Frequently Asked Questions

The International Registration Plan is a registration reciprocity agreement among states of the United States, the District of Columbia and provinces of Canada providing for payment of license fees on the basis of fleet distance operated in various jurisdictions. See the Plan 

According to the Plan under section 204, all apportionable vehicles, which means any vehicle except for recreational vehicles, vehicles displaying restricted plates, city pick up and delivery vehicles, buses used in transportation of chartered parties, and government-owned vehicles, used or intended for use in two or more member jurisdictions that allocate or proportionally register vehicles and is used for the transportation of persons for hire or designed, used or maintained primarily for the transportation of property and:...

1. Is a power unit having two axles and a gross vehicle weight or registered gross vehicle weight in excess of 26,000 pounds or 11,793.401 kilograms; or
2. Is a power unit having three or more axles, regardless of weight; or
3. Is used in combination, when the weight of such combination exceeds 26,000 pounds or 11,793.401 kilograms gross vehicle weight.

Trucks and truck tractors, and combinations of vehicles having a gross vehicle weight of 26,000 pounds or 11,793.401 kilograms or less and buses used in transportation of chartered parties may be proportionally registered at the option of the registrant.

Further information regarding the IRP can be obtained from the IRP, Inc., website at www.irponline.org, or call the Bureau of Motor Carrier Services IRP Customer Service line at (850) 617-3711.  You may also access the IRP TRUCKING MANUAL (Form HSMV 85500) at www.flhsmv.gov.

For more information see www.flhsmv.gov/dmv/faqcarriers.html

Complete an IRP, FLORIDA APPLICATION, SCHEDULE A & B (Form HSMV 85900).  Step by step instructions can be obtained in the booklet INTERNATIONAL REGISTRATION PLAN APPLICATION AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETION, (Form HSMV 85901).  If you need further assistance regarding registration, please contact the Bureau of Motor Carrier Services Customer Service line at (850) 617-3711. 

For more information see www.flhsmv.gov/dmv/faqcarriers.html

Commercial businesses that provide passenger transportation to the general public, as “for-hire” carriers are required to apportion. Charter operations are exempt from this requirement.

The International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) is an agreement among states to report fuel taxes by interstate motor carriers. To register, you must:

• have an established place of business in Florida from which motor carrier operations are performed,
• mileage must be accrued in Florida,
• your operating records of the fleet must be maintained or can be made available in Florida, and
• you must operate in at least one other IFTA jurisdiction.

Under the IFTA, you are issued an IFTA license and one set of Florida IFTA decals for your truck, which will allow you to operate in all other IFTA jurisdictions without buying additional decals from those jurisdictions.  A copy of the IFTA license may be used in your truck instead of the original license.

Further information regarding IFTA can be obtained by calling the Bureau of Motor Carrier Services Customer Service line at (850) 617-3711.  You may also access the IFTA TRUCKING MANUAL (Form HSMV 85920) at www.flhsmv.gov.

For more information see www.flhsmv.gov/dmv/faqcarriers.html

Complete an APPLICATION FOR INTERNATIONAL FUEL TAX AGREEMENT (Form HSMV 85008).  Once you register with IFTA, a quarterly tax return must be filed even if the licensee does not operate or purchase fuel in any IFTA jurisdiction in any particular quarter.

For more information see www.flhsmv.gov/dmv/faqcarriers.html

The Florida Department of Transportation, Office Motor Carrier Compliance (OMCC), and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), have implemented a Motor Carrier Registration Program for Interstate and Intrastate motor carriers. By law, your company is required to obtain a USDOT number and display it on all your commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). Once you receive the DOT number, it must be affixed on both sides of the power unit, in a color contrasting with the background of the vehicle, and the numbers must be large enough to be legible from fifty feet from the vehicle.

For more information see http://www.flhsmv.gov/fhp/cve/USDOTNumber.htm

The Florida Department of Transportation (DOT), in an effort to streamline the permitting process, is offering this web-based permit application system for overweight/over-dimensional permits. This system allows you to submit your request for overweight/over-dimensional permits over the Internet. Once your permit application is submitted over the Internet, the application will be reviewed by the State Permits Office for compliance with Chapter 14-26, Florida Administrative Code. Payment for the permit can be made by credit card, check or a pre-paid ARI account. Those applications receiving approval for permit will be issued a permit by the Florida Department of Transportation State Permits Office. Trip permits can be faxed directly to the permit applicant if requested, or sent by U.S. Mail. Annual permits will be sent by U.S. Mail.

For more information see http://www.fdot.gov/maintenance/OWODPermits.shtm

Call the Florida Motor Carrier Compliance Office at 850-488-7920 for complete information.

For more information see http://www.flhsmv.gov/hazmat/app.html

Florida CDL Handbook http://www.lowestpricetrafficschool.com/handbooks/cdl/en

A. To obtain an IRP/Fuel Trip Permit please call: 1-800-749-6058. Commercial carriers can purchase temporary operating registration permits at dedicated Weigh Stations, called Ports of Entry, without being penalized. As per F.S. 316.003(56) the following routes and locations are hereby defined as Port of Entry locations:

• I-10: From the Alabama / Florida state line eastbound to the Pensacola Weigh Station (Mile Marker 4)
• I-75: From the Georgia / Florida state line southbound to the White Springs Weigh Station (Mile Marker 450)
• I-95: From the Georgia / Florida state line southbound to the Yulee Weigh Station (Mile Marker 376)

Heavy Vehicle Use Tax (HVUT) - Proof of payment of HVUT is required for commercial registration of trucks weighing 55,000 pounds or more.  This is an annual tax paid to the Internal Revenue Service.

See Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax Return - Form 2290,  and Instructions for Completing Form 2290.

Florida statute 316.003 (3) defines a bus as any motor vehicle designed for carrying more than ten passengers and used for the transportation of persons in commerce.

For more information see Florida Statutes @ http://www.leg.state.fl.us/

As defined in Black’s Law Dictionary, Fifth Edition, commerce is “The exchange of goods, productions, or property of any kind; the buying, selling, and exchanging of articles. The transportation of persons and property by land, water and air.”

Florida statute 316.70 adopts the following federal regulations in their entirety for passenger carrying operations. All of CFR parts 382, 385, and 390-397 are applicable. Additionally carriers are required to carry insurance as required by law for their vehicles and their passenger’s checked luggage.

For more information see Florida Statutes @ http://www.leg.state.fl.us/

Private motor carriers of passengers [PMCPs] are categorized as either business or non-business.

Business PMCPs provide private, intrastate/interstate transportation of passengers in the furtherance of a commercial purpose. For example, buses and coaches used to provide transportation for their own employees, and professional musicians who use buses and coaches for concert tours. Commercial businesses that provide passenger transportation to the general public, as “for-hire” carriers are not business PMCPs and are required to comply with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations in their entirety.

Non-business PMCPs provide private, intrastate/interstate transportation of passengers not in the furtherance of a commercial purpose. Examples are buses and coaches used by churches, scout groups, and other charitable organizations. Non-business PMCPs that provide charter passenger transportation to the general public, with the intent to make a profit are not non-business PMCPs and are considered as “for-hire” carriers. Thus compliance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations in their entirety is required.

 * Non-business PMCPs are exempt from all recordkeeping requirements of Parts 390, 395, and 396. Both groups are exempt from certain sections of Part 391 (see 391.68 and 391.69).

** PMCPs are exempt from the fuel system requirements of Part 393.67, provided the vehicle fuel system is maintained to the original manufacturer’s standard.

No drug testing exemptions exist for PMCP drivers required by F.S. 322 and CFR 383 to have a CDL.

The transportation of preprimary, primary and secondary school children from home to school and from school to home, or any transportation performed by a governmental agency, such as a public school district, is not subject to the FMCSRs.

However, transportation of students by a private school that owns or leases a bus for an extracurricular activity, such as an out-of-state field trip, is subject to the FMCSRs and is classified as non-business private transportation of passengers.

The commercial operations involved with the movement of freight and passengers - the trucking and motorcoach industries and their regulation.