Delaware IFTA Filing Walkthrough: DMV Motor Carrier Services
Delaware IFTA: apply by email, bring originals to Dover, FEIN as the account number, $5 decal sets, returns in Motor Carrier Online.
By Haul Handbook editorial team· Updated Oct 5, 2026 · 8 min read
Delaware runs IFTA out of one office, and the hard part comes before your first return. The Division of Motor Vehicles' Motor Carrier Services Section in Dover handles IFTA, IRP and UCR together. Opening an account takes an emailed packet, an in-person appointment and proof of a real Delaware office. After that the routine is light: $5 decal sets, four returns a year and an online filing system. The sourced facts render on the Delaware IFTA page. This walkthrough puts them in the order you will work through them.
Step 1: confirm Delaware can be your base
The Delaware DMV's IFTA FAQ lists four conditions. Your qualified vehicles are registered in Delaware. You have an established place of business in the state 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.
A qualified motor vehicle, per the Delaware IFTA Manual, has two axles and a gross or registered gross vehicle weight over 26,000 pounds, or three or more axles at any weight, or runs in a combination over 26,000 pounds. Recreational vehicles and U.S. Government vehicles are excluded.
A carrier with fleets based in more than one IFTA jurisdiction can ask in writing to consolidate in Delaware. The request lists each jurisdiction and its vehicle count, and every jurisdiction involved has to agree.
Step 2: assemble the new account packet
Here is where Delaware differs from most states. The IFTA-only New Carrier Application/Checklist (dated April 24, 2026) asks for proof that the business physically exists in Delaware and that a person tied to it is licensed there. The full list:
- An IRS EIN letter: the SS-4, CP575B, CP261 or LTR147C.
- Two pieces of mail from two different sources, postmarked within 60 days, sent to a Delaware physical address the business owns or leases. Virtual, shared and agent offices do not count.
- A Delaware driver license for at least one owner or officer.
- Good standing with the Division of Corporations, for anything other than a sole proprietorship.
- An active or temporary Delaware business license.
- An active USDOT number marked interstate. The Delaware DOT number page covers that registration.
- Proof of the current year's UCR payment, explained on the national UCR registration guide.
- For leased vehicles, a lease that makes the applicant responsible for decals and returns.
The office address rule is the one that stops out-of-state formations. A Delaware LLC with a registered agent address does not meet it. The checklist wants a place the business owns or leases, with ordinary mail arriving there.
Step 3: email it, then show up with originals
Email every checklist document together to dot.motorcarrier@delaware.gov. The DMV reviews applications in the order received. Once it accepts yours, the office schedules an appointment, and you bring the original documents and the mail to it. Plan the calendar around the 60-day postmark window, since the mail has to still be recent when you present it.
Your account number is already decided. Per the IFTA FAQ, the Delaware IFTA identification number is your Federal Employer Identification Number. An officer's Social Security Number can stand in only when the applicant has no FEIN.
Step 4: order decals and carry the license
The 2026 Delaware IFTA License Application charges $5.00 per decal set, with checks payable to DMV. One set is two decals, and each qualified vehicle needs one set. No Delaware source read for this guide states a fee for the license itself, which is why the Delaware IFTA page records that amount as unknown instead of zero.
What you get back:
- One license per carrier. Keep the original in the office and a copy in each qualified vehicle. A missing copy at the roadside can mean buying a trip permit and taking a citation.
- Two decals per vehicle, one on the exterior of each side of the cab. Decals are not vehicle specific, and new ones may go on one month before their effective date.
- A 30-day temporary permit option. A carrier in good standing can get one in place of decals. It is vehicle specific and rides in the truck.
The license runs January 1 through December 31. Every IFTA carrier gets a two-month grace period to display the new year's license and decals, and the DMV's Motor Carrier Dates to Remember sheet puts the decals-on-trucks date in February. The same application form handles renewals and added decals. Your plates come from the same section, and that side is on the Delaware IRP registration page.
Step 5: file the IFTA-100 each quarter
Returns go on form IFTA-100, filed online through Motor Carrier Online or by mail. The due dates:
| Quarter | Due |
|---|---|
| January to March | April 30 |
| April to June | July 31 |
| July to September | October 31 |
| October to December | January 31 |
Scroll sideways to see every column.
Three Delaware rules sit around those dates. A mailed return must be postmarked by midnight on the due date. When the due date lands on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day. And a hand-delivered return counts as filed on the day it reaches the Motor Carrier Services Section.
You file every quarter, even with no operations. The DMV mails the return form about 30 days before the due date along with the current rate chart, but a form that never arrives does not excuse a late return.
The rates come from the national matrix. Delaware's diesel line this quarter is $0.2200provisional per gallon. Read every jurisdiction you ran in off the IFTA rates by state table, run your miles and gallons through the IFTA calculator, and check the record set against the national how to file IFTA guide before you submit.
Step 6: price a late return before you skip one
The IFTA FAQ sets the cost. A late return or underpayment draws the greater of $50 or 10 percent of the net tax liability, and $50 when the return shows zero tax or a credit. Interest runs at 1 percent per month on delinquent tax owed to each jurisdiction, from the due date until paid.
Records carry the audit. Keep everything behind each return for 4 years from the due date or the filing date, whichever is later. Distance records need trip dates, origin and destination, odometer readings, route, miles by jurisdiction (not estimated) and unit number. Fuel receipts need date, seller name and address, gallons, fuel type, price and unit number. With inadequate records, the audit can estimate your operations at 4.0 miles per gallon and disallow tax-paid fuel claims you cannot support.
Next comes the bond. First-time applicants post none. After a late report, unpaid tax or a severe audit finding, Delaware can require a surety bond of the greater of $500 or twice the liability. An unpaid delinquency with no written appeal within 30 days of notice leads to revocation by certified mail, and reinstatement takes every missing report and liability, possibly with that bond on top.
When you need a person
The Motor Carrier Services Section answers at 302-744-2702 and DOT.MotorCarrier@delaware.gov. Authorized users file quarterly returns and renewals in Motor Carrier Online at dmv.de.gov. For a truck crossing the line without credentials, the Delaware trip and fuel permits page covers the alternatives.
FAQ
Who administers IFTA in Delaware?
The Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles, through its Motor Carrier Services Section in Dover. The same section handles IRP and UCR, so a Delaware carrier deals with one office for fuel tax and plates. Its phone number is 302-744-2702 and its email is DOT.MotorCarrier@delaware.gov.
How do I apply for a Delaware IFTA account?
Email every document on the IFTA-only New Carrier Application/Checklist together to dot.motorcarrier@delaware.gov. Applications are reviewed in the order received, and once the office accepts yours it schedules an appointment where you present the original documents and mail.
What does a Delaware IFTA license cost?
The 2026 license application charges $5.00 per decal set, and each qualified vehicle needs one set of two decals. No Delaware source read for this guide states a fee for the license itself, so the site records that amount as unknown rather than as zero.
What is the penalty for a late Delaware IFTA return?
The greater of $50 or 10 percent of the net tax liability, and $50 when the return shows zero tax or a credit. Interest runs at 1 percent per month on delinquent tax owed to each jurisdiction, from the due date until paid.