By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Jul 25, 2026
Illinois splits its two temporary credentials between two agencies. The registration side belongs to the Secretary of State, which sells a one-trip permit good for a single trip or one round trip of no more than 72 hours. The fuel side belongs to the Department of Revenue, which sells a single trip permit good for 96 hours that stands in for the motor fuel use tax license, the decals, the bond, and the quarterly returns. Both fees are set in statute, so the amounts below come from the Illinois Compiled Statutes rather than from a portal price list.
The trip permit (registration side)
This credential answers for registration. Without it, a vehicle whose cab card does not list Illinois has no legal registration standing in the state.
- Stands in for
- Illinois second-division registration, or apportioned registration under the International Registration Plan, for the single trip covered
- Fee
- $19 (The fee is set at $19 by statute for an occasional single trip. A transporter moving vehicles by the driveaway or towaway method buys a separate one-trip in-transit permit at $10 instead. Two neighbours in the same statute are worth pricing against a one-trip permit before you buy: a short-term permit for a nonregistered vehicle runs 7 days at $10, and a 90-day registration permit costs $13 plus one tenth of the flat weight tax.)
- Valid for
- One trip, or one round trip into and out of Illinois, for a period not to exceed 72 consecutive hours or 3 calendar days
- Annual limit
- The statute directs the Secretary of State to set, by rule, the number of permits per vehicle or per applicant, so as to preclude evasion of annual registration requirements. No numeric cap is printed in the statute, so none is recorded here.
- Who needs it
- Second-division vehicles using Illinois highways on an occasional basis, or for a specific and special short-term use, without Illinois registration or apportioned plates. The statute makes the permits subject to the reciprocal agreements, arrangements, and declarations Illinois has entered into, and to the rules the Secretary of State adopts.
- Where to buy
- Illinois Secretary of State, which the statute names as the issuer of registration permits; The Secretary of State prescribes the application form and may require information confirming the status or identity of the applicant and the vehicle
- Caught without one
- A permit is subject to suspension or revocation, including revocation when the Secretary of State determines the vehicle should be properly registered in Illinois. A suspended or revoked permit is null and void, cannot be reinstated, and carries no refund, and the vehicle may not operate in Illinois again until it is properly registered.
The fuel permit (tax side)
This credential answers for the state's highway or fuel tax when there is no IFTA license (or, in the weight-distance states, no tax account) behind the truck.
- Stands in for
- An Illinois motor fuel use tax license, its quarterly returns, and the registration, decal display, and bond requirements that go with it
- Fee
- $40 (The $40 fee is fixed in the Motor Fuel Tax Law and covers the state permit only. The Department of Revenue's IFTA licensing page adds that permits are sold through most wire services for an additional fee, and it prints no figure for that provider charge, so no add-on amount is recorded. The Department also warns that the option becomes expensive if used more than occasionally.)
- Annual limit
- No numeric cap is set. The statute instead directs the Department to adopt rules with reasonable and proper limitations on application for, issuance of, and use of single trip permits, so as to preclude evasion of the license requirement.
- Who needs it
- A commercial motor vehicle operated in Illinois in the course of interstate traffic by a motor carrier that does not hold a motor fuel use tax license. The permit authorizes a single trip into Illinois, through Illinois, or from a point on the border to a point within the state and back to the border.
- Where to buy
- The Illinois Department of Revenue or its agents, after proper application; Authorized permit providers, described by the Department as most wire services, which charge their own fee on top
- Caught without one
- Operating in Illinois without a required single trip permit is a petty offense, and the operator pays a minimum of $75, rising to a minimum of $150 for each subsequent occurrence. The person required to obtain the license or permit pays a minimum of $1,000, rising to a minimum of $2,000 for each subsequent occurrence. Improper use of the permit may also be cause for revoking a motor fuel use tax license.
Worth knowing
Three Illinois wrinkles are worth knowing before you buy either permit. First, a valid 30-day International Fuel Tax Agreement temporary permit is treated as a motor fuel use tax license for enforcement, so it is a third way to stay legal on fuel tax without a full Illinois license. Second, the Director of Revenue may temporarily waive the single trip permit requirement for up to 30 days for vehicles assisting disaster relief efforts, and the driver proves the trip by manifest. Third, a carrier that has already applied for Illinois apportioned plates does not need a one-trip permit to start running: the Secretary of State issues an Illinois Temporary Apportionment Authorization Permit, good for 45 days at $3, for immediate operation before the apportioned credentials arrive.
Where these fit in the Illinois permit stack
Temporary permits are the exception path. The standing credentials they replace are IRP apportioned registration and the Illinois IFTA license. Oversize loads use a different permit family entirely, covered in Illinois oversize and overweight permits, and the full picture of every state permit lives in Illinois trucking permits.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a trip permit or a fuel permit for Illinois?
- Usually both, and they are separate purchases. The trip permit stands in for apportioned (IRP) registration and the fuel permit stands in for the IFTA license. If your cab card lists Illinois and your IFTA decals are current, you need neither; the tables on this page carry each permit's terms with the official source.
When does buying temporary permits stop making sense?
- Temporary permits price a single trip. A carrier running Illinois lanes on a regular schedule comes out ahead adding the state to its IRP cab card and holding an IFTA license, because permit fees repeat on every trip while the annual credentials do not.
Can I buy these permits after entering the state?
- No. Each credential on this page must be in place before the vehicle operates on Illinois highways, and enforcement happens at roadside inspections and weigh stations. Buying from the state's own channel before the trip is the cheapest clean path.
Are permit-service prices the state fee?
- No. Wire services and permit companies resell state permits with a service markup. The fees on this page are what Illinois itself charges on its primary pages; anything above that is the middleman's fee, not the state's.
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.