Not tax advice. This is general information for truckers, not tax or legal advice. Rules, permit terms, time limits and penalties change and differ by state, so verify them with your base jurisdiction and with each state a truck will travel in before buying a permit or filing; a qualified tax professional can also help.

Do I Need an IFTA Licence for One Trip? How IFTA Trip Permits Work

Under IFTA's rules, an IFTA licence is not the only way to pay fuel use tax on a run across state lines. The IFTA Articles of Agreement (August 2025 edition), in section R310, say that in place of an IFTA licence, a carrier may choose to meet its motor fuel use tax obligations trip by trip. That is what a fuel trip permit does.

For a carrier running on trip permits instead of a licence, the Texas Comptroller puts it plainly: a trip permit is needed for each state the truck travels in, and each state has its own instructions for getting one.

This post covers what IFTA says about trip permits, then what Texas, Wisconsin, Washington, North Dakota and Alabama say about theirs. California is covered in a post of its own: CFTP vs IFTA in California.

This post does not answer whether a particular carrier or truck may run on trip permits in place of a licence. Some of the states below limit who may use their permits, and the state that issues a permit is the one to ask about its terms.

Which trucks does IFTA cover?

IFTA's rules are about "qualified motor vehicles." Under the Articles, a qualified motor vehicle is a motor vehicle used, designed, or maintained to carry persons or property that:

• has two axles and a gross or registered gross vehicle weight over 26,000 pounds (11,797 kg)
• has three or more axles, whatever its weight
• is used in combination, when the combination's gross or registered gross weight is over 26,000 pounds (11,797 kg)

The Articles then say that a carrier based in a member jurisdiction that runs a qualified motor vehicle in two or more member jurisdictions is required to license under IFTA, except as sections R310 and R500 allow. R310 is the trip-permit section.

Getting a licence is covered in IFTA for new owner-operators.

Fuel permit or registration permit?

A fuel trip permit is not the only kind of trip permit. Some states sell a registration or vehicle permit as well, and the names can blur.

• Wisconsin's trip permit has two parts, temporary registration and fuel tax. Wisconsin says most buyers take both, but the registration part and the fuel tax part may be bought separately.
• Washington has a fuel permit and, separate from it, a vehicle trip permit (more on both below).
• Alabama's rule names three: an IRP trip permit, an IFTA trip permit, or a combined IRP/IFTA trip permit.

How IRP and IFTA differ is in IRP vs IFTA: two licences, two purposes.

Trip permit vs temporary decal permit

These two get mixed up.

A temporary decal permit is for carriers who already hold an IFTA licence. The Articles say a base jurisdiction may issue a 30-day IFTA temporary decal permit to a licensee in good standing, to carry in place of the annual decals.

A trip permit is the section R310 way of paying fuel use tax trip by trip, in place of a licence.

The two meet at the roadside. Under the Articles, a driver who does not display the decals or carry a temporary permit may have to buy a trip permit, take a citation, or both.

How do states handle fuel trip permits?

The terms below are each state's own, as its pages read on the dates listed under Sources. None of them speaks for any other state.

Texas

Texas sets a limit on who may use them. A carrier may buy a trip permit in place of the Texas interstate trucker licence or an IFTA licence only if it makes no more than five entries into Texas in a calendar year.

Each permit is good for one entry into Texas, and for 20 days from the date of entry. Texas also says a round trip through Texas counts as two separate entries, even when it is done within 20 days.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin's 72-hour trip permit is valid for 72 hours from the time and date on the permit.

Not every truck can get one. Wisconsin says only vehicles coming into Wisconsin that are not registered in Wisconsin and not enrolled in IRP or IFTA are eligible. Its IFTA page adds that the permit can be bought from a permit service or self-issued.

Washington

Washington says a special permit must be bought on entering the state when a qualifying diesel or propane-powered commercial vehicle's fuel tax is not paid under IFTA.

Its vehicle trip permit is a different thing. It covers one commercial vehicle at the maximum weight limit for 3 consecutive days, with no more than 3 permits for any one vehicle within 30 days.

North Dakota

North Dakota lets nonresidents buy a 72-hour fuel permit in place of an IFTA licence. The permit ends after 72 hours or when the vehicle leaves the state, whichever comes first, and covers one trip only.

Alabama

Alabama's rule says vehicles that fall under IRP and IFTA but are not licensed under them must buy the permit they need before entering Alabama.

The five states side by side

State	Who it is for	How long it lasts	Other points the state names (not a full list)
Texas	Carriers with no more than 5 entries into Texas a calendar year	One entry, 20 days from entry	A round trip is two entries
Wisconsin	Vehicles coming into Wisconsin that are not registered there and not in IRP or IFTA	72 hours from the time on the permit	Registration and fuel parts can be bought separately
Washington (fuel permit)	Qualifying diesel or propane-powered commercial vehicles not paying fuel tax under IFTA	Not covered here	Bought on entering the state
North Dakota	Nonresidents	72 hours, or until the truck leaves the state, whichever comes first	One trip only
Alabama	Vehicles under IRP and IFTA but not licensed	Not covered here	Bought before entering the state

"Not covered here" means this post does not cover it. That is a question for the state's own office.

Do trip-permit miles go on the quarterly report?

Sometimes a licensed carrier's quarter includes miles run on a trip permit. For that case, the commentary in the IFTA Articles says those miles go in total miles traveled, but not in that jurisdiction's taxable miles. How a base jurisdiction wants them shown on its own report is a question for that jurisdiction.

Which other miles count is in which miles count for IFTA, and the full quarterly form is walked through in how to prepare an IFTA report, step by step.

The short version

• Under IFTA section R310, a carrier may choose to pay fuel use tax trip by trip in place of holding an IFTA licence. Some states limit who may use their permits, as Texas and Wisconsin do.
• For a carrier on trip permits, Texas says a permit is needed for each state travelled in, and each state has its own instructions for getting one.
• A fuel trip permit is not the only kind. Wisconsin's permit has a registration part and a fuel part, Alabama names IRP and IFTA trip permits, and Washington has a vehicle trip permit separate from its fuel permit.
• A 30-day temporary decal permit is for licensed carriers. It is not a trip permit.
• Texas allows trip permits in place of a licence only for carriers with no more than five entries into Texas in a calendar year.
• On a licensee's report, trip-permit miles go in total miles but not taxable miles, IFTA's commentary says.

When something here differs from what a state says, the state's word wins.

This post describes IFTA's and the states' rules, not how a WheelsAndAxle worksheet works out its figures. A WheelsAndAxle worksheet is a preparation aid for review before filing.

Sources

• IFTA, Inc. — IFTA Articles of Agreement (August 2025 edition) — checked 2026-10-13
• Texas Comptroller — Fuel trip permits — checked 2026-10-13
• Wisconsin DOT — 72-hour trip permit — checked 2026-10-13
• Wisconsin DOT — Trip permits — checked 2026-10-13
• Wisconsin DOT — IFTA — checked 2026-10-13
• State of Washington — Commercial vehicle temporary permits — checked 2026-10-13
• State of North Dakota — Fuel permit — checked 2026-10-13
• Alabama Department of Revenue — Rule 810-5-1-.470, IRP and IFTA trip permits — checked 2026-10-13