By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Sep 27, 2026
Massachusetts sells three temporary credentials for a truck that is not apportioned for Massachusetts or not licensed for IFTA: a 72-hour IRP trip permit (the Temporary Registration Permit), a 72-hour IFTA fuel permit, and a combination permit that bundles both. The Registry of Motor Vehicles issues all three, on behalf of the Department of Revenue for the fuel permit, and each must be in hand before the truck enters the state.
The trip permit (registration side)
This credential answers for registration. Without it, a vehicle whose cab card does not list Massachusetts has no legal registration standing in the state.
- Fee
- $15 ($15 per 72 hours on the RMV Schedule of Fees (May 2025) and the RMV fees page, listed as IRP Trip Permit (Per 72 Hours).)
- Who needs it
- An out-of-state vehicle that qualifies for IRP registration (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 Massachusetts, before it enters the Commonwealth. The only exception the RMV names is a vehicle currently plated in a non-IRP jurisdiction.
- Where to buy
- Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, IRP Section (857-368-8120; [email protected]), which the RMV names as the sole issuing agency for original trip permit numbers; RMV-approved interstate permit transceivers, permit services under contract with the RMV that resell Massachusetts trip, fuel and combination permits across the continental United States through the RMV Interstate Permit Transceiver Portal
- Caught without one
- A qualifying vehicle that enters Massachusetts without a valid trip permit may be subject to the full registration fee if cited. Transceivers must record the carrier's USDOT number on every trip and combination permit, verify it is active with FMCSA, and may not issue one to a carrier under a federal out-of-service order. A transceiver may add its own separately stated service charge but may not collect more than the RMV permit fee as the permit price.
- Statute
- No Massachusetts statute or regulation section for the trip permit itself was found on the RMV pages or documents read. The RMV transceiver contract grounds Massachusetts IRP membership in M.G.L. c. 90, s. 2, but it does not tie the trip permit or its fee to a specific section, so no citation is recorded here.
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.
- Fee
- $20 ($20. The Department of Revenue IFTA Manual prices the 72-hour trip permit at $20, and the RMV Schedule of Fees (May 2025) lists the IFTA Permit at $20.00.)
- Who needs it
- An interstate motor carrier operating qualified commercial vehicles in Massachusetts without an IFTA license, including a carrier that qualifies for IFTA but chooses not to join. The IFTA Manual adds that a carrier found operating a qualified vehicle without its IFTA license or properly displayed decals may be required to buy a trip permit and pay a fine.
- Where to buy
- Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, IRP Section (857-368-8120), which sells the fuel permit by agreement with the Commissioner of Revenue; RMV-approved interstate permit transceivers, the same contracted permit services that sell the IRP trip permit
- Caught without one
- The fuel permit is separate from the IRP trip permit: buying one does not cover the other. Miles run on a fuel tax trip permit are not counted as in-jurisdiction miles on an IFTA return. Massachusetts-based IFTA licensees have a different stopgap, a vehicle-specific temporary IFTA permit from the Department of Revenue valid 30 days while permanent decals are affixed, issued only to currently registered IFTA carriers.
Worth knowing
Massachusetts also sells a combination permit that bundles the 72-hour IRP trip permit and the 72-hour IFTA fuel permit for $35, listed on the RMV Schedule of Fees as the IRP and IFTA Permit (Combination). Bought separately the two cost $35 together as well, so the combination saves a transaction rather than money. The RMV sells trip, fuel and combination permits directly to approved transceivers, and the stated purpose of the transceiver program is to make all three available outside Massachusetts, because they must be bought before the truck enters the state. Becoming a transceiver carries no sign-up fee. The reverse direction is the carrier's own problem: a Massachusetts-based carrier not apportioned for another IRP jurisdiction needs that jurisdiction's trip permit, at that jurisdiction's price.
Where these fit in the Massachusetts permit stack
Temporary permits are the exception path. The standing credentials they replace are IRP apportioned registration and the Massachusetts IFTA license. Oversize loads use a different permit family entirely, covered in Massachusetts oversize and overweight permits, and the full picture of every state permit lives in Massachusetts trucking permits.