By Haul Handbook editorial team· Updated Oct 5, 2026
Delaware joined IFTA effective July 1, 1996, and the Division of Motor Vehicles runs the program through its Motor Carrier Services Section in Dover. A Delaware-based carrier gets one calendar-year license, two decals per qualified vehicle at $5 per set, and files quarterly returns online or by mail.
Delaware IFTA administration
- Agency
- Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles (Department of Transportation), Motor Carrier Services Section / IFTA Unit
- License fee
- Neither the DMV IFTA pages, the IFTA manual nor the 2026 license application states a fee for the license itself; the only charge on the application is for decals. No amount is recorded rather than assuming zero.
- Decal fee
- $5 ($5.00 per decal set; one set is two decals and each qualified vehicle needs one set. Checks are payable to DMV.)
- Application
- Delaware International Fuel Tax Agreement License Application (also used for decal renewals and additional decals), plus the IFTA-only New Carrier Application/Checklist for new accounts
- Application: methods
- Email all checklist documents together to dot.motorcarrier@delaware.gov; applications are reviewed in the order received, and once accepted the office schedules an appointment where the original documents and mail must be presented.
- Application: requirements
- IRS EIN letter (SS-4, CP575B, CP261 or LTR147C); two pieces of mail from two different sources postmarked within 60 days to a Delaware physical address owned or leased by the business (no virtual, shared or agent offices); a Delaware driver license for at least one owner or officer; good standing with the Division of Corporations for non-sole-proprietors; an active or temporary Delaware business license; an active USDOT number marked interstate; current-year UCR payment; and, for leased vehicles, a lease making the applicant responsible for decals and returns.
- Application: account number
- The IFTA identification number is the applicant's Federal Employer Identification Number; an officer's Social Security Number may be used only if the applicant has no FEIN.
- Filing frequency
- Quarterly. A return is due every quarter even with no operations; the DMV mails the return form about 30 days before the due date with the current rate chart, but not receiving it does not excuse a late filing. Returns (IFTA-100) are filed online through the Motor Carrier Online system or by mail.
- Base jurisdiction: summary
- Delaware is your IFTA base jurisdiction if your qualified vehicles are registered in Delaware, you have an established place of business in Delaware from which motor carrier operations are performed, you keep operational control and records in Delaware or can make them available there, and your qualified vehicles actually travel on Delaware highways. Carriers with fleets based in more than one IFTA jurisdiction may ask in writing to consolidate in Delaware, listing each jurisdiction and its vehicle count; every jurisdiction involved must agree.
- Base jurisdiction: qualified motor vehicle
- A vehicle used, designed or maintained to transport persons or property that has two axles and a gross or registered gross vehicle weight over 26,000 pounds, or three or more axles regardless of weight, or is used in combination over 26,000 pounds. Recreational vehicles and U.S. Government vehicles are excluded.
- Late-filing penalty
- The greater of $50 or 10 percent of the net tax liability for a late return or underpayment; $50 when the liability is zero or a credit.
- Penalty: interest
- One percent per month on delinquent tax owed to each jurisdiction, from the due date until paid.
More Delaware IFTA rules
- License period
- The license is valid for the calendar year, January 1 through December 31, and is renewable annually; each year the carrier receives a notice to renew and order decals.
- Credentials: license
- One license per carrier. Keep the original in the office and carry a copy in each qualified vehicle; failing to display it can mean a trip permit purchase and a citation.
- Credentials: decals
- One set of two decals per qualified vehicle, placed on the exterior of both sides of the cab. Decals are not vehicle specific. New decals may go on one month before their effective date.
- Credentials: temporary permit
- A 30-day IFTA temporary permit may be issued to a carrier in good standing in place of decals; it is vehicle specific and must be carried in the vehicle.
- Grace period
- All IFTA carriers get a two-month grace period to display the current year license and decals; the Motor Carrier Dates to Remember sheet says decals need to be on trucks in February.
- Bond requirement
- Bonds are not required of first-time applicants. A surety bond may be required after a late report, unpaid tax or a severe audit finding, in the greater of $500 or twice the liability.
- Record retention
- Keep records supporting each quarterly return for 4 years from the due date or the filing date, whichever is later. Distance records must show trip dates, origin and destination, odometer readings, route, miles by jurisdiction (not estimated) and unit number; fuel receipts must show date, seller name and address, gallons, fuel type, price and unit number.
Quarterly filing deadlines
Returns are due on the same schedule every year. Missing one draws the late-filing penalty above.
Scroll sideways to see every column.
Licensing rules, records, and penalties
Which vehicles the licence covers, how long it runs, what Delaware can ask you to post or produce, and what a late or wrong return costs. Each one is sourced.
- Application: Form
- Delaware International Fuel Tax Agreement License Application (also used for decal renewals and additional decals), plus the IFTA-only New Carrier Application/Checklist for new accounts
- Application: Methods
- Email all checklist documents together to dot.motorcarrier@delaware.gov; applications are reviewed in the order received, and once accepted the office schedules an appointment where the original documents and mail must be presented.
- Application: Requirements
- IRS EIN letter (SS-4, CP575B, CP261 or LTR147C); two pieces of mail from two different sources postmarked within 60 days to a Delaware physical address owned or leased by the business (no virtual, shared or agent offices); a Delaware driver license for at least one owner or officer; good standing with the Division of Corporations for non-sole-proprietors; an active or temporary Delaware business license; an active USDOT number marked interstate; current-year UCR payment; and, for leased vehicles, a lease making the applicant responsible for decals and returns.
- Application: Account number
- The IFTA identification number is the applicant's Federal Employer Identification Number; an officer's Social Security Number may be used only if the applicant has no FEIN.
- License period
- The license is valid for the calendar year, January 1 through December 31, and is renewable annually; each year the carrier receives a notice to renew and order decals.
- Credentials: License
- One license per carrier. Keep the original in the office and carry a copy in each qualified vehicle; failing to display it can mean a trip permit purchase and a citation.
- Credentials: Decals
- One set of two decals per qualified vehicle, placed on the exterior of both sides of the cab. Decals are not vehicle specific. New decals may go on one month before their effective date.
- Credentials: Temporary permit
- A 30-day IFTA temporary permit may be issued to a carrier in good standing in place of decals; it is vehicle specific and must be carried in the vehicle.
- Renewal
- Each license is renewable annually; the 2026 IFTA Decal Application doubles as the renewal and additional-decal request for the January 1 to December 31, 2026 registration period.
- Penalties: Interest
- One percent per month on delinquent tax owed to each jurisdiction, from the due date until paid.
- Penalties: Inadequate records
- If records are inadequate, the audit may estimate operations and use a standard of 4.0 miles per gallon, and tax-paid fuel claims without support are disallowed.
- Penalties: Revocation
- An unpaid delinquency with no written appeal within 30 days of notice leads to revocation by certified mail; reinstatement requires all reports and liabilities and may require a surety bond.
- Bond requirement
- Bonds are not required of first-time applicants. A surety bond may be required after a late report, unpaid tax or a severe audit finding, in the greater of $500 or twice the liability.
- Record retention
- Keep records supporting each quarterly return for 4 years from the due date or the filing date, whichever is later. Distance records must show trip dates, origin and destination, odometer readings, route, miles by jurisdiction (not estimated) and unit number; fuel receipts must show date, seller name and address, gallons, fuel type, price and unit number.
Who licenses in Delaware
Delaware is your base if your qualified trucks are registered here, you run operations from an established Delaware place of business, you keep records here or can produce them here, and the trucks run on Delaware roads. A qualified truck has two axles over the heavy-vehicle line, three or more axles, or runs in a heavy combination. Fleets based in several IFTA jurisdictions can ask in writing to consolidate in Delaware.
Applying for a Delaware IFTA license
Email every checklist document together to the Motor Carrier inbox. The list includes the IRS EIN letter, mail from two sources at a Delaware physical address, a Delaware driver license for an owner or officer, corporate good standing, a Delaware business license, an active USDOT number marked interstate and current-year UCR.
Applications are reviewed in the order received, then the office books an appointment for the originals. Decals are priced per set, and no separate license fee is published.
Quarterly filing and penalties
A return is due every quarter, even with no miles. The DMV mails a form with the rate chart ahead of the deadline, though a missing form does not excuse a late return. File through Motor Carrier Online or by mail; the postmark rule and the weekend roll-forward sit with the deadline table.
Late returns draw the greater of a flat penalty or a percentage of the tax, plus monthly interest, and an unpaid delinquency can end in revocation.
Records, bonds and renewal
Keep trip and fuel records for the retention period the DMV sets, with actual miles by jurisdiction, not estimates. A first-time applicant posts no bond, but a late report, unpaid tax or a bad audit can bring one. The license renews each year, and carriers get a grace period into the new year to display current decals.
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 Delaware 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 Delaware IRP. If you are still setting up, the full order of operations is in start a trucking company in Delaware.