How to register: IRP (prorate)

The International Registration Plan (IRP) is an easy way of licensing commercial vehicles in more than 1 state or province.

• Only 1 set of apportioned license plates and cab card is issued for each vehicle.
• License fees are collected by the state or province where the vehicle is licensed and are distributed to the other states and provinces.

Who can apply?

You can apply for IRP registration if you operate:

• Commercial vehicles over 26,000 pounds gross vehicle weight in 2 or more jurisdictions.
• Vehicles with 3 or more axles, regardless of weight.
• A combination of vehicles whose total weight exceeds 26,000 pounds gross vehicle or registered gross vehicle weight (does not include recreational vehicles).
• Vehicles that are titled in Washington State.

How to apply

To set up a new IRP account, you must provide all of the following:

• Completed Proportional Registration Application Schedule A & C.
• Current copies of Washington State vehicle registrations that exactly match the prorate account name.
• Completed Established Place of Business, Residency, or Change of Address.
• Your USDOT number, and the USDOT number of the carrier responsible for vehicle safety if different.
• Current Federal Heavy Vehicle Use Tax form showing payment of the tax. Contact the Internal Revenue Service if you have questions about this form.
• If your Motor Carrier Identification Report (MCS-150) hasn’t been updated within the last year, an updated copy of the report for both the registrant and the motor carrier.

Please see the IRP Customer Manual for detailed instructions.

Fees

We can give you an estimate of Washington State fees, but we can’t calculate the exact cost until we receive your completed application. You’ll also need to contact each state or province outside Washington individually for information about their fees.

PRISM — Performance and Registration Information Systems Management

PRISM is a cooperative federal/state safety program designed to identify motor carriers with poor safety records and tie a motor carrier’s safety fitness to the ability to register their trucks.  PRISM links the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s safety information with the state’s motor vehicle registration process to achieve two purposes:

• Determine the motor carrier’s safety fitness before issuing them a license plate.
• Motivate the unsafe carrier to improve its safety performance through an improvement process and registration sanctions.

For more information about PRISM, read the PRISM brochure at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s website.

Contact information

If you’d like more information about prorate and IRP, or if you need to change your name or address:

• Contact us at 360-664-1858.
• Visit one of our prorate/fuel tax field offices in Olympia or Vancouver.