried on paper or electronically (107.620(b)).
- Oregon temporary pass: a legible paper or electronic copy.
Some things stay physical: plates, decals, and hazmat shipping papers. Shipping papers must be tabbed or on top of other papers and, while the driver is at the controls, within reach with the seat belt on or in a pouch on the driver's door (49 CFR 177.817(e)). Keep them out of the binder.
How to keep your permit book up to date
Each step turns the documents above into a routine someone owns.
Step 1: Build one book per unit
Tractors and trailers get swapped, so keep trailer inspection proof on the trailer itself, usually as a decal, and the tractor's credentials in the tractor's book.
Step 2: Put an index page in front
List every document with its expiration date and the state or agency that issued it. Paper or digital, the index is what makes a two-minute check possible.
Step 3: Keep a master copy at the office
Scan every credential by unit number. A lost book or a dead phone then becomes a file you resend, not a truck parked at the scale.
Step 4: Tie updates to events
Renewal mail, a purchase or sale, a lease change, a new trailer, or a new ELD should each trigger an update the same day.
Step 5: Check every book monthly, with one owner
Walk each book against its index, and walk a new driver through it before the first dispatch. If you would rather hand off the state side, our trucking permits team handles trip, fuel, and oversize permits.
How Simplex helps keep your permit book current
Most of a permit book renews on someone else's schedule. We help you track it truck by truck.
State and trip permits
Our trucking permits team handles IRP trip permits, temporary fuel permits, and oversize and overweight permits, so each truck has the right papers for the lanes it runs.
IFTA and trucking taxes
Our trucking tax preparation team puts together your IFTA quarterly report, files it with each state office, and backs up your fuel purchase records.
The files behind the book
Our compliance programs cover driver qualification files, hours-of-service management, CSA monitoring, and a DOT mock audit.
Frequently asked questions
What documents do truck drivers need to carry?+
Can I keep a digital permit book?+
Do I need my MC authority certificate in the truck?+
Is the ELD user's manual still required in the truck?+
What happens if the IFTA license copy is missing from the truck?+
Where this information comes from
The requirements below come from federal regulation, the IFTA and IRP agreements, and state motor vehicle agencies, checked on October 19, 2026.
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1
eCFR — 49 CFR 395.22
The in-vehicle ELD information packet: two instruction sheets and blank logs for 8 days.
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2
eCFR — 49 CFR 396.17
Annual inspection within the preceding 12 months, with documentation on each vehicle.
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3
eCFR — 49 CFR 376.11
A copy of the lease, or the carrier's certifying statement, carried with leased equipment.
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4
eCFR — 49 CFR 387.7
Where proof of financial responsibility is kept, and the in-vehicle rule for foreign-domiciled carriers.
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5
eCFR — 49 CFR 390.32
Electronic documents and signatures for records FMCSA requires.
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6
IFTA, Inc. — Articles of Agreement (2026)
License copy in each vehicle (R620), decals (R625), renewal display and grace period (R630, R655), penalties (R660).
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7
California DMV — IRP Handbook, Chapter 2
IRP Plan Section 605: the cab card carried in the vehicle, and both cab cards during renewal.
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8
New York DMV — Enforcement memo P12 (2018)
Electronic IRP cab cards accepted in all U.S. states and Canadian provinces from January 1, 2019.
Written by
Simplex Group
Permits & Fuel Tax Team, Simplex Group
Reviewed for technical accuracy by a Simplex permitting manager before publication. Simplex has registered and filed permits and fuel taxes for interstate carriers across all 50 states for more than 20 years.
Published · Updated
Related articles and services
A permit book is a routine, not a binder
The documents change on their own schedules, and the truck changes on yours. A book with an index, an owner, and an office copy keeps up with both.
If you want help sorting out which credentials each truck needs and when each one renews, talk to our team.