By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Sep 27, 2026
The Massachusetts RMV runs IRP apportioned registration for carriers with an established place of business in Massachusetts, or an established Massachusetts residence with a Massachusetts driver's license. The registration year runs July 1 to June 30, renewal applications go out the first week of April, and fees follow the fleet's distance percentage in each jurisdiction under the Full Reciprocity Plan Massachusetts adopted January 1, 2015.
Massachusetts IRP administration
- Office
- RMV IRP Department, PO Box 55889, Boston, MA 02205-5889. Renewals are mailed to Registry of Motor Vehicles, IRP Section, 25 Newport Avenue Extension, 4th Floor, Quincy, MA 02171.
- Process
- Submit the Massachusetts IRP New and Amend Account Application with an IRP Supplement Application, by email, by mail to the IRP Department, or at an RMV Service Center that processes IRP. The RMV sends an invoice once the application and documents are processed; credentials issue only after payment.
- Fee structure
- Fees depend on the percentage of miles traveled in each IRP jurisdiction, the registered combined gross weight and each jurisdiction's registration fee. The manual's worked example for an 80,000-pound unit running 25 percent each in Maine, Vermont, New York and Massachusetts: full-year fees of $900, $2,200, $1,208 and $1,600 apportion to $225, $550, $302 and $400, a total of $1,477, of which Massachusetts keeps $400. First-time registrants are billed on Average Distance; actual distance is reported thereafter.
- Fees: distance year
- The Massachusetts distance year runs from the previous July 1 to the current June 30.
- Fees: reinstatement
- A $100 reinstatement fee per vehicle applies after a suspension for an unpaid audit invoice or a federal out-of-service order.
- Cab card
- Each vehicle gets a set of apportioned plates and a cab card listing every IRP jurisdiction and the weights requested; under the Full Reciprocity Plan all jurisdictions appear on the cab card. Plates go on the front and rear of power units (one rear plate for trailers), with the expiration decal in the top right corner of each plate.
- Process: documents
- Three original proofs of an established place of business dated within 60 days; a valid USDOT number; the Certificate of Origin (new) or signed-over title (used) for each vehicle; the USDOT number and TIN of the Motor Carrier Responsible for Safety for each vehicle (with a lease or notarized statement if the MCRS is not the owner); an application stamped by an insurance company licensed in Massachusetts within the last 30 days; power of attorney for leased vehicles or a non-owner signer; and, at renewal for vehicles of 55,000 pounds or more, IRS Form 2290 Schedule 1.
- Process: service centers
- The IRP application page lists Braintree, Brockton, Chelsea, Danvers, Fall River, Greenfield, Haverhill, Lawrence, Leominster, Milford, New Bedford, Pittsfield, Plymouth, South Yarmouth, Springfield, Taunton, Watertown, Wilmington and Worcester. The IRP User Manual (IRP200_0322) names Milford, Springfield and Wilmington as drop-off locations, and says renewals must be mailed to Quincy.
To work through your mileage inputs, calculate each jurisdiction’s share of your fleet miles. The estimator apportions any full-year fees you enter; it does not contain state fee schedules or issue an official quote.
More Massachusetts IRP rules
- Temporary credentials: trip permit
- Out-of-state vehicles that qualify for IRP but are not apportioned for Massachusetts need a trip permit before entering, valid for 72 hours; a vehicle plated in a non-IRP jurisdiction is the only exception. A vehicle cited without one may owe the full registration fee.
- Cancellation: detail
- Cancel with the IRP Affidavit for Cancellation of Registration, returning the plates and cab card; there is no fee to cancel.
- Contact: address
- PO Box 55889, Boston, MA 02205-5889 (new and amend applications); renewals to Registry of Motor Vehicles, IRP Section, 25 Newport Avenue Extension, 4th Floor, Quincy, MA 02171
- Contact: email
- [email protected]
Base jurisdiction, renewal, and audit in detail
The rules that decide whether Massachusetts can be your base jurisdiction, what qualifies, and what happens at renewal and audit. Each one is sourced.
- Base jurisdiction rules: Summary
- An account is set up as either an Established Place of Business or an Established Resident of Massachusetts. The place of business must be a commercial building on a non-residential site, owned or leased by the registrant (a lease of at least 12 months), open at least 20 hours per week with at least one full-time employee, permanent or semi-permanent signage and posted hours. A residential account needs a valid, unexpired Massachusetts driver's license. Rented, shared, flexible or mailing-address virtual offices are not allowed.
- Qualifying vehicles: Scope
- A vehicle that travels in Massachusetts and at least one other IRP jurisdiction, is used, maintained or designed primarily for transporting property or persons for hire, and is a power unit over 26,000 pounds gross, has three or more axles regardless of weight, or hauls another unit with combined weight over 26,000 pounds.
- Qualifying vehicles: Optional
- Vehicles or combinations of 26,000 pounds or less may be apportioned at the registrant's option.
- Qualifying vehicles: Exemptions
- Government-owned vehicles; vehicles on restricted plates (dealer, repair, transporter, farm, owner contractor); city pick-up and delivery vehicles; recreational vehicles.
- Qualifying vehicles: Charter buses
- Since January 1, 2016 all charter buses in interstate commerce must obtain apportioned registration or a trip permit.
- Qualifying vehicles: Not exempt from
- Apportioned registration does not exempt a carrier from motor fuel taxes, from operating authority in another state, from the federal Heavy Vehicle Use Tax (Form 2290), or from size, weight and bridge law limits.
- Renewal: Summary
- IRP registrations renew every year. Renewal applications are mailed the first week of April, one per fleet; do not send payment with the application. The RMV invoices once the application is processed. The registration year is July 1 through June 30. April, May and June are the busiest months and same-day service is not guaranteed.
- Audit: Detail
- IRP accounts are audited routinely. Operational records must support distance for the current year and the three previous registration years, including Individual Vehicle Distance Records with trip dates, origin and destination, route, odometer readings, total and per-jurisdiction distance and unit number or VIN. The RMV and the Department of Revenue may exchange audit information for IRP and IFTA enforcement.
What the Massachusetts share of the fee is built from
An IRP bill is the base jurisdiction's own registration fee for the vehicle, apportioned by mileage, plus the same for every other jurisdiction on the cab card. These are the Massachusetts inputs to that calculation, each with its official source.
Who needs IRP plates
A power unit needs apportioned plates when it travels in Massachusetts and at least one other IRP jurisdiction and is above the IRP weight line on two axles, has three or more axles, or pulls a combination above the line. Lighter units can apportion by choice. Government vehicles, restricted plates such as farm and owner contractor, city pickup and delivery trucks, and recreational vehicles are exempt.
IRP plates do not settle everything else. They do not cover fuel tax, another state's operating authority, the federal heavy vehicle use tax, or size and weight limits.
The place of business test
This is where Massachusetts applications stall. An established place of business must be a commercial building on a non-residential site that you own or lease on a long lease, open a set number of hours a week with a full-time employee, permanent signage and posted hours. Rented, shared, flexible and mailing-address virtual offices are refused. The other route is an established residence with a valid Massachusetts driver's license.
The application needs three original proofs of the place of business dated within the last two months, among the other documents.
Applying and paying
Send the New and Amend Account Application with an IRP Supplement Application by email, by mail to the IRP Department, or to an RMV Service Center that handles IRP. Bring a valid USDOT number, title or certificate of origin for each vehicle, the safety carrier's USDOT number and tax ID for each vehicle, an insurance-stamped application, and at renewal for heavier units the federal heavy vehicle use tax receipt.
The RMV invoices once the paperwork is processed, and plates and cab cards issue only after payment. Fees depend on your distance share in each jurisdiction, your registered weight and each jurisdiction's own fee; first-year accounts are billed on average distance.
Renewal, trip permits and audits
Every account renews once a year. Renewal applications go out in early April, one per fleet, with no payment enclosed; the RMV invoices afterward, and the spring months are the busiest. Cancel with the IRP affidavit and return the plates, at no fee.
A vehicle that qualifies for IRP but is not apportioned for a jurisdiction needs that jurisdiction's trip permit before entering, or it can face the full registration fee. Keep distance records for the current year and the three before it: IRP audits are routine, and the RMV and the Department of Revenue may share audit findings.
Reach the Massachusetts IRP office
Account problems, supplement filings and credential replacements all route through the office that holds the account. Everything below is the agency's own published channel; where it publishes no phone line, the note says so rather than pointing at a permit vendor's number.
- Account transactions
- RMV eServices / IRP Portal (atlas-myrmv.massdot.state.ma.us/eservices); online access is requested by email to the IRP section
- Mailing address
- PO Box 55889, Boston, MA 02205-5889 (new and amend applications); renewals to Registry of Motor Vehicles, IRP Section, 25 Newport Avenue Extension, 4th Floor, Quincy, MA 02171
- [email protected]
What pairs with IRP
The same interstate operation that needs apportioned plates almost always needs an IFTA license through Massachusetts, 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.