By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Sep 28, 2026
Mississippi apportioned plates are issued by the Department of Revenue, which also runs IFTA from the same Clinton office, and accounts are opened and changed on TAP. The state's share of the fee is built from two Mississippi schedules, a road and bridge privilege tax by weight and an additional privilege tax that falls with vehicle age, each prorated by the month. Fleets register on a staggered calendar, and new vehicles must be added within seven working days of purchase.
Mississippi IRP administration
- Office
- IRP (Apportioned Tags) Section, Mississippi Department of Revenue, 500 Clinton Center Drive, Clinton, MS 39056. All IRP transactions can be filed through the Taxpayer Access Point (TAP).
- Process
- Apply for an IRP account, and add or remove vehicles, on TAP. Applications filed and paid on TAP can receive temporary credentials the same day. A paper application can be requested from the IRP office. First-time registrants complete Schedule A only; the Department fills in estimated distance from its Average Per Vehicle Mileage Chart. At renewal both Schedule A and Schedule B (distance) are completed. Fleets registering 10 or more units, or reporting mileage in 10 or more jurisdictions, must file on TAP; paper filers should allow 7 to 10 business days of processing.
- Fee structure
- Fees are apportioned by the share of fleet distance run in each member jurisdiction and calculated from each jurisdiction's own schedule, then totaled on one IRP invoice with administrative (tag, cab card and decal) fees. Mississippi's own share is figured from Schedule 1, the Road and Bridge Privilege Tax by gross weight at separate for-hire, private and farm rates, plus Schedule 2, the Additional Privilege Tax by gross weight and vehicle age. Both schedules are 12-month figures that Mississippi prorates by one-twelfth per month.
- Fees: worked example
- At 80,000 pounds the Schedule 1 road and bridge privilege tax is $1,512.00 a year at the for-hire and private rates and $864.00 at the farm rate, and the Schedule 2 additional privilege tax on a current-model-year vehicle is $1,785.71, falling each year of age to $47.62 at 11 years and older. These are the Mississippi schedule amounts before apportionment, not what a given fleet pays.
- Fees: payment
- Pay through TAP, online at ms.gov/dor/quickpay, or by check or money order payable to the Mississippi Department of Revenue mailed with the invoice to IRP/IFTA Department, P.O. Box 1140, Jackson, MS 39215-1140.
- Fees: other fees
- Replacement plate with decal and cab card $10.00; replacement decal and cab card $2.50; replacement trailer plate with cab card $10.00; plus a $5.00 mail fee on each replacement. Trailers used exclusively in interstate commerce can get a permanent trailer plate for a one-time $84 tax.
- Cab card
- The apportioned tag, decals and cab card are the credentials that authorize both interstate and intrastate operation. The cab card must always be carried in the vehicle it describes and may not be altered. A commercial vehicle without a current tag, decals and cab card, a valid trip permit, or temporary registration is in violation and the registrant faces penalties in every jurisdiction traveled.
- Process: documents
- The registrant's USDOT number and Taxpayer Identification Number are required; if the registrant leases to another carrier, the USDOT number and TIN of the carrier responsible for safety are required for every vehicle. An MCS-150 updated within the past year is required for each USDOT number on the account. A title or title application (title application numbers are accepted only within 90 days of application) and a bill of sale are required for newly acquired vehicles, plus IRS Schedule 1 (Form 2290) for vehicles registered at 55,000 pounds or more that have been owned more than 60 days.
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 Mississippi IRP rules
- Temporary credentials: summary
- A Temporary Operating Authority lets a new or added vehicle run for 45 days while the application is processed. It is issued on established accounts in good standing, and to new accounts after all fees are paid, and can be requested through TAP when filing the supplement.
- Temporary credentials: trip permit: detail
- A non-resident vehicle over 26,000 pounds that is not registered in Mississippi needs a 72-hour trip permit, prepared and issued by the Mississippi Department of Transportation for $25.00 per vehicle. It can be bought at the scales by credit card, by calling MDOT, or through a permit service.
- Temporary credentials: hunter permit
- A hunter's permit lets an owner-operator who has ended a lease and surrendered the apportioned tag move the unladen truck or truck-trailer on a single or round trip to find a new lease. It is issued by MDOT like the trip permit, is valid 72 hours, and costs $25.00.
- Contact: address
- 500 Clinton Center Drive, Clinton, MS 39056 (mailing: P.O. Box 1140, Jackson, MS 39215)
- Contact: note
- Phone, fax (601) 923-7133, email and both addresses are from the Department's IFTA and IRP contact page; the IRP Instruction Manual prints the same phone. The Department's General FAQ instead lists the Motor Vehicle Licensing Bureau at (601) 923-7100 for IRP. The (601) 359-1717 and (888) 737-0061 numbers printed beside the trip and hunter permits belong to the Mississippi Department of Transportation's permit office, not the IRP unit.
Base jurisdiction, renewal, and audit in detail
The rules that decide whether Mississippi can be your base jurisdiction, what qualifies, and what happens at renewal and audit. Each one is sourced.
- Base jurisdiction rules: Summary
- Before a vehicle can get Mississippi apportioned plates, the carrier must have an established place of business in Mississippi, accrue distance in Mississippi, and keep its records there or be able to make them available.
- Base jurisdiction rules: Established place of business
- A physical structure in Mississippi, owned or leased by the applicant, whose physical address appears on the application, open during regular business hours, where one or more persons conduct the registrant's trucking-related business (not only credentialing, distance and fuel reporting, and answering phones). A landline is not required.
- Base jurisdiction rules: Residency alternative
- An applicant with no established place of business in any jurisdiction may base in Mississippi by showing residence here, distance accrued here, and records kept or available here. Residence is shown by at least four of: a Mississippi driver's license (individuals); incorporation or foreign-corporation registration in Mississippi; a principal owner who is a Mississippi resident (corporations); federal income tax returns filed from a Mississippi address; Mississippi personal income taxes paid; Mississippi real estate or personal property taxes paid; utility bills in the applicant's name; a vehicle titled in Mississippi in its name; or other factors clearly showing legal residence.
- Qualifying vehicles: Scope
- Commercial motor vehicles weighing more than 26,000 pounds, or having more than two axles alone or in combination, that travel into more than one jurisdiction are the vehicles registered under IRP; without apportioned plates they have no reciprocity and need a temporary registration permit to leave their home jurisdiction.
- Renewal: Summary
- Mississippi is a staggered registration jurisdiction: it registers vehicles in every month except December and January, and the expiration month chosen on the first application stays the fleet's month. TAP filers can start a renewal on the first calendar day of the expiration month. Paper filers receive a renewal notice about 60 days before expiration.
- Renewal: Supplements
- Add vehicles within seven working days of purchase to avoid penalties. Mississippi law provides no refund when a vehicle is deleted, but a credit certificate is available on the remaining Mississippi privilege taxes; refunds are limited to error cases such as overpayment, double payment or audit findings, claimed in writing.
- Audit: Detail
- IRP audits of Mississippi carriers are performed by the Department of Revenue's Petroleum Tax Bureau. Operational and distance records must be kept for three years after the close of the registration year. If records are not produced within 30 days of written notice, the Department may assess liability on an estimate, and an audit finding can be appealed within 30 days to the Department of Revenue Board of Review. Inadequate records draw a 20 percent penalty on apportionable fees paid.
What the Mississippi 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 Mississippi inputs to that calculation, each with its official source.
- Worked example
- At 80,000 pounds the Schedule 1 road and bridge privilege tax is $1,512.00 a year at the for-hire and private rates and $864.00 at the farm rate, and the Schedule 2 additional privilege tax on a current-model-year vehicle is $1,785.71, falling each year of age to $47.62 at 11 years and older. These are the Mississippi schedule amounts before apportionment, not what a given fleet pays.
- Payment
- Pay through TAP, online at ms.gov/dor/quickpay, or by check or money order payable to the Mississippi Department of Revenue mailed with the invoice to IRP/IFTA Department, P.O. Box 1140, Jackson, MS 39215-1140.
Basing your fleet in Mississippi
You need an established place of business in Mississippi, distance run here, and records kept here or available here. An established place of business is a physical location with a real trucking-related workday, more than a phone and a mailbox. Carriers with no place of business anywhere can base here on residency instead.
How to register
Apply on TAP with your USDOT number and taxpayer ID, or the lessee carrier's when you are leased on, plus an MCS-150 updated within the past year, titles, and a bill of sale. First-time registrants file Schedule A only, and the Department estimates distance for them. Larger fleets must file on TAP.
What apportioned plates cost
There is no single fee. Each jurisdiction's share is figured from its own schedule and your distance there. Mississippi's share adds the road and bridge privilege tax by weight, with separate for-hire, private, and farm rates, to the additional privilege tax by weight and age, prorated by the month.
Renewals and supplements
Mississippi registers fleets in every month except December and January, and your first expiration month sticks. TAP filers can start renewal on the first day of that month. Add new trucks quickly after purchase to avoid penalties. Deleted trucks earn a credit certificate for remaining Mississippi privilege tax, with refunds limited to errors.
Temporary credentials and audits
A Temporary Operating Authority covers a new or added truck while the application is processed. Keep operational and distance records for the retention period after the registration year closes. Missing records draw an estimated assessment and a penalty on apportionable fees.
Reach the Mississippi 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.
- Mailing address
- 500 Clinton Center Drive, Clinton, MS 39056 (mailing: P.O. Box 1140, Jackson, MS 39215)
- Notes
- Phone, fax (601) 923-7133, email and both addresses are from the Department's IFTA and IRP contact page; the IRP Instruction Manual prints the same phone. The Department's General FAQ instead lists the Motor Vehicle Licensing Bureau at (601) 923-7100 for IRP. The (601) 359-1717 and (888) 737-0061 numbers printed beside the trip and hunter permits belong to the Mississippi Department of Transportation's permit office, not the IRP unit.
What pairs with IRP
The same interstate operation that needs apportioned plates almost always needs an IFTA license through Mississippi, 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.