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Get a Free ConsultationTrucking permit services get you the credentials a truck needs for a specific load, route, or year: oversize and overweight permits, IRP trip permits, IFTA fuel permits, UCR registration, and state permits such as California’s MCP. Each state issues its own, with its own limits and terms.
Our permitting team identifies the permits for every state on your route and files them for you.
It depends on the truck, the load, and where it runs. Some credentials are permanent and renew every year; others are bought for one trip, when a load or a route goes beyond what the permanent ones cover.
| Permit | When you need it | Issued by |
|---|---|---|
| Oversize or overweight permit | The vehicle or load exceeds the legal size or weight limits of a road on your route | Each state on the route, and some cities and counties |
| IRP apportioned plates, or an IRP trip permit | A power unit over 26,000 lbs, or with three or more axles, runs in two or more jurisdictions; a trip permit covers a state the truck isn’t registered for | Your base jurisdiction; trip permits by each state |
| IFTA license, or a fuel trip permit | A qualified motor vehicle runs in two or more IFTA jurisdictions; a trip permit covers occasional travel without a license | Your base jurisdiction; trip permits by each state |
| Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) | Every year, for interstate carriers, brokers, freight forwarders, and leasing companies | Paid through a base state under the UCR Agreement |
| State permits and taxes | You run in a state with its own carrier permit or highway-use tax, such as California’s MCP or Kentucky’s KYU | That state |
| Hazardous materials safety permit | You haul certain high-hazard materials, such as more than 55 lbs of Division 1.1, 1.2, or 1.3 explosives | FMCSA |
Your USDOT number, operating authority, and Form 2290 come before any of these. Our guide, truck permits explained, maps every registration an interstate carrier holds; this page covers the permits our team files for you.
The federal government does not issue oversize or overweight permits. FHWA calls it a state option, so a load over the limits needs a permit from every state where it is over. Federal law sets the Interstate System’s weight limits (80,000 lbs gross, 20,000 lbs on a single axle, 34,000 lbs on a tandem) and a 102-inch width limit; states set the rest.
Most permits are for nondivisible loads: loads that, if split, would no longer do their job, would lose their value, or would take more than 8 work hours to dismantle. Each state runs its own system. In Texas, a truck that also needs temporary registration must get it before applying for the oversize permit in TxPROS (TxDMV).
Our oversize permit services page covers Texas and Florida rules and permit types. For signs, flags, and escorts, see the oversize load permit guide and our Florida oversize permits guide.
A truck that crosses state lines needs registration and fuel tax credentials for every state it enters. The permanent answer is IRP apportioned plates and an IFTA license from your base jurisdiction; trip permits fill the gaps.
IRP is a registration agreement among the 48 contiguous states, the District of Columbia, and 10 Canadian provinces. A power unit used in two or more member jurisdictions with two axles and over 26,000 lbs, three or more axles, or a combination over 26,000 lbs gets one apportioned plate and cab card, with fees split by the distance it runs in each jurisdiction.
A trip permit is issued in place of apportioned or full registration, and each state sets its own form and terms. Texas, for example, sells 72-hour and 144-hour temporary registration permits, and a 15-day one-trip permit for unladen vehicles only.
Our tag services team handles apportioned IRP and local registrations, tag renewals, and title transfers. To register a truck with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 lbs or more, you need the IRS-stamped Schedule 1 from Form 2290 as proof of payment (IRS); see Form 2290 due dates and rates.
IFTA lets a carrier file one quarterly fuel tax return with its base jurisdiction instead of one per state. Its members are the 48 contiguous states and 10 Canadian provinces, and it covers qualified motor vehicles: two axles and over 26,000 lbs gross or registered gross weight, three or more axles regardless of weight, or a combination over 26,000 lbs.
If you usually run in one jurisdiction and make occasional trips outside it, IFTA says you may buy trip permits for that travel instead. Each state sets the price and term; see our guide to temporary fuel permits. Our IFTA permits service handles the license paperwork, quarterly reports, and fuel receipts.
UCR is an annual registration and fee that interstate motor carriers, motor private carriers of property, brokers, freight forwarders, and leasing companies pay through a base state. It covers all interstate transportation, including exempt commodities. Carriers based in a state that doesn’t participate, such as Florida or Arizona, still register, through a participating base state (UCR Plan).
Fees depend on how many commercial motor vehicles you own or operate. For registration year 2027, FMCSA set them at $55 for 0 to 2 vehicles, rising to $54,165 for 1,001 or more, effective October 1, 2026; brokers and leasing companies pay $55.
Our UCR filing and renewal service files or renews your registration and makes sure the fee is paid on time. Deadlines and vehicle counting are in our UCR renewal guide.
Some states add their own credentials on top of the federal and multistate ones, and some loads need a permit of their own.
Our specialty permits team also files automobile transporter, liquor transport, hunters, and hazardous materials permit applications, plus SCAC codes and broker bond applications.
We identify the exact permits you need for each state on your route and handle the paperwork from start to finish: oversize, overweight, over-dimensional, super, and wide loads, IRP trip permits, and temporary fuel permits.
For oversize moves, we check your load’s dimensions and gross weight to find the permit type, help plan a route around low bridges and narrow roads, and flag secondary registrations such as UCR. You work with a dedicated permitting manager and can request permits through the SimplexHub client portal and the Simplex2Go app. After your first order, we save your details so the next one goes faster.
Use the form below with your USDOT number, and add the load, route, and travel dates in the comments. We’ll tell you which permits the trip needs.
Trip-based permits include oversize and overweight permits, IRP trip permits, and IFTA fuel trip permits. Annual credentials include IRP apportioned plates, the IFTA license, and UCR. Some states add their own, such as California’s motor carrier permit or Kentucky’s KYU license, and certain hazardous materials need an FMCSA safety permit.
Yes, through a permit service. Oversize and trip permits are issued state by state, so a multistate move needs one from each state that requires it. IRP plates and an IFTA license are the multistate credentials: one from your base jurisdiction covers all member jurisdictions.
It works out which permits a load or route needs, applies to each state on your behalf, and keeps your details for repeat orders. You can also apply yourself through each state’s system, such as TxPROS in Texas; a permit service saves the research and paperwork when a trip crosses several states.
Not for registration in IRP member jurisdictions: apportioned plates and the cab card let the truck travel through all of them. Trip permits are for trucks without apportioned or full registration for a state. An oversize load or a missing IFTA license still needs its own permit.
UCR is an annual registration and fee for interstate motor carriers, brokers, freight forwarders, and leasing companies, paid through a base state. The fee depends on how many commercial motor vehicles you operate: for 2027, from $55 for 0 to 2 vehicles to $54,165 for 1,001 or more.
The rules and figures on this page come from these official sources, checked on October 5, 2026.