By Haul Handbook editorial team· Updated Oct 5, 2026
Vermont has been an IRP member since the 1988 registration year. Apportioned plates are issued only by the Commercial Vehicle Office in Montpelier, which recommends applying by mail and bills the registration fee after processing rather than taking payment with the application. Fees are each jurisdiction's full fee multiplied by the fleet's share of miles there. A new account must prove an established place of business in Vermont with at least three listed documents, and the DMV warned on August 18, 2026 that new IRP and IFTA accounts face processing delays while it verifies them.
Vermont IRP administration
- Agency
- Vermont Agency of Transportation, Department of Motor Vehicles, Commercial Vehicle Operations (IRP Unit)
- Office
- IRP registrations are processed only at the Commercial Vehicle Office of the Montpelier DMV, 120 State Street, Montpelier, VT 05603-0001, Monday through Friday, 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Process
- New accounts file Vermont Schedule A/E (Form CVO-160) with a Vermont Registration, Tax and Title Application (VD-119), title or certificate of origin, proof of established place of business, Form 2290 proof for vehicles of 55,000 pounds or more, a Federal Employer Identification Number and a USDOT number. Each vehicle not already registered in the applicant's name in Vermont owes the 6 percent Purchase and Use Tax (capped at $2,486 for trucks registered over 10,099 pounds) and a $42 title fee plus $14 per lien. Add or delete vehicles on Schedule C/E (Form CVO-162) within 72 hours; an add-delete transfer carries a $25 transfer fee.
- Fee structure
- Each jurisdiction's registration fee is multiplied by the fleet's percentage of total distance there. The DMV's worked example uses a full-year Vermont fee of $1,639.00 for an 80,000-pound diesel tractor-trailer.
- Fees: other fees
- Vermont titles and Purchase and Use Tax are collected by the IRP Unit with the registration. Replacement credentials cost $15 for one plate, $29 for two plates and $20 for a cab card. A refund for credentials returned unused within 30 days carries a $5 administrative fee.
- Cab card
- Vermont issues two apportioned plates with the same number, front and rear, plus a cab card per power unit; plates, cab card and validation stickers must be on the vehicle on the first day of the registration month. Enforcement checks the VIN on the cab card against the vehicle, and an altered cab card may be treated as void.
- Process: system
- Applications by mail or at the Montpelier counter (processing there may take an hour or more); myDMV for online business account access
To work through your mileage inputs, calculate each jurisdiction’s share of your fleet miles. The estimator apportions any full-year fees you enter; it does not contain state fee schedules or issue an official quote.
More Vermont IRP rules
- Temporary credentials: trip permit
- A vehicle based elsewhere that is eligible for IRP but not apportioned for Vermont must buy a 72-hour trip permit before entering. 23 V.S.A. § 3702 sets the fee at $15, the IRP/IFTA manual says $15 plus additional permit service fees, and the DMV Commercial Trucking Fees page lists 72-Hour Trip Permits at $20. Trip permits require a USDOT number.
- Temporary credentials: temporary authorization
- A Vermont-based registrant can get 45-day temporary authorization for a vehicle being added to the fleet for $15, after filing Schedule C/E and paying tax, title and registration fees; the permanent application must follow within 10 days.
- Temporary credentials: hunters permit
- An unladen-weight (Hunter) permit for an owner-operator not under lease, registered at no more than empty weight: $20 for 20 days under 23 V.S.A. § 3704. The DMV manual describes it as valid for up to 30 days and issued only to Vermont-based carriers.
- Contact: office
- Vermont DMV, Commercial Vehicle Operations, IRP Unit (Commercial Vehicle Office, Montpelier)
- Contact: note
- 802-828-2071 is printed on the DMV's International Registration Plan page itself under IRP Registration Processing, and again as the IRP line in the IRP/IFTA manual and the DMV motor carrier guide. It is the state IRP office line, not a permit vendor's. The manual lists fax 802-241-0079 for IRP/IFTA. The DMV also takes questions through its online contact form.
Base jurisdiction, renewal, and audit in detail
The rules that decide whether Vermont can be your base jurisdiction, what qualifies, and what happens at renewal and audit. Each one is sourced.
- Base jurisdiction rules: Summary
- Vermont can be the base jurisdiction only with an established place of business: an owned or leased physical structure in Vermont with a street address, open and staffed during regular business hours by at least one permanent employee (not a contractor) managing the trucking business, where fleet records are kept or made available. Credentialing, distance and fuel reporting, or answering a phone alone does not count.
- Base jurisdiction rules: Evidence
- Three or more of the following in the registrant's name: prior-year state, federal or property tax returns; a recent utility bill; a lease or landlord certificate; or the Vermont CDL of a principal owning at least 80 percent of the company.
- Qualifying vehicles: Scope
- A fleet traveling in Vermont and at least one other IRP jurisdiction must apportion if it carries persons for hire or is designed, used or maintained mainly to carry property, and is a power unit over 26,000 pounds, a power unit with three or more axles regardless of weight, a combination over 26,000 pounds, or a commercial vehicle operating intrastate in two or more jurisdictions regardless of weight. Lighter vehicles and two-axle vehicles may apportion at the registrant's option.
- Qualifying vehicles: Exemptions
- Government-owned vehicles, city pickup and delivery vehicles, recreational vehicles, and vehicles with restricted plates (time, area, mileage or commodity limits).
- Renewal: Summary
- Registration runs one year and expires on the last day of the month before the original registration month; all vehicles in a fleet share an expiration date. Renewal listings (Schedules A/E and B) are mailed about a month before expiration, with the distance schedule based on the July 1 to June 30 reporting period.
- Audit: Detail
- Keep operational records for the registration year being applied for plus the three prior distance-reporting periods (the 2023 DMV guide says 5 years). Inadequate records draw added fees of 20 percent for a first finding, 50 percent for a second and 100 percent for a third, and can bar apportioned registration for a year. Vermont tries to schedule IRP audits together with IFTA audits.
What the Vermont share of the fee is built from
An IRP bill is the base jurisdiction's own registration fee for the vehicle, apportioned by mileage, plus the same for every other jurisdiction on the cab card. These are the Vermont inputs to that calculation, each with its official source.
Which trucks need IRP plates
A fleet running in Vermont and at least one other IRP jurisdiction apportions its heavier power units, three-axle units and heavy combinations. Lighter and two-axle vehicles may apportion by choice. Government vehicles, city pickup and delivery vehicles, recreational vehicles and restricted-plate vehicles are exempt.
Applying and paying
New accounts file Schedule A/E with the Vermont registration, tax and title application, the title, Form 2290 proof for heavy trucks, an EIN and a USDOT number. The IRP Unit collects the Purchase and Use Tax and title fees with the registration, and it takes Form 2290 returns for the IRS. Do not send fees with the application; wait for the invoice.
Add or delete trucks on Schedule C/E within 72 hours. A Vermont-based fleet can run a new truck on temporary authorization while the permanent plate is processed.
Making Vermont your base
Vermont can be your base only with an established place of business: an owned or leased building with a Vermont street address, open and staffed in business hours by a permanent employee who manages the trucking business, where fleet records are kept. Paperwork services or a phone line do not qualify. Prove it with at least three listed documents, such as prior-year tax returns, a utility bill, a lease, or the Vermont CDL of a principal who holds the ownership share the manual sets.
Plates and cab cards
Vermont issues two apportioned plates with the same number, front and rear, plus a cab card for each power unit. Plates, cab card and stickers must be on the truck on the first day of the registration month. Enforcement checks the cab card VIN against the truck, and an altered cab card may be treated as void. Replacement plates and cab cards each carry a fee.
Renewal and audits
Registration runs one year, and every truck in the fleet shares one expiration date. Renewal listings arrive about a month ahead, using miles from the July to June reporting period. Keep distance records for the registration year and the three before it: poor records draw added fees that rise with each finding and can bar apportioned plates for a year. Vermont tries to run IRP and IFTA audits together.
Reach the Vermont IRP office
Account problems, supplement filings and credential replacements all route through the office that holds the account. Everything below is the agency's own published channel; where it publishes no phone line, the note says so rather than pointing at a permit vendor's number.
- Notes
- 802-828-2071 is printed on the DMV's International Registration Plan page itself under IRP Registration Processing, and again as the IRP line in the IRP/IFTA manual and the DMV motor carrier guide. It is the state IRP office line, not a permit vendor's. The manual lists fax 802-241-0079 for IRP/IFTA. The DMV also takes questions through its online contact form.
What pairs with IRP
The same interstate operation that needs apportioned plates almost always needs an IFTA license through Vermont, and heavy power units owe the federal Form 2290 heavy vehicle use tax before plates renew. To compare how other states run IRP, see the national IRP registration table.