We simplify licensing, permitting and reporting, so you can keep earnings coming
Get a Free ConsultationA semi truck tag is the license plate and registration that let your truck run legally. A truck that crosses state lines and weighs over 26,000 pounds, or has three or more axles, needs an apportioned IRP plate and cab card from its base state; a truck that stays in one state gets a regular state plate.
Our tag services team handles both, plus renewals and title transfers.
It depends on where the truck runs and what it weighs. Under the International Registration Plan (IRP), an apportionable vehicle is a power unit used in two or more member jurisdictions to haul property, or people for hire, that:
IRP members are the 48 contiguous states, the District of Columbia and the 10 Canadian provinces. Your base jurisdiction issues one apportioned plate and one cab card, and your registration fees are split by the share of miles your fleet runs in each member (IRP, Inc.). A truck or combination of 26,000 pounds or less can still register under IRP if you choose.
| Your situation | What you need | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Power unit running in two or more states or provinces | Apportioned IRP plate and cab card | Your base jurisdiction’s IRP office (TxFLEET in Texas, FLHSMV in Florida) |
| Power unit that runs in one state only | A regular, non-apportioned state plate | Your state’s registration office; in Florida, the county tax collector |
| Trailer or semi-trailer | A trailer plate from one state; there is no apportioned trailer plate | Your state’s registration office; Florida issues permanent or annual semi-trailer plates |
| Occasional trips into a state, without IRP | A trip permit for each state you enter | Each state; Florida’s lasts 10 days and costs $30 plus a $2 fee |
Trailers ride on reciprocity: a trailer or semi-trailer properly registered in any member jurisdiction is recognized in all of them, and no member can make you register trailers in proportion to your power units (IRP Section 515). Our truck permits guide shows where tags fit among your other credentials.
You need a base jurisdiction you qualify for, proof that you own the truck, proof of the federal heavy vehicle use tax, and an active USDOT number. Each base jurisdiction sets its own application process and can ask for more (IRP Agreement, Section 315).
Your base jurisdiction must be a member where you have an established place of business, where your fleet runs miles, and where your fleet’s records are kept or can be made available (Section 305). Since October 1, 2025, the Plan defines that place of business strictly:
If you have no place of business anywhere, you can base where you prove residence: a driver’s license or ID from that state plus at least two proofs, such as tax returns filed from that address, utility bills, or a vehicle titled there. Florida also asks businesses for a document from the last 90 days showing at least one employee, such as a paystub, plus two items like an active Florida company filing or a recent utility bill (Florida IRP Trucking Manual).
Our Form 2290 guide covers who owes the heavy vehicle use tax and when it is due.
If your fleet ran no actual miles in the reporting period, the base jurisdiction bills you on its average per-vehicle distance (Section 320). You can’t use those averages for a “new” fleet made up mostly of trucks you already ran during that period (Section 420). A base jurisdiction may issue temporary registration, valid up to 60 days, while your plates and cab cards are made (Section 620). In Texas, every new motor carrier account starts online in TxFLEET (TxDMV).
You renew every registration year, and your fees follow the miles your fleet ran in the reporting period. The registration year lasts 12 months, and every truck in a fleet shares one expiration date (Sections 315 and 520). The reporting period is the most recent July 1 to June 30 stretch before the registration year starts, or the one before that if the year starts in July, August or September; a registration year starting in January 2027 uses July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026.
At renewal, your base jurisdiction may issue new plates, a decal for the plate you have, or only a new cab card. If new credentials arrive early, you can mount the new plate, but carry both cab cards until the new period starts (Section 605). Trucks added mid-year generally pay from the first day of the month they join the fleet (Section 425).
In Florida, each IRP account has a renewal month between January and October, and FLHSMV mails a renewal packet about 90 days before plates expire. Plates expire at midnight on the last day of that month with no grace period, and a delinquent fee applies from the 11th day after the month ends.
Keep the records behind each application for three years after the registration year closes (Section 1000). If an audit finds them inadequate, or you produce nothing within 30 days of a written request, the base jurisdiction assesses 20% of that year’s apportioned fees, 50% for a second offense and 100% for a third (Section 1015).
TxDMV flags renewals with irregular mileage for review, such as the same miles as last year, many figures ending in 0, or more than 250,000 miles per unit. It also warns that there is no such thing as an IRP-certified ELD: an ELD can track miles by jurisdiction, but you still need the supporting records.
Whenever a truck or trailer changes hands, the buyer must title it in their own name, usually within 30 days. Texas requires the title in the buyer’s name within 30 days of the sale, with delinquent transfer penalties after that (TxDMV). Florida requires the title application within 30 days of delivery and charges a $20 fee when it is late (Fla. Stat. 319.23).
The title matters for your tags because it is your proof of ownership at registration. Florida lets a truck owned by an out-of-state resident register under IRP without a title transfer if it is leased to a Florida-based company or resident.
For a truck you just bought, Texas wants Form 2290 proof within 60 days of the date on the title assignment, and Florida will register a truck bought in the last 60 days with a bill of sale in place of the Schedule 1. When you buy a used truck, ask for the seller’s stamped Schedule 1 to confirm the tax for the current period is paid.
Most problems come from an expired plate, a cab card that doesn’t match the truck, or a base-state claim that doesn’t hold up.
An honest caveat: the IRP Agreement sets the shared rules, but each base jurisdiction runs its own forms, documents, fees and deadlines. The Florida and Texas details on this page are examples; your base state’s IRP office has the final word.
We handle truck and trailer registrations, both local plates and apportioned IRP tags, tag renewals, and title transfers for vehicles and trailers. On IRP accounts, we open new apportioned accounts, file renewals, report mileage by jurisdiction, and add trucks or transfer plates.
Tags are one part of the permit book. Our trucking permits team gets IRP trip permits and temporary fuel permits, we file IFTA licenses and UCR registration, and new carriers can bundle IRP apportioned plates into an authority package.
We have offices in Miami, Rancho Cucamonga, Houston and Richardson, and our Florida and Texas pages cover each state’s other carrier rules. Use the form below with your USDOT number, mention tags or IRP in the comments, and we’ll tell you what your trucks need.
Title the truck in your business name, pay the heavy vehicle use tax if its taxable gross weight is 55,000 pounds or more, and have insurance and an active USDOT number. Then apply to your base state: for apportioned IRP plates if the truck will run in two or more states, or for a regular state plate if it will run in one. Until the plates arrive, a temporary registration from your base state or a trip permit keeps it legal.
The International Registration Plan is a registration reciprocity agreement among the 48 contiguous states, the District of Columbia and 10 Canadian provinces. Your base jurisdiction issues one apportioned plate and cab card, collects registration fees based on the share of miles you run in each member, and passes them on. It covers registration only, not IFTA fuel tax or oversize permits.
Truckers say “tag” for the license plate and the registration behind it. On an interstate semi, that is a plate marked “Apportioned”, “APP” or “PRP” with the base state’s name, plus a cab card carried in the truck. A semi-trailer has its own state trailer plate.
No. IRP registers power units. A trailer or semi-trailer properly registered in any member jurisdiction is recognized in all of them, and Florida, for example, issues no apportioned trailer plates. The trailer still counts toward the combined weight your truck is registered for.
There is no flat price. Each member sets its own registration fees, and your base jurisdiction charges your share based on the percentage of miles your fleet ran in each one, usually at the weight you register. The base state may add a fee for the plate and cab card, and new fleets are billed on average per-vehicle distance.
We have four offices: Miami, Florida; Rancho Cucamonga, California; Houston, Texas; and Richardson, Texas, near Dallas. You can also reach our tag services team through the form on this page.
The rules and figures on this page come from these official sources, checked on October 5, 2026.