By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Sep 26, 2026
Utah clocks both temporary credentials in 96-hour units. A carrier entering with vehicles not apportioned for Utah buys a 96-hour temporary registration, priced separately for a single unit and for a power unit with trailers, plus a temporary fuel permit, which is the special fuel user trip permit valid for 96 hours or until the qualified vehicle leaves the state. The UDOT IRP page defines the single-unit and combo-unit split and refers carriers to Tax Commission Motor Carrier Services for the transactions.
The trip permit (registration side)
This credential answers for registration. Without it, a vehicle whose cab card does not list Utah has no legal registration standing in the state.
- Fee
- $25 ($25 for a single unit (a power unit only) or $50 for a combo unit (a power unit and trailer combination), per Utah Code 41-1a-301(12)(b).)
- Valid for
- Up to 96 hours or until the vehicle leaves the state, whichever is less (Utah Code 41-1a-301(12)(b)).
- Who needs it
- Commercial vehicles meeting another jurisdiction's registration requirements that enter Utah without Utah on their IRP cab card. The UDOT IRP page states that vehicles not apportioned for Utah must have a 96-hour temporary registration and a temporary fuel permit.
- Where to buy
- Motor Carrier Services at the Utah DMV (Utah State Tax Commission): the UDOT IRP page directs 96-hour temporary registration and fuel tax permit questions to dmv.utah.gov/other-services-overview/motorcarriers/, (801) 297-6800 or (888) 251-9555; Motor Carrier Services offices: Salt Lake City, 210 N 1950 W; Washington County, 100 S 5300 W, Hurricane (contacts published on the DMV Motor Carriers page)
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 (The trip permit fee is set by Utah Code 59-13-303(2); it stands in for the annual Special Fuel User permit.)
- Valid for
- 96 hours or until the qualified vehicle leaves the state, whichever occurs first (Utah Code 59-13-303(2)).
- Who needs it
- Qualified motor vehicles operating in Utah with no IFTA license and no Utah special fuel user credentials. Carriers whose qualified vehicles never leave Utah carry the annual Special Fuel User permit instead of an IFTA license, and out-of-state carriers buy the trip permit for occasional entry.
- Where to buy
- Motor Carrier Services at the Utah DMV (Utah State Tax Commission), the route the UDOT IRP page names for temporary registration and fuel tax permits; Tax Commission fuel tax account services (Miscellaneous Taxes, (801) 297-7710), which handle IFTA and Special Fuel User licensing
Worth knowing
No online purchase path for either temporary credential is published on the pages read this pass: the UDOT online Motor Carrier Services system sells oversize and overweight permits, while the temporary registration and the fuel trip permit route through Motor Carrier Services offices and phone lines. R909-2-8(1) separately lets oversize and overweight entrants obtain that permit on entry at the St. George, Echo, and Wendover ports of entry, a rule no source we read extends to the temporary registration or the fuel trip permit.
Where these fit in the Utah permit stack
Temporary permits are the exception path. The standing credentials they replace are IRP apportioned registration and the Utah IFTA license. Oversize loads use a different permit family entirely, covered in Utah oversize and overweight permits, and the full picture of every state permit lives in Utah trucking permits.