The N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles'
IRP online renewal service allows individuals to renew their International Registration Plan plates and cab cards online. IRP registrants are required to record mileage for each state traveled and report this mileage for the reporting period required.
Note: Registered motor vehicles that have a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more must file a Heavy Vehicle Tax (2290) form with the Internal Revenue Service.
Frequently Asked Questions
View the frequently asked questions below for quick answers to common topics. For additional questions or concerns,
send a message or call the NCDMV Customer Contact Center at (919) 715-7000 from 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays.
You will be able to select an option to pay fees to the North Carolina International Registration Plan offices in either Raleigh or Charlotte, or you can pay by electronic funds transfer.
If you choose to pay by EFT, your renewal fees will be drafted from your checking or savings account.
You must call the International Registration Plan office in Raleigh at (919) 615-6700 to set up your EFT account prior to processing your renewal.
Reciprocity agreements historically have restricted your operations in other states to interstate commerce, leaving you with the burden of purchasing a full-fee plate in each state in which your vehicle(s) must conduct intrastate operations.
Under IRP, your apportioned vehicles may conduct both interstate and intrastate operations. IRP, however, does not preclude the need to register with other state agencies (such as the Fuel Tax Division) or to have appropriate intrastate authority from each state's regulatory commission to conduct intrastate for-hire operations.
Compared to vehicles formerly operating under reciprocity agreements, no. But the International Registration Plan will not increase the number of documents either.
The International Registration Plan supersedes all former agreements on any of the matters covered by this agreement.
Former agreements, however, are not disturbed by the International Registration Plan, as they relate to vehicles not subject to apportioned registration or as they relate to border agreements.
The International Registration Plan further does not affect, in any way, agreements between International Registration Plan jurisdictions and non-International Registration Plan jurisdictions.
The International Registration Plan defines fleet as one or more apportionable vehicles, allowing for single-vehicle fleet apportionment.
No. You must register your vehicles either as a single fleet or in several fleets to meet the nature of your operation(s), except that vehicles must be based for registration purposes:
Registrants having declared more than one fleet may drop any one of the declared fleets at the end of any registration year and include the vehicles of the deleted fleet in other existing declared fleets for apportionment.
Registrants having declared, for example, Fleets 1,2 and 3 may not drop Fleet 3 and declare Fleet 4 for apportionment in any of the jurisdictions with which Fleet 3 was apportioned.
Rental and/or leasing companies, however, would not be subject to the above rule when declaring individual fleets for each lessee.
Apportionable vehicles that are not apportioned should be full-fee plated in their base state and will, if taken on an interstate trip into or through another member jurisdiction, be subject to the trip permit provisions of the International Registration Plan.
Under the provisions of the Plan, restricted plate vehicles, such as those restricted in the commodities they can transport or in the area they may serve, are not apportionable vehicles and are treated under other agreements between jurisdictions.
There no longer exists any jurisdictional (state) requirements for apportioned trailer license plates.
The only requirement is that a trailer must have a valid license plate.
If you currently have a permanent apportioned trailer license plate, you may renew that plate (
standard fee applies) as a part of your IRP fleet with no additional jurisdictional fees due.
No. Your gross weight – as shown on both your application and cab card – may vary from state to state.
Enforcement personnel in a member state, however, may issue you a citation if your vehicle operating at a weight that exceeds the weight you registered for that state.
North Carolina may require supporting documentation for any vehicle if gross vehicle weights for the highest and lowest weights requested for jurisdictions vary by 10 percent or more. North Carolina may reject or deny registration for those vehicles if the variance does not reflect actual operating practice.
No, but most states require a unit to be registered for the maximum allowable weight before issuing a special permit. Overweight and/or over-dimensional permits for North Carolina may be secured by calling (919) 814-3700.
Under Full Reciprocity Plan, all states and provinces will be on your cab card.
These changes are accomplished by submitting supplement applications.
Yes. You must file a complete supplemental application and pay additional fees where the gross weight is to be increased.
Yes. By completing all the information, you will reduce the possibility of having your application returned under the provisions of a 1977 International Registration Plan policy recognizing that the registration laws in different states are based upon different factors.
An interstate motor carrier must have a minimum of $750,000 in liability insurance.
To obtain interstate authority, call the Federal Highway Administration's Office of Motor Carriers at (800) 832-5660 or send a request to:
Federal Highway Administration
Office of Motor Carriers
Information Management, HIA-10
400 Seventh St., SW
Washington, DC 20590
Call the North Carolina International Registration Plan in Raleigh at (919) 615-6700 or in Charlotte at (980) 260-2650.
An intrastate motor carrier must have a minimum of $750,000 in liability insurance that is provided by a company licensed to do business in North Carolina.
If you are hauling household goods or transporting passengers, call the North Carolina Utilities Commission at (919) 733-4035. If you are hauling general commodities, call the North Carolina International Registration Plan at (919) 615-6700.
Call the U.S. Department of Transportation at (919) 856-4378.