By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Sep 27, 2026
North Dakota is an IFTA member and, unlike most states, runs IFTA through the Department of Transportation rather than the tax department: the NDDOT Motor Carrier Section in Bismarck handles both IRP and IFTA. A new IFTA account costs a 20 dollar application fee plus a 5 dollar license fee and 1 dollar per decal set; renewals are 5 dollars plus decals. Quarterly returns are filed online and are due April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31, with a minimum late penalty of 50 dollars.
North Dakota IFTA administration
- Agency
- North Dakota Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division, Motor Carrier Section (Prorate Section)
- License fee
- $5 (SFN 17105 instructions: a 5 dollar license fee is charged on original and renewal applications, and a 20 dollar handling fee is charged on original and reinstatement applications, so a first-time licensee pays 25 dollars plus decals.)
- Decal fee
- $1 (1 dollar per vehicle for decals, plus a 3 dollar card fee when ordering additional decals during the year. Carriers may order decals only for the number of IFTA-qualified vehicles in the fleet (no extras).)
- Application
- SFN 17105, International Fuel Tax License Application and Reinstatement, plus SFN 60450, Agreement to Maintain Records for IRP and IFTA (both part of the Motor Carrier New Account Packet)
- Application: methods
- New IRP and IFTA accounts are set up by email or fax only: return the completed New Account Packet to [email protected] or fax 701-328-3500; in-person appointments are not available for new account setups. After approval and payment, a temporary IFTA license can be requested by email to use until permanent credentials are mailed.
- Application: requirements
- The IFTA account number is the carrier's FEIN (or an assigned number when there is none). The license will not issue or renew with a delinquent IRP account, unpaid UCR fees, unpaid IFTA or IRP audit balances, or no miles in North Dakota and at least one other jurisdiction.
- Application: email
- [email protected]
- Filing frequency
- Quarterly. Returns are due April 30 (January to March), July 31 (April to June), October 31 (July to September), and January 31 (October to December); when a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or state holiday, the next business day is the final due date. A return is required every quarter even with no operations or only North Dakota operations. All returns are filed online; NDDOT mails a notice at least 30 days before each due date, but not receiving it does not excuse a late return.
- Base jurisdiction: summary
- North Dakota is the base jurisdiction when the licensee's qualified motor vehicles are based there for registration, operational control and records are kept or can be made available there, and some fleet travel accrues there. Carriers licensing under IFTA must normally also be in IRP and UCR. The license will not renew for a carrier that reports or travels only in North Dakota or files zero-distance returns for 18 months; such a carrier licenses in-state and must show 3 trip permits from other jurisdictions to re-enter IFTA and IRP.
- Base jurisdiction: qualified motor vehicle
- A motor vehicle used, designed, or maintained for transporting persons or property with two axles and a gross or registered gross weight over 26,000 pounds, three or more axles regardless of weight, or used in combination when the combination exceeds 26,000 pounds. Recreational vehicles are excluded.
- Late-filing penalty
- A late return or late payment draws a penalty of 50 dollars or the current yearly percentage determined by IFTA, Inc., whichever is greater, plus interest on tax due each jurisdiction, with a full month's interest for any part of a month unpaid. Failure to file, pay, or keep records can also bring revocation of the IFTA license.
More North Dakota IFTA rules
- Filing portal: detail
- The same NDDOT system used for IRP handles IFTA license renewal, quarterly returns, and additional decals. First-time users create a North Dakota State User ID and then call 701-328-1287 (or wait for an authorization code mailed the next business day) to be linked to their IFTA account; ACH bank authorization takes 7 to 14 business days. Amended returns cannot be filed online. A net overpayment over 100 dollars is refunded; smaller credits stay on the account, and 5 dollars or less due carries forward to the next quarter.
- Qualified motor vehicle
- Two axles and a gross or registered gross weight over 26,000 pounds, three or more axles regardless of weight, or use in combination when the combination exceeds 26,000 pounds. Recreational vehicles are excluded.
- License period
- Calendar year: the IFTA license and decals are valid January 1 to December 31 of the year shown. Renewal decals may go on the vehicle 2 months early without covering the current decal.
- Credentials
- One IFTA license is issued per account; the carrier keeps the original and places a copy in each qualified vehicle. Each vehicle gets 1 set of 2 decals, placed on the exterior of the cab on both sides. Missing license copies or decals can bring a trip permit purchase, a citation, or both.
- Renewal
- Each November the online system sends every license holder a renewal letter; the carrier renews online, verifies account information, and orders decals for the next calendar year. There is no grace period for filing the renewal: renewals must be filed before the license year ends, and the two-month grace period applies only to displaying renewal credentials.
- Bond requirement
- None published. The NDDOT IFTA manual, the SFN 17105 application and instructions, and the NDDOT IFTA page list license, decal, and handling fees but no bond or security requirement.
- Recordkeeping
- Keep fuel records, distance records, and monthly operation summaries for each vehicle for four years after the return was due or filed, whichever is later (the NDDOT FAQ says four years plus the current year), and keep unused decals. The records must be original, driver-prepared trip records such as the Individual Vehicle Mileage and Fuel Report (SFN 16921); NDDOT states ELD data is not a substitute. NDDOT must audit at least 3 percent of North Dakota based IFTA accounts.
- Grace period
- No grace period for filing the renewal. The two-month grace period applies only to displaying renewal credentials (renewal decals may go on the vehicle two months early).
- Trip permit: summary
- Nonresident carriers without an IFTA license buy a 72-hour fuel permit for 15 dollars, valid for one trip and ending at 72 hours or when the vehicle leaves North Dakota, whichever comes first. NDCC 57-43.2-39(4) allows occasional trip permits at 15 dollars per trip, where occasional means no more than one trip into or through the state in any seventy-two-hour period. North Dakota based vehicles are exempt from the fuel permit. Permits are sold through NDHP E-Permits.
Licensing rules, records, and penalties
Which vehicles the licence covers, how long it runs, what North Dakota can ask you to post or produce, and what a late or wrong return costs. Each one is sourced.
- Qualified motor vehicle
- Two axles and a gross or registered gross weight over 26,000 pounds, three or more axles regardless of weight, or use in combination when the combination exceeds 26,000 pounds. Recreational vehicles are excluded.
- Application: Form
- SFN 17105, International Fuel Tax License Application and Reinstatement, plus SFN 60450, Agreement to Maintain Records for IRP and IFTA (both part of the Motor Carrier New Account Packet)
- Application: Methods
- New IRP and IFTA accounts are set up by email or fax only: return the completed New Account Packet to [email protected] or fax 701-328-3500; in-person appointments are not available for new account setups. After approval and payment, a temporary IFTA license can be requested by email to use until permanent credentials are mailed.
- Application: Requirements
- The IFTA account number is the carrier's FEIN (or an assigned number when there is none). The license will not issue or renew with a delinquent IRP account, unpaid UCR fees, unpaid IFTA or IRP audit balances, or no miles in North Dakota and at least one other jurisdiction.
- Application: Email
- [email protected]
- License period
- Calendar year: the IFTA license and decals are valid January 1 to December 31 of the year shown. Renewal decals may go on the vehicle 2 months early without covering the current decal.
- Credentials
- One IFTA license is issued per account; the carrier keeps the original and places a copy in each qualified vehicle. Each vehicle gets 1 set of 2 decals, placed on the exterior of the cab on both sides. Missing license copies or decals can bring a trip permit purchase, a citation, or both.
- Renewal
- Each November the online system sends every license holder a renewal letter; the carrier renews online, verifies account information, and orders decals for the next calendar year. There is no grace period for filing the renewal: renewals must be filed before the license year ends, and the two-month grace period applies only to displaying renewal credentials.
- Penalties: Audit
- If records are inadequate for audit, NDDOT may adjust the reported fleet MPG to 4.00, cut it by 20 percent, or disallow tax-paid fuel credits. A written hearing request must be made within 30 days of the notice of the audit finding, or the finding is final.
- Bond requirement
- None published. The NDDOT IFTA manual, the SFN 17105 application and instructions, and the NDDOT IFTA page list license, decal, and handling fees but no bond or security requirement.
- Recordkeeping
- Keep fuel records, distance records, and monthly operation summaries for each vehicle for four years after the return was due or filed, whichever is later (the NDDOT FAQ says four years plus the current year), and keep unused decals. The records must be original, driver-prepared trip records such as the Individual Vehicle Mileage and Fuel Report (SFN 16921); NDDOT states ELD data is not a substitute. NDDOT must audit at least 3 percent of North Dakota based IFTA accounts.
Who licenses for IFTA in North Dakota
North Dakota is the base jurisdiction when the qualified vehicles are based here for registration, operational control and records are kept or available here, and some fleet travel happens here. IFTA licensees normally also hold IRP and UCR.
A qualified vehicle follows the standard test: two axles above the weight line, three or more axles at any weight, or a combination above the line. A carrier that reports travel only in North Dakota, or files zero-distance returns for a long stretch, loses renewal and must license in state.
How to apply
The application is part of the Motor Carrier New Account Packet: the IFTA license application plus the agreement to maintain records for IRP and IFTA. Send it by email or fax, because in-person appointments are not offered for new accounts. The account number is the carrier's FEIN.
A first-time licensee pays a handling fee on top of the license fee, plus a per-vehicle decal charge. The license will not issue with a delinquent IRP account, unpaid UCR fees, or unpaid audit balances. After approval and payment, a temporary license can be requested by email while the permanent one is mailed. No bond requirement is published.
Filing cadence and the online system
Returns run quarterly, due at the end of the month after each quarter, moved to the next business day when the date lands on a weekend or state holiday. A return is due every quarter even with no operations. NDDOT mails a reminder ahead of each due date, and a missing reminder does not excuse a late return.
Everything files through North Dakota Motor Carrier Online Services, the same system as IRP. First-time users create a state user ID and then link it to the IFTA account by phone or with a mailed code. Amended returns cannot be filed online.
Renewal, records, and penalties
The license and decals run on the calendar year. Each November the system sends a renewal letter, and renewal must be filed before the year ends; the two-month grace covers only putting new decals on early.
Late returns draw a minimum penalty or the IFTA percentage, whichever is greater, plus interest. Keep original, driver-prepared trip records for four years after the return, and note that NDDOT does not accept ELD data as a substitute. Weak records at audit can mean an adjusted fleet MPG, a percentage cut, or lost tax-paid credits.
The tax rates live in the quarterly matrix
IFTA rates change every quarter, so we keep them in one refreshed store instead of copying them onto every state page. The current quarter is 4Q 2026, effective Oct 1, 2026 through Dec 31, 2026, provisional until Dec 4, 2026. Use the IFTA rates by state table for the full matrix, or the IFTA calculator to run your miles and gallons against the current rates.
For the registration-to-return process in order, follow the North Dakota IFTA filing walkthrough.
What pairs with IFTA
IFTA and IRP travel together: the same interstate operation that needs a fuel tax license usually needs apportioned plates through North Dakota IRP. If you are still setting up, the full order of operations is in start a trucking company in North Dakota.