By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Aug 5, 2026
Wisconsin sells one temporary credential with two halves. The 72-hour trip permit has a registration part that stands in for apportioned plates and a fuel tax part that stands in for an IFTA licence, each priced at $15, and a carrier may buy either half alone or both for $30. A separate unladen permit, which WisDOT also calls a hunters permit, temporarily registers an empty apportionable vehicle for 30 days at $15. Both are bought from WisDOT's own online portals and both have to be carried on paper.
The trip permit (registration side)
This credential answers for registration. Without it, a vehicle whose cab card does not list Wisconsin has no legal registration standing in the state.
- Fee
- $15 (The registration half is $15. The fuel tax half is another $15, so a carrier that needs both pays $30 for the same permit. WisDOT states the fee for each part is $15, for a total of $30 if both are purchased, and the halves may be bought separately. Payment is by Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express, which carry a convenience fee, or by ACH from a checking or savings account, which does not.)
- Who needs it
- Only applicants moving vehicles into Wisconsin that are not registered in Wisconsin and not enrolled in either IRP or IFTA are eligible. Vehicles registered in Iowa, Michigan and Minnesota need one once they run beyond the 30 mile border reciprocity zones. The permit cannot authorise the movement of an unregistered vehicle on a trip that begins in Wisconsin, and an exempt for-hire carrier operating intrastate must have Wisconsin authority and insurance on file before it can buy one.
- Where to buy
- WisDOT's online 72-hour trip permit application at trust.dot.state.wi.us; A commercial permit service acting for the carrier, which adds its own charge on top of the state fee
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
- $15 (The in lieu of fuel tax half of the 72-hour trip permit is $15, the same price as the registration half, and the two together are $30. A carrier that already holds Wisconsin apportioned plates but no IFTA licence buys this half alone.)
- Who needs it
- A carrier running a qualified motor vehicle into Wisconsin without an IFTA licence, where the vehicle is not registered in Wisconsin and not enrolled in IRP or IFTA. Iowa and Minnesota residents running within 30 air miles of the Wisconsin border already have fuel tax reciprocity and need no permit for those trips, and since November 1, 2022 the same border agreement covers Michigan vehicles hauling only raw forest products.
- Where to buy
- WisDOT's online 72-hour trip permit application at trust.dot.state.wi.us; A commercial permit service acting for the carrier, which adds its own charge on top of the state fee
Worth knowing
Wisconsin sells a third temporary credential that is neither a trip permit nor a fuel permit in the usual sense. The unladen permit, which WisDOT also calls a hunters permit, is issued for temporary registration of an unladen or empty apportionable vehicle before permanent registration, is valid for 30 days from the time and date on the permit and is valid in all member jurisdictions, and costs $15. It is the permit to reach for when a newly bought tractor has to be driven home empty before its apportioned plate arrives. Like the 72-hour permit it is bought online, paid by card with a convenience fee or by ACH without one, and carried on paper. Under full reciprocity a carrier that already holds IRP no longer needs trip permits at all.
Where these fit in the Wisconsin permit stack
Temporary permits are the exception path. The standing credentials they replace are IRP apportioned registration and the Wisconsin IFTA license. Oversize loads use a different permit family entirely, covered in Wisconsin oversize and overweight permits, and the full picture of every state permit lives in Wisconsin trucking permits.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a trip permit or a fuel permit for Wisconsin?
- 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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin 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.