Pennsylvania Truck Registration Fees by Weight Class

Pennsylvania truck registration fees by weight class range from $82 a year for trucks of 5,000 pounds or less to $2,935 a year for trucks in the 79,001–80,000 pound class, with 23 steps in between.¹ The registration fee itself is only part of the bill: expect a $72 title fee, 6% sales tax on the purchase price, and a $5 annual county use fee on top. Farm trucks pay far less, interstate operators register through a separate apportioned program, and any truck at 55,000 pounds or more owes a federal Heavy Vehicle Use Tax before PennDOT will process it.

The Full Fee Schedule

PennDOT divides trucks and truck tractors into 25 weight classes. The annual fees below come from the MV-70S schedule dated January 2026.¹

Class 1, 5,000 lbs or less: $82
Class 2, 5,001–7,000 lbs: $111
Class 3, 7,001–9,000 lbs: $214
Class 4A, 9,001–10,000 lbs: $278
Class 4B, 10,001–11,000 lbs: $278
Class 5, 11,001–14,000 lbs: $423
Class 6, 14,001–17,000 lbs: $501
Class 7, 17,001–21,000 lbs: $618
Class 8, 21,001–26,000 lbs: $705
Class 9, 26,001–30,000 lbs: $822
Class 10, 30,001–33,000 lbs: $988
Class 11, 33,001–36,000 lbs: $1,081
Class 12, 36,001–40,000 lbs: $1,144
Class 13, 40,001–44,000 lbs: $1,215
Class 14, 44,001–48,000 lbs: $1,308
Class 15, 48,001–52,000 lbs: $1,440
Class 16, 52,001–56,000 lbs: $1,535
Class 17, 56,001–60,000 lbs: $1,739
Class 18, 60,001–64,000 lbs: $1,944
Class 19, 64,001–68,000 lbs: $2,028
Class 20, 68,001–73,280 lbs: $2,178
Class 21, 73,281–76,000 lbs: $2,780
Class 22, 76,001–78,000 lbs: $2,841
Class 23, 78,001–78,500 lbs: $2,872
Class 24, 78,501–79,000 lbs: $2,904
Class 25, 79,001–80,000 lbs: $2,935

Picking the Right Weight Class

Registered gross weight is the truck’s empty weight plus its maximum carrying capacity, and it decides which class you fall into. Get it wrong in either direction and it costs you. Register below the truck’s actual working weight and a checkpoint weigh-in will trigger fines plus the difference in fees. Register above what you actually haul and you overpay every year for capacity you don’t use.

Two-Year Registration

Most trucks can register for two years instead of one. The two-year fee is simply double the annual fee, so there’s no discount built in, only the convenience of skipping a renewal cycle.² A Class 7 truck at $618 a year, for instance, costs $1,236 for two.¹ Trucks running on apportioned (IRP) registration and those with seasonal or circus/carnival plates are excluded from the two-year option.

Farm Truck Rates

Trucks that qualify as farm vehicles pay dramatically less. Every farm truck up to 11,000 pounds pays a flat $143 a year. The gap widens as weight climbs: a farm truck in the 17,001–21,000 pound range pays $206 against $618 for a standard registration at the same weight, and one in the 73,281–76,000 pound class pays $926.67 against $2,780.¹

Farm vehicles with limited road use can skip full registration entirely and buy a certificate of exemption instead. The exemption costs $24 to $100 for two years, depending on weight and certificate type. If a farm vehicle does carry standard registration, the statutory minimum is $110 a year or one-third of the regular truck fee, whichever is greater.³

What Else You Pay at Registration

Several flat charges attach when you first put a truck on the road:⁴

Title fee: $72 for an original title or a transfer.
Standard plate: included in the registration fee at first issuance.
Personalized plate: $103 for a custom plate number.
Plate transfer: $11 to move an existing plate to a different vehicle.¹

Sales tax runs 6% of the purchase price statewide, with Allegheny County adding 1% (7% total) and Philadelphia adding 2% (8% total). Each county can also charge a $5 annual use fee per registered vehicle, collected by PennDOT at initial registration and at every renewal. Choose two-year registration and the county fee doubles to $10. It isn’t charged when you transfer a registration from one vehicle to another.⁵

Interstate Trucks Register Differently

A Pennsylvania truck that crosses state lines for business may not use standard PennDOT registration at all. Apportioned registration under the International Registration Plan is required for any truck traveling in two or more IRP jurisdictions if it meets any of the following:⁶

It carries passengers for compensation across state lines.
It’s a power unit hauling property with a gross or registered weight above 26,000 pounds.
It’s a power unit with three or more axles, regardless of weight.
It’s a combination of vehicles exceeding 26,000 pounds gross vehicle weight.

Two-axle trucks at or below 26,000 pounds can opt into IRP voluntarily. IRP fees are apportioned by the percentage of miles run in each state, so the total depends on the fleet’s travel patterns rather than on Pennsylvania’s fee schedule alone. The apportioned year also runs June 1 through May 31, which is a different cycle from standard registration.⁶

Federal Heavy Vehicle Use Tax

Trucks with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more owe an annual federal Heavy Vehicle Use Tax. It’s filed with the IRS on Form 2290, and proof of payment must be in hand before PennDOT will register or renew the vehicle. The tax starts at $100 for a truck at exactly 55,000 pounds and rises by $22 for each additional 1,000 pounds, up to a $550 ceiling for trucks over 75,000 pounds. Logging vehicles pay 75% of the standard rate.⁷ The HVUT year runs July 1 through June 30, and a truck first placed in service later in that period owes a prorated amount for the months remaining.

What Expired or Under-Registered Weight Costs

Driving on an expired Pennsylvania registration is a summary offense. The fine is $75 or double the registration fee, whichever is greater, though it drops to $25 if the registration expired within the previous 60 days.⁸ There is no grace period; the day after expiration counts as a violation.

Running heavier than your registered weight is worse. The base fine is $75, plus another $75 for every 500 pounds (or fraction thereof) over the first 3,000 pounds above the registered figure. If the truck also exceeds Pennsylvania’s maximum allowable weight limits, that fine doubles.⁹ A truck registered at 26,000 pounds and weighed at 32,000 pounds is 6,000 pounds over, meaning $75 plus $450 for the six 500-pound increments beyond the 3,000-pound buffer. Registering at the right weight class from the start almost always costs less than fixing it at the roadside.

1
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT). Bureau of Motor Vehicles Schedule of Fees (MV-70S)
2
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Renew Registration
3
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 75 Chapter 19 – 1924 Farm Vehicles
4
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Payments and Fees
5
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Pay a County Use Fee
6
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Apportioned Registration Program
7
Internal Revenue Service. Form 2290 Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax Return
8
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 75 – 1301 Registration Required
9
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 75 Chapter 49 – 4945 Penalties for Exceeding Maximum Weights