By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Sep 27, 2026
Arkansas is an IFTA member jurisdiction. The Motor Fuel Tax Section of the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) Revenue Division licenses Arkansas-based carriers and issues decals on Form AMFT-71 with no fee, and quarterly returns are filed and paid online through the Arkansas Motor Carrier System (AMCS). An Arkansas IFTA application must show an Arkansas IRP account (or farm or natural resource tags) with a copy of a current cab card. Returns are due the last day of the month after each quarter, with a late penalty of $50 or 10 percent of the tax due, whichever is greater.
Arkansas IFTA administration
- Agency
- Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, Revenue Division, Motor Fuel Tax Section, P.O. Box 1752, Little Rock, AR 72203-1752; phone (501) 682-4800, fax (501) 682-5599
- License fee
- $0 (Form AMFT-71 prints NO FEE beside the number of vehicles requiring IFTA decals, and neither the application, its instructions, nor the Motor Fuel Tax page states any license charge.)
- Decal fee
- $0 (Form AMFT-71 marks the decal request line NO FEE; decals are requested on the original, renewal, or supplement application.)
- Application: methods
- Submit to the Motor Fuel Tax Section, P.O. Box 1752, Little Rock, AR 72203 (the current form has a Submit by Email button). Original and renewal requests need an original signature; any request for original, renewal, or supplemental decals may be faxed to (501) 682-5599.
- Application: requirements
- FEIN (or SSN for a sole proprietor without one), Arkansas IRP account number and expiration with a copy of one current IRP cab card (or a farm or natural resource vehicle registration), USDOT number (or Leased if operating under another carrier's authority), legal and DBA names, an Arkansas phone number and Arkansas physical address, contact person and email, business type with partners or officers and their home addresses, jurisdictions with bulk fuel storage, and the number of vehicles needing decals. A power of attorney is required if anyone other than the owner, a partner, or an authorized corporate representative will file. Incomplete applications are returned. Arkansas IFTA account numbers begin with 5, 6, or 7.
- Filing frequency
- Quarterly. Each IFTA licensee files a return for each fuel type, due on the last day of the month following the end of each quarter (April 30, July 31, October 31, January 31); a paper return must be postmarked by the due date, and a due date on a weekend or holiday moves to the next business day.
- Base jurisdiction: summary
- Arkansas licenses carriers based in Arkansas: the application requires an Arkansas physical address and phone number and an Arkansas IRP account (or Arkansas farm or natural resource tags) evidenced by a current cab card or registration.
- Late-filing penalty
- A return not filed by the due date owes a late filing penalty of $50 or 10 percent of the tax due, whichever is greater, on both tax-due and credit returns, and interest on tax due to each jurisdiction at the rate for the delinquent period (DFA publishes an IFTA interest rate schedule). Unsigned returns are sent back and treated as late.
More Arkansas IFTA rules
- Filing portal: detail
- The online IFTA quarterly reporting form lets a carrier file and pay by credit card or e-check using total miles, taxable miles, and fuel purchases by jurisdiction. AMCS Help Desk: (877) 425-9931; Motor Fuel Tax: (501) 682-4800. A paper return remains available.
- Credentials: summary
- Decals are issued annually and the license is valid for the calendar year ending December 31. Each qualified vehicle carries two decals, one on the exterior of each side of the cab, and a copy of the license in the vehicle. Renewed credentials may be displayed up to two months before their effective date.
Licensing rules, records, and penalties
Which vehicles the licence covers, how long it runs, what Arkansas can ask you to post or produce, and what a late or wrong return costs. Each one is sourced.
- Application: Methods
- Submit to the Motor Fuel Tax Section, P.O. Box 1752, Little Rock, AR 72203 (the current form has a Submit by Email button). Original and renewal requests need an original signature; any request for original, renewal, or supplemental decals may be faxed to (501) 682-5599.
- Application: Requirements
- FEIN (or SSN for a sole proprietor without one), Arkansas IRP account number and expiration with a copy of one current IRP cab card (or a farm or natural resource vehicle registration), USDOT number (or Leased if operating under another carrier's authority), legal and DBA names, an Arkansas phone number and Arkansas physical address, contact person and email, business type with partners or officers and their home addresses, jurisdictions with bulk fuel storage, and the number of vehicles needing decals. A power of attorney is required if anyone other than the owner, a partner, or an authorized corporate representative will file. Incomplete applications are returned. Arkansas IFTA account numbers begin with 5, 6, or 7.
- Credentials: Summary
- Decals are issued annually and the license is valid for the calendar year ending December 31. Each qualified vehicle carries two decals, one on the exterior of each side of the cab, and a copy of the license in the vehicle. Renewed credentials may be displayed up to two months before their effective date.
- Renewal
- Renewal is requested each registration year on Form AMFT-71 marked Renewal, with an original signature and a copy of a current IRP cab card; extra decals during the year are requested as a Supplement.
Who licenses for IFTA in Arkansas
Arkansas licenses carriers based in Arkansas. The application asks for an Arkansas physical address and phone number and an Arkansas IRP account, or farm or natural resource tags, backed by a copy of a current cab card or registration. Get apportioned plates from the DFA IRP Unit first, then apply for IFTA.
How to apply
File Form AMFT-71 marked original, with an original signature, to the Motor Fuel Tax Section. The form asks for your FEIN, IRP account number and expiration, USDOT Number or the word Leased, legal and trade names, officers or partners, bulk fuel storage locations, and the number of decals. A power of attorney is needed if someone other than the owner or an authorized officer will file. Incomplete applications come back unprocessed.
The form marks the license and decals no fee.
Quarterly returns in AMCS
File one return per fuel type each quarter, due the last day of the month after the quarter ends. The Arkansas Motor Carrier System takes total miles, taxable miles, and fuel purchases by jurisdiction, and you pay by card or e-check. A paper return stays available and must be postmarked by the due date.
A late return owes a penalty of a flat amount or a percentage of the tax due, whichever is greater, plus interest, and that applies to credit returns too. Unsigned returns come back and count as late.
Decals, renewal, and records
Each qualified vehicle carries two decals, one on each side of the cab, plus a copy of the license. The license runs for the calendar year, and you renew each year on Form AMFT-71 marked renewal with a current cab card. Order extra decals during the year as a supplement.
Keep the records behind each return for the period DFA sets, ready for an audit by any member jurisdiction.
The tax rates live in the quarterly matrix
IFTA rates change every quarter, so we keep them in one refreshed store instead of copying them onto every state page. The current quarter is 4Q 2026, effective Oct 1, 2026 through Dec 31, 2026, provisional until Dec 4, 2026. Use the IFTA rates by state table for the full matrix, or the IFTA calculator to run your miles and gallons against the current rates.
For the registration-to-return process in order, follow the Arkansas IFTA filing walkthrough.
What pairs with IFTA
IFTA and IRP travel together: the same interstate operation that needs a fuel tax license usually needs apportioned plates through Arkansas IRP. If you are still setting up, the full order of operations is in start a trucking company in Arkansas.