• Owner-operator vehicles that qualify for International Registration Plan (IRP) registration, and which are long-term leased to a motor carrier, have the option of being registered either under the lessor or the lessee’s name.
• For trip leases, it is the responsibility of the lessor to make sure that their vehicle is properly registered to operate in any International Registration Plan (IRP) jurisdiction required by a trip lease.
• Special requirements apply to registration of rental vehicles.

Drivers and motor carriers must ensure their vehicles are ready for action, and that includes making sure all the proper documentation is in place. When it comes to vehicle registration, it’s important to understand the options and requirements for leased or rented vehicles.

Owner-operator vehicles

Owner-operator vehicles that qualify for International Registration Plan (IRP) registration, and which are long-term leased to a motor carrier, have the option of being registered either under the lessor or the lessee’s name. First, as the lessor, the vehicle can be registered under the owner-operator’s name who will be responsible for all apportioned fees due. The owner-operator (lessor) would receive the license plate and registration cab card issued in the lessor’s name and would be responsible for maintaining all operational records of such vehicle.

The second option is to have the registration handled by the lessee, but with the registration reflecting both the lessor and lessee name. The lessee (carrier) would be responsible for maintaining the operational records of the vehicle and would be considered the owner of the plate and cab card, which in turn gives the lessee the right to transfer the plate or apply for a credit refund on it, should the lease agreement be cancelled.

Normally it is agreed between the lessee and the lessor that if the lease agreement is cancelled, the lessee will refund any credit received for unused fees to the lessor but only if the lessor had paid any portion of the original registration fees.

Trip leased vehicles

Should an owner-operator’s apportioned vehicle be trip leased on to another apportioned fleet, or even a non-apportioned fleet, it is the responsibility of the lessor to make sure that their vehicle is properly registered to operate in any International Registration Plan (IRP) jurisdiction required by the trip lease. If the vehicle is not registered for the appropriate IRP jurisdictions, with such jurisdictions listed on the cab card and all registration fees paid, trip permits will be required. Also, it should be noted that it is the responsibility of the lessor to report distance traveled by the leased equipment on the IRP application, even though it is the lessee who uses and operates the equipment under the trip lease agreement.

Registration of rental vehicles

In most cases, all vehicles that are leased out under a long-term lease by the owner of a “rental fleet,” are registered or apportioned in the name of the carrier or lessee. However, under the International Registration Plan (IRP) agreement, vehicles that are part of a rental fleet may be apportioned in the name of the rental company as part of the rental fleet regardless of whether the vehicles may be under long term lease to an apportioned carrier. If the vehicle is registered in this way, the registration cab card should also list to whom the vehicle is leased. The lessor, if the lessor elects to be the registrant of a vehicle leased for greater than 60 days, is allowed to select a base jurisdiction of registration (effective July 1, 2016).

A “rental owner” is explained as an owner of one or more rental fleets whose primary business is renting their rental fleets to another person or company, either with or without the drivers.

Base jurisdiction of a rental vehicle means the jurisdiction from or in which the vehicle is most frequently dispatched, garaged, serviced, maintained, operated, or otherwise controlled.

“Renting and leasing” means the giving of possession and control of a vehicle for valuable consideration for a specified time period.

One-way rental vehicles

One-way vehicles are those which are rented in one place and usually left in another. Fleets of one-way rental vehicles (trucks of less than 26,000 pounds/11,793.401 kilograms gross vehicle weight) are apportioned in much the same way as other apportioned fleets (those over 26,000 pounds/11,793.401 kilograms). Records of total distance and all individual jurisdiction distance on one-way vehicle operations must be retained, as they are a determining factor in how and where the one-way rental vehicles are apportioned. Fees due on one-way rental vehicles are apportioned by the number of units to be licensed and registered in each jurisdiction.

For example, when the distance is totaled for a one-way rental fleet and apportioned out to each jurisdiction operated, if two percent of the total fleet distance was operated in Missouri, then two percent of the one-way vehicles in the fleet must be fully plated in Missouri. All trucks of an identifiable one-way fleet so registered are authorized to perform both interjurisdiction and intra-jurisdiction movements in any International Registration Plan (IRP) jurisdiction, even those vehicles licensed in a jurisdiction that is not an IRP jurisdiction.