By Haul Handbook editorial team· Updated Sep 28, 2026
Maine sells three 72-hour credentials for a truck that is not apportioned for Maine or not licensed for Maine fuel tax: an IRP trip permit, an IFTA fuel trip permit, and a combined permit that bundles both, all on one form (MV-208) from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles in Augusta. Maine also licenses fuel tax for trucks that never leave the state, so a qualifying intrastate truck needs a Maine Only fuel decal instead of a trip permit.
The trip permit (registration side)
This credential answers for registration. Without it, a vehicle whose cab card does not list Maine has no legal registration standing in the state.
- Fee
- $25 ($25 on Form MV-208 (Rev. 11/2025) and in the miscellaneous fee table of 29-250 C.M.R. ch. 162, plus a $3 fax fee that is waived when the permit is emailed. Card payment needs a separate credit card authorization form sent with the application.)
- Who needs it
- An out-of-state vehicle that must be registered under IRP (a power unit over 26,000 pounds, three or more axles regardless of weight, or a combination over 26,000 pounds) but is not apportioned for Maine, before it operates in Maine. The IRP rule also lets a vehicle that is not required to be in IRP use a trip permit for intrastate operation in Maine. Trip permits are not required for interstate operation under a bilateral registration reciprocity agreement.
- Where to buy
- Bureau of Motor Vehicles IRP Unit, 101 Hospital Street, Augusta, by faxing or emailing Form MV-208 (207-624-9000 ext. 52135, fax 207-624-9062, meirp@maine.gov) with a copy of the vehicle's valid registration and, for a leased vehicle, the lease; Permit (wire) services, through which Maine issues temporary IRP, fuel tax, overlimit and operating authority credentials
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
- Maine fuel tax licensing and reporting (an IFTA license, or Maine fuel tax licensing for a carrier from a non-IFTA jurisdiction)
- Fee
- $50 ($50 for 72 consecutive hours on the BMV fuel tax page, Form MV-208 and the ch. 165 miscellaneous fee table, plus the $3 fax fee unless the permit is emailed.)
- Who needs it
- An out-of-state carrier subject to Maine fuel tax licensing that is not licensed for Maine fuel tax reporting, running a qualified motor vehicle: over 26,000 pounds, three or more axles on the power unit regardless of weight, or a bus designed for 20 or more passengers. Out-of-state carriers not in IFTA must either license and file quarterly Maine returns or buy fuel trip permits. A trip permit satisfies all Maine fuel tax licensing and reporting for its 72 hours.
- Where to buy
- Bureau of Motor Vehicles Fuel Unit, by phone at 207-624-9000 ext. 52137, or on Form MV-208 by fax or email; A permit service
Other temporary permits in Maine
Short-term credentials Maine issues beside the trip and fuel permits, for situations those two do not cover.
- Combination IRP and IFTA trip permit
- One 72 consecutive hour permit covering both registration and fuel tax, $75 plus the $3 fax fee unless emailed, on the same Form MV-208. It costs the same as buying the two permits separately.
- Unladen weight permit (Hunter's Permit)
- A 30-day permit for a Maine owner-operator who is not registering in its own name and is not under contract to a lessee carrier, to move an unloaded power unit and trailer in any IRP member jurisdiction while it has no current registration. Proof of insurance comes first. $25 in the ch. 162 fee table. (29-250 C.M.R. ch. 162, Sections 12 and 16)
- Temporary Vehicle Registration (temporary authority)
- For a Maine IRP registrant, not a visitor: temporary evidence of apportioned registration valid up to 45 days and honored in all member jurisdictions while permanent credentials are issued. New registrants must pay their invoice in full before receiving one. (29-250 C.M.R. ch. 162, Sections 1, 16 and 21)
- 30-day temporary fuel decal permit
- For a new fuel tax licensee or one in good standing adding decals: a vehicle-specific permit from the Fuel Unit, carried with a copy of the fuel license, valid 30 days until the annual decal arrives. The ch. 165 miscellaneous fee table lists no charge for it.
- Maine Only (intrastate) fuel license and decal
- Not a trip permit, and the credential most Maine-only carriers need: a qualified truck that never leaves Maine must still be licensed for fuel tax, with one decal on the driver's side of the cab that expires June 30 and annual mileage reported on the decal application. A carrier certifying all fuel is bought tax-paid in Maine may be excused from filing returns. A vehicle cannot carry a Maine Only decal and an IFTA decal in the same tax year. (29-250 C.M.R. ch. 165)
Worth knowing
All three 72-hour permits are sold on one form and one fax line, and the combined permit saves a transaction rather than money. The reverse direction is the carrier's own problem: a Maine-based carrier not apportioned for another IRP jurisdiction needs that jurisdiction's trip permit at that jurisdiction's price.
Where these fit in the Maine permit stack
Temporary permits are the exception path. The standing credentials they replace are IRP apportioned registration and the Maine IFTA license. Oversize loads use a different permit family entirely, covered in Maine oversize and overweight permits, and the full picture of every state permit lives in Maine trucking permits.