By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Sep 28, 2026
Minnesota sells the two temporary credentials separately and prices them differently. The 120 hour trip permit stands in for apportioned registration and costs one month's registration tax for the vehicle's weight plus a filing fee, limited to one permit per vehicle every 30 days. The 120 hour fuel permit stands in for an IFTA licence at a flat fee with no limit on how many a vehicle buys. Both are bought online through DPS e-Services.
The trip permit (registration side)
This credential answers for registration. Without it, a vehicle whose cab card does not list Minnesota has no legal registration standing in the state.
- Fee
- No flat fee. The permit costs one-twelfth of the annual Minnesota registration tax for the vehicle's gross weight, rounded to the nearest whole dollar, plus a filing fee (Minn. Stat. 168.187, subd. 17; DVS refers carriers to the Motor Vehicle Tax Manual for the weight table). No minimum charge for the formula is published on the DVS permit pages or in the Resource Book. Credit card payment adds a 2.15 percent service fee; ACH does not.
- Annual limit
- One permit per vehicle within a 30-day period, which begins the day a permit takes effect
- Who needs it
- A truck, truck tractor or bus owned and currently registered by an out-of-state resident and not apportioned with Minnesota, when it runs over 26,000 pounds, has three or more axles, or runs in a combination over 26,000 pounds. DVS may issue one at 26,000 pounds or less for intrastate transportation in Minnesota. Minnesota residents do not qualify (except for a weight increase), the permit tops out at 80,000 pounds, and a valid interstate USDOT number is required. Charter buses, recreational vehicles and government vehicles are exempt.
- Where to buy
- DPS Driver and Vehicle Services e-Services, applied for online with the USDOT number, full VIN, make, model year and plate number; the permit is emailed; Payment by ACH, or by credit card with a service fee
- Caught without one
- An issued permit cannot be cancelled or corrected, and DVS grants no refund once a temporary registration permit issues, so check every field before submitting. The Resource Book requires a trip permit, cab card or other temporary credential to be carried in the vehicle at all times.
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
- $25 (Flat fee set by Minn. Stat. 168D.12. Credit card payment through e-Services adds a 2.15 percent service fee.)
- Who needs it
- An unlicensed motor carrier running a qualified motor vehicle on Minnesota highways. DVS says a fuel permit may be needed beside the trip permit unless the vehicle is covered by a current IFTA licence, a fuel reciprocity agreement, or is a two-axle vehicle under 26,001 pounds. There is no limit on the number of fuel permits per vehicle and no maximum weight.
- Where to buy
- DPS Driver and Vehicle Services e-Services, the same online application as the trip permit; Payment by ACH, or by credit card with a service fee
Other temporary permits in Minnesota
Short-term credentials Minnesota issues beside the trip and fuel permits, for situations those two do not cover.
- Base plate temporary registration, 30, 60 or 90 days
- For an out-of-state vehicle that will be used in Minnesota for a longer stretch. The fee is one month's registration tax for the gross vehicle weight per 30 days plus the filing fee, with no maximum weight; weight over 80,000 pounds adds a per-ton charge. It does not replace a MnDOT overweight permit.
Worth knowing
Border reciprocity can make both permits unnecessary for short runs: Minnesota's agreements under Minn. Stat. 168.181 let intrastate-plated vehicles from North Dakota and Wisconsin, and for fuel Iowa, run a limited distance across the line without IRP or IFTA credentials (see the Minnesota IRP page). For a regular Minnesota run, the one-permit-per-30-days limit on the trip permit is the practical ceiling, and apportioned plates become the only route.
Where these fit in the Minnesota permit stack
Temporary permits are the exception path. The standing credentials they replace are IRP apportioned registration and the Minnesota IFTA license. Oversize loads use a different permit family entirely, covered in Minnesota oversize and overweight permits, and the full picture of every state permit lives in Minnesota trucking permits.