To get apportioned plates in Texas, you register your commercial fleet under the International Registration Plan through the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles’ TxFLEET online portal. You’ll need a Texas place of business, active federal credentials, proof of Heavy Vehicle Use Tax payment for qualifying units, liability insurance on file with FMCSA, vehicle title or lease documents, and mileage data by jurisdiction. Once TxDMV reviews your application and you pay the apportioned fees, the state issues a Cab Card for each vehicle and mails the plates.
Confirm Your Vehicle Qualifies
Apportioned plates are for interstate commercial vehicles. Under the IRP, a vehicle is “apportionable” when it operates or is intended to operate in two or more member jurisdictions and meets one of these thresholds:
- Two axles with a gross vehicle weight or registered gross weight over 26,000 pounds
- Three or more axles, regardless of weight
- Used in a combination with a combined gross weight over 26,000 pounds
The vehicle must also be used to transport property or carry passengers for hire. A two-axle pickup pulling a loaded trailer past the 26,000-pound combined weight qualifies just as a five-axle tractor-trailer does. Apportioned plates replace the standard Combination, Truck, or Motor Bus plates the vehicle would otherwise carry.1Cornell Law School. 43 Texas Admin Code 217.46 – Commercial Vehicle Registration
Some vehicles that would otherwise meet the size threshold are exempt and register through standard Texas channels instead: farm vehicles with gross weight, registered weight, and gross weight rating all under 48,000 pounds; government vehicles; cotton vehicles registered under Texas Transportation Code Section 504.505; and passenger vehicles operated by hotels, day-care centers, nursing homes, and similar operations whose primary purpose is not passenger transport.2Texas Department of Public Safety. To Farm Vehicle Compliance (CVE-13)
Set Up a Texas Place of Business
To use Texas as your base jurisdiction, you need an established place of business inside the state, and the IRP definition is stricter than most people expect. You need a physical building your company owns or leases for at least 12 months, with the street address listed on your application. The building must display clear company signage, post its hours, and be open and staffed at least 20 hours per week by a permanent employee, not an independent contractor. That employee must handle general management of your trucking operations, not just answer phones or file paperwork.3Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Texas Apportioned Registration Information Packet
Your fleet’s operational records, including mileage logs and maintenance documentation, must be kept at this location unless you’ve made separate arrangements with the state for records access. A P.O. box, virtual office, or mail-forwarding address does not qualify. This is the requirement that trips up new applicants most often, especially owner-operators running their business from home.
Gather Your Documents Before You Log In
Getting everything together upfront prevents the back-and-forth that stalls applications.
Federal Credentials
Every applicant needs a valid USDOT Number from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Make sure your MCS-150 (Motor Carrier Identification Report) has been updated within the last 24 months. FMCSA schedules this “biennial update” based on your USDOT number: an odd next-to-last digit files in odd-numbered years, even in even-numbered years. Stale information will cause FMCSA to flag your USDOT number and TxDMV will deny the application.4Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. When Am I Required to File a Biennial Update?
Business entities also need a Federal Employer Identification Number tied to the company.
Heavy Vehicle Use Tax (Form 2290)
Any vehicle in your fleet with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more requires payment of the federal Heavy Vehicle Use Tax. The IRS collects this through Form 2290, and the proof you’ll submit is the stamped Schedule 1 the IRS returns after processing. E-filers receive an electronic copy with an IRS watermark in place of a physical stamp.5Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2290 TxDMV will not register a taxable vehicle without it, so file the 2290 before starting the IRP application.
Vehicle and Title Information
For each power unit you’ll need the VIN, make, model year, fuel type, unladen weight, and the registered gross weight you want in each jurisdiction. Proof of ownership is required, typically a title or validated title application. If the vehicle is leased, include a copy of the lease showing the lease duration and which party is responsible for registration. Verify that the VIN on your title matches what you enter on the application character for character. Transposed digits are the most common cause of processing delays.
Mileage Data
The core of the application is your jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction mileage for the reporting period, which runs July 1 through June 30. Those percentages determine how your fees are split among the states. New operations without a full year of history submit estimated mileage based on projected routes; if you have no actual distance at all, the state calculates initial fees using average per-vehicle distance figures.3Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Texas Apportioned Registration Information Packet
Get Your Insurance Filed with FMCSA
TxDMV will not issue apportioned plates until your fleet carries the minimum liability insurance required by federal law and the filing sits active on your FMCSA record. For interstate carriers hauling non-hazardous general freight in vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more, the minimum is $750,000 in public liability coverage. Carriers transporting hazardous materials face higher thresholds: $1,000,000 for most hazardous substances and up to $5,000,000 for explosives, poison gas, or certain radioactive materials.6eCFR. 49 CFR 387.9 – Financial Responsibility, Minimum Levels Your insurance provider files proof of coverage, typically a Form BMC-91 or BMC-91X, directly with FMCSA.
Understand How Your Fees Are Calculated
Apportioned registration is not a single flat rate. Each member jurisdiction sets its own base fee schedule, usually tied to vehicle weight, and your share of each state’s fee is proportional to the percentage of your total fleet miles driven in that state. If your fleet logs 30% of its miles in Texas, 20% in Oklahoma, and 50% in Louisiana, you pay 30% of Texas’s full fee, 20% of Oklahoma’s, and 50% of Louisiana’s for each vehicle.
IRP fees cover registration only. They do not include motor fuel taxes (handled through IFTA), oversize or overweight permits, or operating authority fees. Your total depends on which states your routes cross and how many miles you run in each.3Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Texas Apportioned Registration Information Packet
File the Application Through TxFLEET
Texas processes all apportioned registration through the TxFLEET online portal, which replaced the older TxIRP system and handles applications, supplements, renewals, and record management in one place. You create an account, enter your carrier information, and upload your title or lease, stamped Schedule 1, and mileage data.
After you submit, TxDMV reviews the application for accuracy. Expect roughly five to ten business days, depending on volume. If anything is missing or inconsistent, you’ll get an email explaining what needs correcting. Once approved, the system generates an invoice showing apportioned fees broken out by jurisdiction, and you pay through the portal with an electronic check or credit card.
After payment clears, the state issues a Cab Card for each vehicle. The Cab Card is your proof of registration and lists every jurisdiction where the vehicle is authorized to operate; it must stay in the cab at all times. Physical apportioned plates are mailed to your address or can be picked up at a regional TxDMV service center.3Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Texas Apportioned Registration Information Packet Vehicles with apportioned plates are considered fully registered in every jurisdiction on the Cab Card and may operate both interstate and intrastate in those states.
If You Need to Run Before Plates Arrive
TxDMV offers temporary registration permits for motor carriers who need to move loads before permanent plates are issued. The options are 72-hour, 144-hour, one-trip (valid for 15 days on a single origin-to-destination route), and 30-day permits.7Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Temporary Vehicle Registration These keep you legal in the interim; they are not a substitute for completing the IRP application.
Add an IFTA License
If you’re registering for apportioned plates, you almost certainly need an International Fuel Tax Agreement license as well. IFTA works alongside IRP to handle fuel tax reporting for vehicles operating across state lines. When you apply for an IFTA license through the Texas Comptroller, one of the required items is your IRP cab card number. The two programs are separate but connected: you file IRP through TxDMV and IFTA through the Comptroller’s office, and each expects you to have the other.8Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA)
Start Your Trip Records on Day One
Apportioned registration comes with ongoing record-keeping obligations that new carriers often underestimate. You must maintain an Individual Vehicle Distance Record for every trip, showing:
- Date of travel, starting city and jurisdiction, and route or highways used
- Odometer readings at the start of the trip, at every jurisdiction boundary, and at trip’s end
- Miles traveled in each state or province on the trip
- Fuel purchases with date, location, cost per gallon, and gallons
- The driver’s signature on the record
These records are the evidence you produce if your account is selected for an IRP audit.9TxDMV.gov. Instructions – Individual Vehicle Distance Report The IRP requires carriers to retain all distance records for five and a half years from the date filed. During an audit, the examiner compares your reported jurisdiction mileage against these underlying trip records. If the numbers don’t reconcile, the auditor can reassess your fees, adding charges, penalties, and interest across every jurisdiction where you were underreported. Electronic logging or GPS-based mileage tracking pays for itself the first time an auditor asks for documentation.