By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Jul 25, 2026
Illinois IRP administration
- Process
- Illinois apportions truck and bus fleet registration under the International Registration Plan, issuing one registration plate and one cab card per vehicle. The Secretary of State's rule states the purpose plainly: the apportioned fee is determined by the fleet's percentage of miles generated in the various jurisdictions.
- Fee structure
- The owner determines the proportion of in-state miles to total fleet miles; that percentage is the apportionment factor. The owner computes the Illinois license fee that each vehicle in the fleet would otherwise owe, multiplies it by the Illinois apportionment factor, and adds the per-vehicle results to reach the fleet total. Apportionable trailers and semitrailers are registered under 625 ILCS 5/3-813 instead.
- Fees: mid year additions
- Vehicles added to a fleet during the registration year are apportioned on the same factor, applied to the fees payable for the remainder of the year.
- Fees: new fleets
- For apportionable vehicles that did not operate in Illinois during the preceding year, the Secretary of State sets the apportionment factor from a full statement of proposed operations and an estimated mileage chart the Secretary maintains.
- Fees: illinois fee basis: summary
- Flat weight tax for vehicles of the second division: the Illinois per-vehicle amount the apportionment factor is applied to. Rates are per registration year and include the $10 registration fee.
- Fees: illinois fee basis: special hauling vehicle
- A Special Hauling Vehicle (a second-division vehicle or combination carrying asphalt or concrete in the plastic state, or one subject to the gross weight limits in 625 ILCS 5/15-111(a)) pays an additional charge per registration year at the owner's election. 625 ILCS 5/3-815(a-1) sets it at $125; the Secretary of State prices the permit at $125 when bought during renewal or on the IRP web supplement, and $128 when bought after renewal, and the permit transfers at no fee. The office no longer issues an SHV sticker or decal; proof of purchase appears on the apportioned cab card.
- Fees: illinois fee basis: note
- This is the Illinois input to the apportionment, not what an apportioned carrier pays. The invoice is this figure times the Illinois mileage percentage, plus each other jurisdiction's apportioned share. Vehicles registered under the mileage weight tax option (625 ILCS 5/3-818) are outside this schedule and those plates may not leave Illinois.
- Cab card
- Illinois issues one base license plate bearing APPORTIONED and one apportioned cab card per vehicle. The cab card shows the weights for each IRP jurisdiction the vehicle is apportioned in, the company or individual name and address, the vehicle description, and the Illinois license number.
- Cab card: display
- License plates go on the front of the power unit and on the back of the semitrailer, full trailer, and bus. The cab card must be carried on or in the vehicle it was issued for, and it must be the original card; Illinois law enforcement does not accept copies.
- Process: who must apportion
- Apportionment is required for commercial vehicles having a combined gross weight exceeding 26,000 pounds, counting the weight of the vehicle plus the maximum load, or having three or more axles regardless of weight, provided they operate in a jurisdiction that is an IRP member.
- Process: application window
- Applications for filing are available after October 1 of the current year and must be on file with the Secretary of State prior to December 1 of that year.
- Process: mileage year
- Mileage generated by the apportioned fleet during the preceding year, July 1 to June 30, goes on the application. Interstate and intrastate miles of each apportioned vehicle are included and reported on a fleet basis. Miles must be reported for every jurisdiction traveled, even ones the carrier does not apportion in.
- Process: estimated mileage
- Estimated mileage in IRP member jurisdictions is not accepted for new or expanded operations in the second registration year or later unless the carrier pays more than 100 percent registration of a fleet. Second-year estimates listed on a Schedule B are deleted and the percentages recomputed.
- Process: multiple fleets
- A company may file separate fleets if it designates them Fleet No. 1 and Fleet No. 2. If a carrier runs more than one fleet and one is based in an IRP member jurisdiction, that fleet must be apportioned in Illinois; a fleet based in a non-IRP jurisdiction that operates in Illinois must prorate with Illinois.
- Process: owner operators
- Owner-operators on a long-term lease may be registered in the owner-operator's name or in the lessee's name. Household goods carriers leasing equipment from a service representative may base the equipment in the service representative's base jurisdiction or in their own.
- Process: vehicle types
- Illinois issues apportionment plates to trucks, truck-tractors, full trailers, and buses.
- Process: records
- Every applicant must maintain Individual Vehicle Mileage Records as a condition precedent to filing an IRP application.
- Process: dormancy rule
- If an apportioned vehicle does not operate in two or more IRP member jurisdictions for two or more consecutive registration years, a presumption arises that it was never intended for use in two or more member jurisdictions and is therefore not an apportionable vehicle. That vehicle is then subject to 100 percent Illinois registration fees.
Fees: illinois fee basis: schedule
| Gross weight lb | Class | Fee USD |
|---|---|---|
| 8,000 and less | B | 148 |
| 8,001 to 10,000 | C | 218 |
| 10,001 to 12,000 | D | 238 |
| 12,001 to 16,000 | F | 342 |
| 16,001 to 26,000 | H | 590 |
| 26,001 to 28,000 | J | 730 |
| 28,001 to 32,000 | K | 942 |
| 32,001 to 36,000 | L | 1,082 |
| 36,001 to 40,000 | N | 1,302 |
| 40,001 to 45,000 | P | 1,490 |
| 45,001 to 50,000 | Q | 1,638 |
| 50,001 to 54,999 | R | 1,798 |
| 55,000 to 59,500 | S | 1,930 |
| 59,501 to 64,000 | T | 2,070 |
| 64,001 to 73,280 | V | 2,394 |
| 73,281 to 77,000 | X | 2,722 |
| 77,001 to 80,000 | Z | 2,890 |
More Illinois IRP rules
- Temporary authorization permit: summary
- Once an original application is on file and the fees are paid, a carrier that needs to run a vehicle before the apportionment credentials arrive may use an Illinois Temporary Authorization Permit, obtained by writing the Commercial & Farm Truck Division in the Secretary of State's Office. The permit is valid 45 days from the date the company issues it, is tied to the account number it was assigned to, cannot be used to renew a registration, and cannot be issued more than once per vehicle.
- Temporary authorization permit: filing
- One copy rides in the vehicle, one stays with the company for audit, and one goes to the Secretary of State with the supplemental application and the appropriate fees within five working days of issuance.
- Temporary authorization permit: year end
- All unused permits for a calendar year must be returned to the Commercial & Farm Truck Division by January 15 of the next year; the same number of next-year permits is then issued free of charge to the same account. A company that cannot account for all of its permits is assessed full-year fees in all jurisdictions at its highest weight or fee category and loses the privilege of using the permits.
- Intrastate authority link: note
- Apportioned registration does not carry operating authority. The Secretary of State's own rule says carriers who apportion their vehicles may operate in interstate or intrastate commerce provided they have the proper authority from the Commerce Commission if required, which for intrastate for-hire property hauling means the Public Carrier Certificate in the state intrastate authority page.
- Base jurisdiction rules: summary
- Illinois requires documentary proof of an established place of business in the state before it will serve as the IRP base jurisdiction.
- Base jurisdiction rules: proof requirement
- Four documents must be submitted, one of which must be a current phone bill. Bills may not be more than 60 days old.
- Base jurisdiction rules: accepted documents
- A current phone bill (mandatory; not more than 60 days old); Illinois driver's license; Rental or lease contract for the location; Real estate tax bill; Utility bills; Insurance documents; Corporation papers
- Base jurisdiction rules: note
- This is the documentary test the Secretary of State applies at first issuance of apportioned plates. 92 Ill. Adm. Code 1010.720 itself does not restate the IRP established-place-of-business definition. The parallel IFTA-side base jurisdiction test, published by the Department of Revenue, is recorded in the state IFTA page.
- Renewal: registration year
- The apportioned registration year takes effect April 1 and credentials expire March 31.
- Renewal: invoice deadline
- Renewal invoices should be paid before the April 1 effective date to avoid enforcement issues. A payment mailed to the office must arrive no later than March 1 so credentials can be processed and returned before March 31.
- Renewal: transition relief
- Vehicles whose IRP temporary registrations or license plates expire March 31, 2026 remain valid through April 15, 2026. For expiring plates that relief applies only where the owner has completed the online renewal and can present the receipt with the 2026 registration credentials.
- Renewal: notice
- Fleets under 250 vehicles are sent an email reminder carrying the renewal PIN and the distance reporting period. Trailer fleets are no longer sent renewal notices because trailer registrations are permanent.
- Renewal: distance reporting
- All distance accrued during the reporting period shown in the renewal letter must be reported on the renewal application or through the online renewal service.
- Renewal: verify on renewal
- The registrant should check the Fuel Tax Number, Interstate Commerce Commission Number, Illinois Commerce Commission Number, Corporation Number and Driver's License Number, which must be the registrant's own rather than those of a party leasing the vehicles. A valid USDOT verification number is needed for each vehicle.
- Renewal: limits
- Address and vehicle information changes cannot be made through the online renewal service; corrections to distance entry or weight group activation are made by contacting the Commercial and Farm Truck Division. The online renewal may be stopped and restarted until the invoice is paid, after which no further activity is allowed.
- Renewal: non renewal
- A registrant that does not renew must account for its plates, either by returning them or by filing the Request for Cancellation of Illinois Apportioned (IRP) Plates by April 15 following expiration.
- Renewal: supplements
- Supplemental applications are processed after the original application or renewal, for additions, transfers, replacement plates, reclassing weights, duplicate and corrected cab cards, and Special Hauling Vehicle permit purchases.
- Office details: address
- Commercial and Farm Truck Division, 501 S. Second St., Room 300, Springfield, IL 62756
- Office details: note
- Apportioned plates are sold only at the Commercial and Farm Truck Division in Springfield; mileage tax plates are likewise issued only there, with renewal also available at the Joliet and Carbondale facilities. The 217-785-1800 number is the one the Secretary of State gives for tow truck and household goods carrier questions and for distance or weight-group corrections during renewal. The Secretary of State's general numbers are 800-252-8980 in Illinois and 217-785-3000 from outside.
Base jurisdiction, renewal, and audit in detail
The rules that decide whether Illinois can be your base jurisdiction, what qualifies, and what happens at renewal and audit. Each one is sourced.
- Base jurisdiction rules: Summary
- Illinois requires documentary proof of an established place of business in the state before it will serve as the IRP base jurisdiction.
- Base jurisdiction rules: Proof requirement
- Four documents must be submitted, one of which must be a current phone bill. Bills may not be more than 60 days old.
- Base jurisdiction rules: Accepted documents
- A current phone bill (mandatory; not more than 60 days old); Illinois driver's license; Rental or lease contract for the location; Real estate tax bill; Utility bills; Insurance documents; Corporation papers
- Base jurisdiction rules: Note
- This is the documentary test the Secretary of State applies at first issuance of apportioned plates. 92 Ill. Adm. Code 1010.720 itself does not restate the IRP established-place-of-business definition. The parallel IFTA-side base jurisdiction test, published by the Department of Revenue, is recorded in the state IFTA page.
- Renewal: Registration year
- The apportioned registration year takes effect April 1 and credentials expire March 31.
- Renewal: Invoice deadline
- Renewal invoices should be paid before the April 1 effective date to avoid enforcement issues. A payment mailed to the office must arrive no later than March 1 so credentials can be processed and returned before March 31.
- Renewal: Transition relief
- Vehicles whose IRP temporary registrations or license plates expire March 31, 2026 remain valid through April 15, 2026. For expiring plates that relief applies only where the owner has completed the online renewal and can present the receipt with the 2026 registration credentials.
- Renewal: Notice
- Fleets under 250 vehicles are sent an email reminder carrying the renewal PIN and the distance reporting period. Trailer fleets are no longer sent renewal notices because trailer registrations are permanent.
- Renewal: Distance reporting
- All distance accrued during the reporting period shown in the renewal letter must be reported on the renewal application or through the online renewal service.
- Renewal: Verify on renewal
- The registrant should check the Fuel Tax Number, Interstate Commerce Commission Number, Illinois Commerce Commission Number, Corporation Number and Driver's License Number, which must be the registrant's own rather than those of a party leasing the vehicles. A valid USDOT verification number is needed for each vehicle.
- Renewal: Limits
- Address and vehicle information changes cannot be made through the online renewal service; corrections to distance entry or weight group activation are made by contacting the Commercial and Farm Truck Division. The online renewal may be stopped and restarted until the invoice is paid, after which no further activity is allowed.
What the Illinois share of the fee is built from
An IRP bill is the base jurisdiction's own registration fee for the vehicle, apportioned by mileage, plus the same for every other jurisdiction on the cab card. These are the Illinois inputs to that calculation, each with its official source.
- Method
- The owner determines the proportion of in-state miles to total fleet miles; that percentage is the apportionment factor. The owner computes the Illinois license fee that each vehicle in the fleet would otherwise owe, multiplies it by the Illinois apportionment factor, and adds the per-vehicle results to reach the fleet total. Apportionable trailers and semitrailers are registered under 625 ILCS 5/3-813 instead.
- Mid year additions
- Vehicles added to a fleet during the registration year are apportioned on the same factor, applied to the fees payable for the remainder of the year.
- New fleets
- For apportionable vehicles that did not operate in Illinois during the preceding year, the Secretary of State sets the apportionment factor from a full statement of proposed operations and an estimated mileage chart the Secretary maintains.
- Illinois fee basis: Summary
- Flat weight tax for vehicles of the second division: the Illinois per-vehicle amount the apportionment factor is applied to. Rates are per registration year and include the $10 registration fee.
- Illinois fee basis: Special hauling vehicle
- A Special Hauling Vehicle (a second-division vehicle or combination carrying asphalt or concrete in the plastic state, or one subject to the gross weight limits in 625 ILCS 5/15-111(a)) pays an additional charge per registration year at the owner's election. 625 ILCS 5/3-815(a-1) sets it at $125; the Secretary of State prices the permit at $125 when bought during renewal or on the IRP web supplement, and $128 when bought after renewal, and the permit transfers at no fee. The office no longer issues an SHV sticker or decal; proof of purchase appears on the apportioned cab card.
- Illinois fee basis: Note
- This is the Illinois input to the apportionment, not what an apportioned carrier pays. The invoice is this figure times the Illinois mileage percentage, plus each other jurisdiction's apportioned share. Vehicles registered under the mileage weight tax option (625 ILCS 5/3-818) are outside this schedule and those plates may not leave Illinois.
- Amount
- There is deliberately no single Illinois IRP fee: the apportioned amount is the Illinois fee each vehicle would otherwise owe, multiplied by the Illinois mileage percentage and summed, plus every other jurisdiction's own schedule. The Illinois side of that calculation is the statutory flat weight tax recorded in illinois_fee_basis below, read from 625 ILCS 5/3-815. The Secretary of State's ilsos.gov fee pages remained unreachable (the host refuses connections from automated clients), so the schedule comes from the statute that sets it rather than from a fee page.
Who must apportion and when to file
Apportionment is required for commercial vehicles over the published combined gross weight line, counting the vehicle plus its maximum load, or having three or more axles whatever they weigh, when they operate in another plan jurisdiction. Illinois issues apportioned plates to trucks, truck-tractors, full trailers, and buses.
The filing window is fixed rather than rolling. Applications become available after the start of October and must be on file with the Secretary of State before the start of December. Mileage goes on the application for the preceding year running July through June, covering interstate and intrastate miles on a fleet basis, and you report miles for every jurisdiction you traveled in, including ones you do not apportion in.
Estimated mileage is not accepted for new or expanded operations from the second registration year onward unless you pay more than full registration for a fleet. Second-year estimates listed on a schedule are deleted and the percentages recomputed.
How the Illinois apportioned fee is computed
There is no single Illinois apportioned fee, which is why this page shows a method rather than a price. You work out the proportion of in-state miles to total fleet miles, and that percentage is your apportionment factor. You then compute the Illinois license fee each vehicle in the fleet would otherwise owe, multiply by the factor, and add the per-vehicle results to reach a fleet total. Apportionable trailers and semitrailers register under a different statute section instead.
Vehicles added mid-year use the same factor applied to the fees owed for the rest of the year. For vehicles that did not run in Illinois during the preceding year, the Secretary of State sets the factor from a full statement of proposed operations and an estimated mileage chart the office maintains.
One honest gap. The Secretary of State's own fee pages could not be reached during our research pass, so no per-weight-class figure is recorded here rather than guessed at. The method above is read from the office's own administrative rule.
Plates, cab cards, and the original-only rule
Illinois issues one base plate marked apportioned and one apportioned cab card per vehicle. The cab card shows the weights for each jurisdiction the vehicle is apportioned in, the company or individual name and address, the vehicle description, and the Illinois license number.
Plates go on the front of the power unit and the back of the semitrailer, full trailer, and bus. The rule about the cab card is worth reading twice: it must be carried on or in the vehicle it was issued for, and it must be the original. Illinois law enforcement does not accept copies, which turns a photocopied cab card into a compliance failure rather than a technicality.
Running before the credentials arrive
Once the original application is on file and the fees are paid, a carrier that needs to move a truck before the apportioned credentials arrive can use an Illinois temporary authorization permit, obtained by writing the Commercial and Farm Truck Division. The permit runs forty-five days from the date the company issues it, is tied to the account it was assigned to, cannot renew a registration, and cannot be issued twice for the same vehicle.
The paperwork discipline matters. One copy rides in the truck, one stays with the company for audit, and one goes to the Secretary of State with the supplemental application and fees within five working days of issuance. All unused permits for a calendar year go back to the division by the middle of January, and the same number of next-year permits is then issued free. A company that cannot account for all of its permits is assessed full-year fees in every jurisdiction at its highest weight or fee category and loses the privilege of using them.
Dormancy, records, and what plates do not buy you
Apportioned registration is not operating authority. The Secretary of State's own rule says carriers who apportion may run interstate or intrastate provided they hold the proper Commerce Commission authority where it is required, which for intrastate for-hire property hauling means the Public Carrier Certificate.
Two Illinois rules can cost you the apportionment itself. Every applicant must keep individual vehicle mileage records as a condition of filing. And if an apportioned vehicle does not operate in two or more plan jurisdictions for two or more consecutive registration years, Illinois presumes it was never intended for multi-jurisdiction use, treats it as not apportionable, and charges full Illinois registration fees.
What pairs with IRP
The same interstate operation that needs apportioned plates almost always needs an IFTA license through Illinois, and heavy power units owe the federal Form 2290 heavy vehicle use tax before plates renew. To compare how other states run IRP, see the national IRP registration table.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I register for IRP in Illinois?
- With the Secretary of State's Commercial and Farm Truck Division. Applications become available after the start of October and must be on file before the start of December, so the window is narrower than in states that renew on a rolling anniversary.
How are Illinois apportioned fees calculated?
- By mileage share. You divide in-state miles by total fleet miles to get your apportionment factor, compute what each vehicle would otherwise owe Illinois, multiply by the factor, and total the fleet. There is no flat Illinois apportioned fee, which is why this page shows the method rather than a price.
Can I photocopy my Illinois cab card for a second truck?
- No. Illinois requires the original apportioned cab card to be carried on or in the vehicle it was issued for, and law enforcement does not accept copies. Each vehicle gets its own plate and its own card.
What happens if my apportioned truck stops running interstate?
- You can lose the apportionment. If the vehicle does not operate in two or more plan jurisdictions for two or more consecutive registration years, Illinois presumes it was never an apportionable vehicle and charges full Illinois registration fees instead.
Do apportioned plates let me haul freight inside Illinois?
- Only if you also hold the right Commerce Commission authority. The Secretary of State's rule is explicit that apportioned carriers may run interstate or intrastate provided they have the proper Commission authority where it is required, and for-hire property hauling inside Illinois requires the Public Carrier Certificate.
Haul Handbook publishes educational information about trucking registration and compliance requirements. This is not legal, financial, or tax advice. Rules, fees, and deadlines change; confirm with the agency before you file or pay.