By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Jul 30, 2026
New Jersey sells two temporary credentials at the same price and on two different clocks, both from the same office. Motor Carrier Services issues a 72-hour trip permit that stands in for apportioned registration and a 96-hour permit that stands in for an IFTA license. Buying one does nothing for the other, so a truck running New Jersey without plates and without fuel tax credentials needs both.
The trip permit (registration side)
This credential answers for registration. Without it, a vehicle whose cab card does not list New Jersey has no legal registration standing in the state.
- Valid for
- 72 hours, running from the time of issue; both the date and the time of issuance are printed on the permit
- Who needs it
- A vehicle currently registered in another state but not apportioned that wants to travel into New Jersey. The permit allows both intrastate and interstate movement inside New Jersey.
- Where to buy
- New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, Motor Carrier Services, in person at 120 South Stockton Street, Trenton, or by mail to P.O. Box 133, Trenton, NJ 08666-0133; Permit wire services, which the Apportioned Registration Manual names as a channel for obtaining trip permits
- Caught without one
- The permit has to be carried in the cab of the vehicle it was issued for, or that vehicle can be subject to full registration. It is not transferable. Motor Carrier Services may refuse to issue a trip permit to anyone who formerly held an MVC license or registration that was suspended, revoked, denied, or cancelled for any reason. The manual also states these permits are meant for occasional or emergency use and should not be used to avoid or evade apportioned 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
- $25 ($25.00 each. The IFTA Licensee Manual prices it as an anticipated cost of $25 per permit, and the Apportioned Registration Manual states the cost is $25 flatly.)
- Who needs it
- An interstate motor carrier operating commercial vehicles in New Jersey that holds no IFTA license, and any carrier that qualifies for IFTA but does not want to participate in the program. New Jersey offers the same credential to out-of-state carriers for a specific vehicle in lieu of regular IFTA licensing.
- Where to buy
- New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, Motor Carrier Services, Fuel Tax Section, Trenton, which the IFTA Licensee Manual identifies as the issuing office
- Caught without one
- The permit displays the time and date of issue plus owner and vehicle information, and it has to be carried in the cab of the vehicle it was issued for at all times while it is valid. The IFTA Licensee Manual also warns that failing to display IFTA decals properly can put the operator into buying a trip permit plus a fine. A carrier that qualifies for IFTA and declines it buys a fuel permit for every member jurisdiction it travels through, where prices and time periods differ.
Worth knowing
Two other temporary credentials sit alongside these and are easy to confuse with them. The unladen vehicle permit, known as the hunter's permit, is the temporary registration of an unladen apportionable vehicle that every IRP member jurisdiction must offer, issued for a minimum fee and at a registered gross weight no higher than the empty weight of the vehicle or combination; the New Jersey manual restates the plan requirement without publishing a New Jersey price, so no fee is recorded for it. Separately, an online IRP renewal produces a temporary registration valid 15 days from the new expiration date, and a temporary registration issued with replacement plates is valid 15 days from the date of issue and only while the original apportioned plate's registration has not expired. Neither of those is a trip permit and neither substitutes for one.
Where these fit in the New Jersey permit stack
Temporary permits are the exception path. The standing credentials they replace are IRP apportioned registration and the New Jersey IFTA license. Oversize loads use a different permit family entirely, covered in New Jersey oversize and overweight permits, and the full picture of every state permit lives in New Jersey trucking permits.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a trip permit or a fuel permit for New Jersey?
- 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 New Jersey 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 New Jersey 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 New Jersey 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 New Jersey 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.