We simplify licensing, permitting and reporting, so you can keep earnings coming
Get a Free ConsultationAn IFTA permit is the IFTA license and two decals per truck that your base jurisdiction issues, so you file one quarterly fuel tax return instead of buying fuel permits state by state. You need one if you are based in an IFTA member jurisdiction and run a qualified motor vehicle in two or more of them.
Our team files the application and helps keep the license active.
It is the credential set from the International Fuel Tax Agreement: one license for your company and two decals for each qualified vehicle, issued by your base jurisdiction. IFTA’s members are the 48 contiguous states and the 10 Canadian provinces, and credentials from one member are valid in all of them for fuel use tax (IFTA, Carrier Information).
Your base jurisdiction also processes your quarterly returns, collects the tax owed to the other members, and audits your records on their behalf. One license means one return, filed in one place.
| Credential | Issued by | Valid for |
|---|---|---|
| IFTA license (a copy rides in every truck) | Your base jurisdiction | The calendar year, through December 31 |
| IFTA decals, two per qualified vehicle | Your base jurisdiction | The calendar year; new decals are issued each year |
| IFTA temporary decal permit | Your base jurisdiction, if it offers one | 30 days, until the annual decals are on |
| Fuel trip permit (no IFTA license) | Each state you enter | Set by each state: one entry and 20 days in Texas, 10 days in Florida |
Many carriers also say “IFTA permit” for the fuel trip permit. If you only cross state lines a few times a year, our guide to the temporary fuel permit covers fees and limits by state, and Texas’s trip permit rules show how tight those limits can be.
Any carrier based in a member jurisdiction that runs a qualified motor vehicle in two or more member jurisdictions must license under IFTA, unless it uses trip permits instead (IFTA Articles of Agreement, R305 and R310). A qualified motor vehicle is used, designed, or maintained to carry people or property and:
Only the power unit’s axles count toward the axle test; a trailer’s axles never do. A two-axle pickup becomes a qualified motor vehicle when it pulls a trailer and the combination tops 26,000 pounds, and once it is licensed, all of its miles go on the return, including trips without the trailer. Recreational vehicles used only for personal pleasure are excluded.
There is no mileage threshold: travel into one other member state is enough. Texas lets a carrier use fuel trip permits instead only if it enters Texas no more than five times a calendar year, and a Florida-based truck that runs only inside Florida doesn’t need IFTA at all (Fla. Stat. 207.004).
It is the member jurisdiction where your qualified vehicles are registered, where you keep or can make available your operational records, and where your fleet runs some of its miles (R212). It follows your registration, so your IFTA and IRP accounts line up: Texas asks for your IRP cab card number on the application, and Florida wants the same name and FEIN on both accounts.
You apply once, to your base jurisdiction, and it issues the license and decals for your whole fleet.
Check each truck against the qualified-vehicle test above and confirm where it is registered. If you have fleets registered in more than one member state, you can ask to consolidate them under one base jurisdiction, but each affected jurisdiction must approve.
IFTA’s Procedures Manual sets the core of every application (P100 and P200):
States add their own items. Texas also asks for the Social Security numbers of the owner, officers, or LLC members, your Texas taxpayer number if the business is registered in Texas, your IRP cab card number (or each truck’s plate number), your USDOT number, the fuel types you use, and the jurisdictions you run in. Florida wants the business name to match the one on your USDOT operating authority and your Form 2290.
In Texas, the Comptroller takes applications through Webfile; the online form takes about 10 minutes, and the license and decals arrive by mail once the application is approved. Form AP-178 can also be mailed, faxed, or emailed, and the license can’t take effect before the date the Comptroller receives it (Texas Comptroller, IFTA). In Florida, FLHSMV charges no license fee and $4 per set of decals (FLHSMV, IFTA).
Carry a copy of the license in each qualified vehicle; every member must accept a paper original, a paper copy, or an electronic image (R620). Place one decal on the outside of each side of the cab (R625) and remove expired ones. If your base jurisdiction offers it, a 30-day temporary decal permit covers a truck until its decals are on (R650).
File every quarterly return on time and renew before the year ends. Each return is due on the last day of the month after the quarter, or the next business day if that falls on a weekend or holiday, and you must file even for a quarter with no operations (R960, R930). The third-quarter 2026 return is due Monday, November 2, 2026, because October 31 is a Saturday. Our IFTA fuel tax reporting guide walks through the return line by line.
Licenses and decals expire December 31, and your base jurisdiction renews only if every return is filed and all tax, penalties, and interest are paid (R345). IFTA, Inc.’s October 1, 2026 memo is direct: 2027 renewals must be filed with your base jurisdiction before the end of 2026, and the January and February grace period is for displaying the new credentials, not for applying.
During that grace period, a truck can run on its 2026 license and decals only if the 2027 renewal has been filed; otherwise it needs 2027 credentials or a trip permit for each jurisdiction. Base jurisdictions handle renewal differently: Texas renews eligible carriers automatically, and since October 1, 2026, Florida requires decal renewal orders and returns to be filed online.
A base jurisdiction may cancel or refuse to renew a license when a carrier reports zero or base-jurisdiction-only miles for three or more consecutive quarters (R345.300). Florida applies that rule, and Texas may deny renewal if you have reported no interstate travel in the preceding six quarters.
Most trouble starts with a missing credential or a missed return.
An honest caveat: the Agreement sets the common rules, and each base jurisdiction adds its own forms, fees, and renewal conditions. The Texas Comptroller also notes that when a carrier holds licenses in several states under one FEIN and one state revokes its license, all of them are revoked until the problem is cleared (Texas Comptroller, Fuels Tax FAQs).
We handle the paperwork for your initial IFTA registration, so the application is accurate and submitted on time. After that, a permitting manager can help with your quarterly fuel tax reports: we collect the data, fill out the forms, keep track of your fuel receipts, handle the tax payment, and keep you updated on changes to IFTA rules. Our trucker tax preparation team puts the report together, files it, and backs up your fuel purchase records.
Not ready for a license, or only making a few trips? Our trucking permits team gets temporary fuel permits and IRP trip permits, which you can order through the SimplexHub client portal or the Simplex2Go app. New carriers can bundle IFTA licensing into an authority package, and we also handle UCR registration. If you run Simplex ELD, its web portal includes IFTA reporting.
In Texas, we have offices in Houston and in Richardson, near Dallas; our Texas DOT compliance page covers the state’s other carrier rules. Use the form below with your USDOT number and mention IFTA in the comments, and we’ll tell you what your fleet needs.
Apply to your base jurisdiction, the state or province where your qualified trucks are registered. You need your FEIN, business names and addresses, the number of decals, and your state’s extra items, such as the IRP cab card and USDOT numbers Texas asks for. Once approved, you receive the license and two decals per truck.
Not quite. An IFTA license and decals cover every member jurisdiction for the calendar year. A fuel trip permit covers one state for a short time, such as one entry and 20 days in Texas or 10 days in Florida, and is for carriers without an IFTA license.
Texas IFTA licenses come from the Texas Comptroller. You can apply online through Webfile or send Form AP-178 to Austin by mail, fax, or email. The Comptroller’s Dallas Northwest and Dallas Southwest field offices offer walk-in taxpayer service on limited days, so call before you go. Our own Dallas-area office is in Richardson.
FLHSMV’s application page lists no bond for new applicants. Florida law lets FLHSMV adopt rules requiring an adequate bond to secure fuel tax payments (Fla. Stat. 207.005), and under IFTA any base jurisdiction can require one after late returns or payments or a problem audit. The bond must be at least twice your estimated average tax for one reporting period.
It means the power unit and its trailer together weigh more than 26,000 pounds (11,797 kg), by gross or registered weight. The definition comes from the IFTA Agreement, so it reads the same in every member jurisdiction, Pennsylvania included. Only the power unit’s axles count toward the three-axle test.
No. IFTA applies when a qualified vehicle runs in two or more member jurisdictions. If you make only occasional trips out of your base state, you can buy fuel trip permits instead, within each state’s limits; Texas allows that for up to five entries a calendar year.
The rules and figures on this page come from these official sources, checked on October 5, 2026.