Skip to content
Haul Handbook logoHaul Handbook

Mississippi trucking

Mississippi trip and fuel permits

A truck can run Mississippi legally without apportioned plates or an IFTA license, but only on the state's own temporary permits, bought before the trip. Here is each trip permit and fuel permit, what it stands in for, what the state charges, and where to buy it, every fact sourced.

By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Sep 28, 2026

Mississippi sells one 72-hour trip permit, issued by MDOT in place of apportioned IRP plates, to out-of-state trucks over 26,000 pounds that are not registered in Mississippi. Neither MDOT's fee sheet nor the Department of Revenue's pages publish a Mississippi fuel trip permit, so the fuel side is left unconfirmed here.

The trip permit (registration side)

This credential answers for registration. Without it, a vehicle whose cab card does not list Mississippi has no legal registration standing in the state.

Permit
72-hour commercial trip permit (MDOT Single Trip Permit)
Stands in for
Mississippi apportioned (IRP) registration and plates
Fee
$25 ($25.00 per vehicle, per the Department of Revenue IRP manual, MDOT's 2026 permit manual (Single Trip Permit) and MDOT's Permit and Blanket Fees sheet (72 Hour Legal Trip Permit). A load that is also oversize or overweight needs its own oversize or overweight permit on top. Permit services add their own charge.)
Valid for
72 hours from the time of issue
Who needs it
A non-resident owner-operator of a vehicle over 26,000 pounds gross that has not been registered in Mississippi and has not paid the annual privilege tax. The permit covers state maintained highways and interstates in Mississippi.
Where to buy
At the Mississippi scales, paid by credit card; By phone from MDOT at (601) 359-1717 or toll free (888) 737-0061; Through a permit service
Caught without one
The IRP manual says a commercial vehicle running 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.
Statute
The IRP manual paraphrases the governing law without citing a section, and the Mississippi Code could not be read at its official publisher (LexisNexis served a confirm-you-are-human check), so no statute is asserted.

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.

Permit
Mississippi fuel trip permit (none published)
Stands in for
IFTA license
Fee
MDOT's Permit and Blanket Fees sheet lists no fuel permit, the 2026 permit manual describes none, and the Department of Revenue's Interstate Commercial Vehicles page and IRP manual describe none for Mississippi. The Mississippi Code sections that would set a non-IFTA fuel rule could not be read at the official publisher, and the Title 35 Part IX petroleum rules (read in an archived copy after sos.ms.gov returned 403) cover importers, dyed diesel and direct pay permits only. No fee, rule or duration is recorded.
Valid for
No Mississippi fuel permit or fuel-purchase rule is published on the MDOT or Department of Revenue pages read, so no validity period exists to record.
Who needs it
Qualified vehicles (over 26,000 pounds, or three or more axles) entering Mississippi without an IFTA license. The Department of Revenue's IRP manual says only that a carrier that qualifies for IFTA but does not join must buy fuel permits under each member jurisdiction's own rules; for Mississippi's own rule, ask the Department of Revenue IRP/IFTA office.
Where to buy
None published; ask the Department of Revenue IRP/IFTA office at (601) 923-7142 before the trip
Statute
Not read: the Mississippi Code's official publisher (LexisNexis) served a confirm-you-are-human check, so no statute is asserted.

Short-term credentials Mississippi issues beside the trip and fuel permits, for situations those two do not cover.

Hunter's permit
For an owner-operator who ended a lease and surrendered the apportioned tag and cab card: moves the unladen truck or truck-trailer on a single or round trip in Mississippi to obtain a new lease. Issued by MDOT like the trip permit, valid 72 hours from issue, $25.00.
Own-power vehicle trip permit
A vehicle moving under its own power pays the $25.00 trip permit, plus $10.00 if it exceeds legal size and the overweight charge by weight and miles if it exceeds legal weight.
Temporary Operating Authority
Lets a new or added apportioned vehicle run for 45 days while the IRP application is processed. Issued on established accounts in good standing, and on new accounts once all fees are paid; requested on TAP with the supplement.

Worth knowing

Oversize and overweight permits are a separate MDOT credential bought through ExpressPass (the state permits page). Carriers making regular Mississippi trips register under IRP and license under IFTA with the Department of Revenue instead (the state IRP page, the state IFTA page).

Where these fit in the Mississippi permit stack

Temporary permits are the exception path. The standing credentials they replace are IRP apportioned registration and the Mississippi IFTA license. Oversize loads use a different permit family entirely, covered in Mississippi oversize and overweight permits, and the full picture of every state permit lives in Mississippi trucking permits.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Mississippi permit cost?

The 72-hour commercial trip permit (mdot single trip permit) is $25, at the fees cited in the tables above. Those are the state's own charges; a third-party seller adds its own service fee on top.

Do I need a trip permit or a fuel permit for Mississippi?

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 Mississippi 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 Mississippi 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 Mississippi 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 Mississippi 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.