International Registration Plan (IRP)

Scope

The International Registration Plan (IRP) is an agreement that provides for the apportioned registration of commercial motor vehicles, allowing a qualifying commercial vehicle to travel through several states with one license plate, provided the apportioned registration fees have been paid to the base jurisdiction.

The base jurisdiction collects the fees, sends each jurisdiction its share, and issues a single IRP cab card and apportioned vehicle registration plate that allows travel in all jurisdictions.

All vehicles properly registered under the IRP receive one “apportioned” license plate from their base jurisdiction, and a cab card. The cab card lists all the member IRP jurisdictions plus the registered weight the vehicle must comply with to operate in each jurisdiction.

Cab cards are vehicle-specific, and the original cab card must be carried in the vehicle for which it was issued. Cab cards may be carried in an electronic format.

Vehicles registered under the IRP are authorized to travel either interstate or intrastate in the jurisdictions listed on their cab card. No additional vehicle registration is required for intrastate travel.

Regulatory citations

• 392.2 — Applicable operating rules
• International Registration Plan

Key definitions

• Apportionable vehicle: Any power unit that is used or intended for use in two or more member jurisdictions and that is used for the transportation of persons for hire or designed, used, or maintained primarily for the transportation of property.
• Apportioned registration: A carrier registers in a single base state or province (base jurisdiction) and pays fees in proportion to the distance traveled in each jurisdiction.
• Established place of business: A physical structure owned, leased or rented by the fleet registrant.
• Full Reciprocity Plan: Grants all apportioned vehicles full reciprocity in all member jurisdictions.

Summary of requirements

Eligibility under the IRP

All apportionable vehicles meeting the following criteria are IRP-eligible vehicles:

1. Having two axles and a gross vehicle weight or registered gross vehicle weight in excess of 26,000 pounds (11,793.401 kilograms); or
2. Having three or more axles, regardless of weight, or
3. Is used in combination, when the gross vehicle weight of such combination exceeds 26,000 pounds (11,793.401 kilograms).

Starting January 1, 2016, chartered buses meeting the definition of an apportionable vehicle became subject to the IRP. Prior to IRP’s implementation of the Full Reciprocity Plan, charter buses had been exempt from IRP.

A recreational vehicle, a vehicle displaying restricted plates, or a government-owned vehicle, is not an apportionable vehicle; except that a truck or truck tractor, or the power unit in a combination of vehicles having a gross vehicle weight of 26,000 pounds, or less, may be registered under the Plan at the option of the registrant.

Non-IRP qualified vehicles

Carriers operating two-axle vehicles 26,000 pounds or less may apportion under the IRP if they wish, but are not required to do so. Vehicles that are not apportioned are subject to individual jurisdiction registration laws.

Jurisdictions vary in their requirements for such vehicles; in some cases, reciprocity may be granted. Other jurisdictions may require a temporary trip permit, or in some cases full registration.

Carriers should verify the requirements of the jurisdiction before entering the jurisdiction.

Determining your base jurisdiction

Under the IRP, “base jurisdiction” means the jurisdiction where the registrant has an established place of business, where mileage is accrued by the fleet, and where operational records of the fleet are maintained or can be made available.

The physical structure must be designated by a street number or road location, be open during normal business hours, and have located within it:

• A telephone or telephones publicly listed in the name of the fleet registrant,
• A person or persons conducting the fleet registrant’s business, and
• The operational records of the fleet (unless such records can be made available).

The trucking-related business within the base jurisdiction must constitute more than just credentialing, distance and fuel reporting, and/or answering a telephone. Employees in the permanent employment of the registrant, not contractual labor, must be performing the trucking-related duties. A jurisdiction may require whatever information the jurisdiction deems pertinent to show that the registrant has an established place of business within the jurisdiction and that all proper fees and taxes are paid.

Apportioned registration under the IRP applies only to the vehicle licensing; it does not satisfy operating authority, Unified Carrier Registration (UCR), fuel tax (IFTA), or any other taxes required by other federal or state agencies. IRP audits

In an audit, auditors determine if the carrier’s records are appropriate and sufficient. Appropriate refers to the quality of the records, meaning that they contain the right kinds of information. Sufficient refers to the quantity of the records, meaning that there are enough records to audit. If the auditor determines that the registrant’s records are appropriate and sufficient, the carrier is given an “adequate” rating. The adequate rating is simply a way to determine if the auditor has enough data to proceed with the audit. The auditor will then proceed with the audit to determine if the records are accurate.

If the records are found to be inadequate, then there will be an assessment and no audit will proceed. The fee assessments are as follows:

• First audit, 20%
• Second audit, 50%
• Third audit, 100%

Even if a registrant receives an adequate rating but it’s determined during the audit that the data is all wrong and full of errors, a registrant may still receive an assessment.