By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Jul 25, 2026
Ohio sells two unrelated temporary credentials from two agencies, and buying one does nothing for the other. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles sells a 72-hour trip permit that stands in for apportioned registration. The Department of Taxation sells a fuel use single-trip permit that stands in for the annual fuel use permit. Both are bought online, and in both cases the price sits in an administrative rule rather than on the agency's own web page.
The trip permit (registration side)
This credential answers for registration. Without it, a vehicle whose cab card does not list Ohio has no legal registration standing in the state.
- Fee
- $15 (Ohio Adm.Code 4501:1-8-11(C) sets the trip permit fee at fifteen dollars and its validity at seventy-two hours. The Ohio BMV IRP page describes the permit and the purchase channel but does not restate the amount, so the rule is where the figure comes from.)
- Who needs it
- A qualified IRP vehicle that has no Ohio apportionment and needs to travel now. The BMV describes it as a registration option issued in lieu of IRP credentials for a vehicle properly registered in its base jurisdiction. It also runs the other direction: because apportioned registration is not mandatory in Ohio, an Ohio carrier that only leaves the state occasionally may buy a trip permit from each jurisdiction it enters rather than run apportioned plates. A commercial vehicle is IRP-qualified when it is a power unit with two axles and a gross vehicle weight over 26,000 pounds, a power unit with three or more axles at any weight, or used in combination when the combination weight exceeds 26,000 pounds.
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
- $24 (Ohio Adm.Code 5703-13-04(A)(2) sets the cost at twenty-four dollars for each twenty-four hour period. That amount is not an administrative charge; the rule states it is the estimate of the motor fuel use tax required by division (B)(4) of ORC 5728.03. The Ohio Department of Taxation IFTA page explains how to buy the permit but does not restate the amount.)
- Who needs it
- An operator of a motor vehicle subject to the Ohio fuel use tax that does not hold an annual motor fuel use permit. Ohio's fuel use tax reaches a commercial car or commercial tractor operated in two or more jurisdictions, so the usual buyer is a truck crossing Ohio without an IFTA license, or an Ohio carrier that has not yet licensed for IFTA.
- Where to buy
- OH|TAX eServices, paid by ACH debit; company name, company identification, address, vehicle identification number and unit number are needed at the time of purchase; An authorized independent permit service, during hours when the Ohio Business Gateway is not available
- Caught without one
- A carrier whose IFTA account sits in revoked status is not eligible for a single-trip permit, and Ohio Adm.Code 5703-13-04(B)(3)(a) separately bars an authorized independent permit service from knowingly issuing one to a person whose motor fuel use tax permit has been suspended under ORC 5728.11.
Worth knowing
Neither permit substitutes for the other, and neither substitutes for the PUCO Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity that a for-hire carrier hauling point to point inside Ohio needs. A trip permit covers registration; a fuel use single-trip permit covers fuel tax. Ohio levies no weight-distance tax, so there is no third per-mile pass to buy on top of these two.
Where these fit in the Ohio permit stack
Temporary permits are the exception path. The standing credentials they replace are IRP apportioned registration and the Ohio IFTA license. Oversize loads use a different permit family entirely, covered in Ohio oversize and overweight permits, and the full picture of every state permit lives in Ohio trucking permits.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a trip permit or a fuel permit for Ohio?
- 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 Ohio 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 Ohio 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 Ohio 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 Ohio 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.