If you own a truck, three acronyms decide whether you can legally roll across state lines: IFTA, IRP plates, and permits. Mess one up and you're paying fines, sitting at a scale, or stuck at the office instead of moving freight.

Here's what each one actually is—and how much of it you have to handle yourself.

IFTA: the fuel tax you file every quarter

The International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) is how the 48 contiguous states and Canadian provinces split up fuel taxes between them. You buy diesel in one state but drive through five—IFTA sorts out who gets paid.

Every quarter you report:

  • Miles driven in each state
  • Gallons of fuel purchased in each state

You either owe money or get a credit depending on where you fueled versus where you ran. Skip a filing and penalties stack up fast. This is the paperwork most owner-operators dread, because it means tracking every mile and saving every fuel receipt.

Apportioned IRP plates: your ticket to all 48 states

A standard plate only covers your home state. To run interstate you need apportioned plates through the International Registration Plan (IRP). These register your truck across multiple states at once, with the cost split based on the miles you run in each.

Without apportioned plates, you're not legally running loads across state lines. With them, you can cross into all 48.

Permits: the extra paperwork for specific states and loads

Beyond plates and fuel tax, certain states and load types require their own permits:

  • State-specific permits — a few states (like New York, Kentucky, New Mexico, and Oregon) require separate mileage or weight permits.
  • Oversize/overweight permits — required per-trip when you're hauling something heavier or wider than legal limits, common on flatbed, step deck, and RGN work.
  • Trip permits — temporary authority when you don't have full apportioned registration for a state.

Who handles all this—you or your carrier?

This is where your business setup matters.

Running under your own authority is one path in the industry. You'd get your own DOT/MC number, register for IFTA and apportioned plates in your name, and file everything yourself every quarter. It's doable, but it's a real administrative load—and it is not what ARI offers.

ARI is a motor carrier, not a broker. When you lease on, you run under ARI's DOT/MC authority. You don't need your own authority, and you can't run your own authority through ARI—it's a lease-on program. The upside is that the compliance burden gets handled for you.

Specifically, when you run under ARI:

  • IFTA is handled on ARI's plate program—not a quarterly filing you're chasing alone.
  • Apportioned IRP plates for all 48 states are available at about $70/week, so you're legal to run anywhere in the lower 48.
  • An ELD runs about $30/week and helps capture the mileage data behind it all.

That means more time driving and less time buried in state-by-state tax math. You're still your own boss—no forced dispatch, you pick your loads and your lanes—but the back-office compliance that eats new owner-operators alive is managed.

The bottom line for owner-operators

IFTA, plates, and permits aren't optional—they're the difference between a legal truck and an expensive headache. The question is whether you want to carry all of it yourself or lease onto a carrier that handles the heavy compliance lifting.

If you'd rather keep your wheels turning and your paperwork simple, leasing on under an established carrier's authority is the cleaner route. See why owner-operators join ARI and how the plate, IFTA, and pay setup actually works, then take a look at the current owner-operator opportunities to see if your truck qualifies.

Questions about plates or getting set up? Call (888) 600-9098 and a real person will walk you through it.