By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Jul 25, 2026
Illinois IRP administration
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.