By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Jul 30, 2026
Michigan is the rare state where one short trip can need three separate temporary credentials from three separate agencies. The Secretary of State sells a 72-hour reciprocity permit that stands in for apportioned registration. The Department of Treasury lets wire services and permit agencies sell a temporary fuel permit that stands in for an IFTA license, and caps how many a carrier may buy in a year. The Michigan State Police sells a temporary 72-hour permit on the operating-authority side. Buying one does nothing for the other two.
The trip permit (registration side)
This credential answers for registration. Without it, a vehicle whose cab card does not list Michigan has no legal registration standing in the state.
- Stands in for
- Michigan IRP apportioned registration, or Michigan GVW registration for a truck from another IRP jurisdiction
- Fee
- $20 (The Michigan International Registration Plan Registration Manual (Rev. 09/2025) prices each 72-hour reciprocity permit. Neither the Secretary of State's IRP page nor its IRP frequently asked questions restates the amount; the manual is where the figure lives.)
- Who needs it
- A power unit, meaning a truck or truck tractor, from a reciprocal jurisdiction that exceeds its maximum gross vehicle weight while in Michigan, or a truck from an IRP jurisdiction operating without an IRP plate. The Secretary of State sells it only on an emergency basis or for infrequent need, and a Michigan-based carrier may not use it in place of Michigan IRP or Michigan GVW registration.
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
- Michigan Treasury publishes no price for this one. Wire services and permit agencies sell the permit and set their own charge, so the state has no figure to publish and none is shown here. Treasury does publish a listing of current temporary permit agencies, and the price you are quoted is the agency's, not Michigan's.
- Valid for
- Treasury describes the permit as covering unexpected interstate travel and warns that a carrier may need one for each state it travels through, without publishing a validity window for the Michigan permit. Ask the wire service what window the permit it sells actually covers before you roll.
- Who needs it
- A carrier running a qualified motor vehicle into Michigan on a short-term basis without an IFTA license, and a brand new Michigan licensee that has to travel before its IFTA credentials arrive. Treasury's own gate sits in front of all of it: a carrier that does not travel outside Michigan, or has no vehicle over 26,000 pounds gross vehicle weight, needs neither IFTA nor these permits.
- Where to buy
- A wire service, which Treasury says has temporary fuel permits available 24 hours a day for unexpected interstate travel; A temporary permit agency from Treasury's published listing
- Caught without one
- The annual cap is the enforcement. Treasury states that Michigan limits the purchase of fuel permits to 3 permits per USDOT number per calendar year for carriers travelling into Michigan, and that carriers exceeding or anticipating exceeding that limit need to be licensed for IFTA in their base jurisdiction. No other jurisdiction on this site caps permit purchases per USDOT number.
Worth knowing
The third temporary credential sits on the authority layer rather than on registration or fuel tax. A carrier that holds CVED Authority, or needs to move once without it, can request a temporary 72-hour permit from the Michigan State Police as a request application in the CVED Authority Portal, and the Motor Carrier Act lets the department issue it in place of the fee it would otherwise charge while reserving the right to deny or curtail its use. Our Michigan intrastate authority page carries that amount with its statute. Michigan levies no weight-distance or weight-mile tax, so there is no fourth per-mile pass to buy on top of these.
Where these fit in the Michigan permit stack
Temporary permits are the exception path. The standing credentials they replace are IRP apportioned registration and the Michigan IFTA license. Oversize loads use a different permit family entirely, covered in Michigan oversize and overweight permits, and the full picture of every state permit lives in Michigan trucking permits.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a trip permit or a fuel permit for Michigan?
- 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 Michigan 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 Michigan 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 Michigan 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 Michigan 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.