Vehicle Registration

California Vehicle Code (CVC) Section 4000 specifies that no vehicle shall be driven, moved, towed or left standing upon any California highway without having some form of California registration. The State agency responsible for vehicle registration is the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The following is a brief summary of California registration requirements for interstate operators. These requirements apply to both legal vehicles, and "extralegal" vehicles that require oversize or overweight permits.

New Information from DMV's IRP Section

Effective July 1, 2010, IRP transactions will no longer be processed at DMV Field Offices and will be handled exclusively by the IRP Section at DMV Headquarters. Click here for more information.

Commercial Vehicle Registration: The Commercial Vehicle Registration Act of 2001 changed the way commercial vehicles and trailers are registered in California. California registration must be obtained before entering the state.

Commercial vehicles may be registered for operation in California by the following methods.

POWER UNITS

IRP: Power Units may be registered in the International Registration Plan (IRP) with a California apportionment. The operator must declare the operating weight which will determine the weight fee. The operator will be cited if the declared weight is exceeded.
TRIP PERMITS: Power Units with valid out-of-state registration may be registered with a consecutive 4-day trip permit for a fee of $45 per CVC Section 9260. Additional permits may be purchased for continuous operation longer than 4 days. For more information, see Section 12.005 on Page 2 of the IRP Handbook, Chapter 12.

Four-day trip permits may be purchased from the following sources:
- TRUCK STOPS outside California. See also the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration web page which includes a list of truck stop links: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/links.htm. You might want to call ahead to be sure they have the permits in stock.
- In bulk from DMV by mail.
- At a DMV field office in person, once you are in California. (Must already have a trip permit to enter the state.) DMV offices are listed on this DMV website: http://apps.dmv.ca.gov/fo/offices/toc_fo.htm.
- Private permit services, such as ComData at 800-344-1912, or TransmitAmerica at 800-228-7577, or Interstate Permit Service at 800-343-4889.
90-DAY TEMPORARY: Power Units may also be registered with a 90-day temporary registration. The operator must declare the purchase price and the operating weight which will determine the fee. The operator will be cited if the price was understated or the weight is exceeded. The 90-day permit may be obtained only at a DMV field office. Before entering the state, you must obtain a 4-day trip permit (see #2 above). For more information, see Section 12.010 on Page 3 of the IRP Handbook, Chapter 12.

TRAILERS

Trailers no longer need trip permits. Trailers require a Permanent Trailer Identification (PTI) for a fee of $20, or valid registration in another jurisdiction.

UNIFIED CARRIER REGISTRATION (UCR)
[Formerly "Single-State Registration System (SSRS)"]

On January 1, 2007, the Single State Registration System was repealed and replaced with Unified Carrier Registration (UCR). UCR requires individuals and companies that operate commercial motor vehicles in interstate or international commerce register their business with California and pay an annual fee based on the size of their fleet. Motor private carriers, freight forwarders, brokers, and leasing companies are also subject to UCR.

For more information on UCR, or to pay UCR fees online, visit the DMV Motor Carrier Services (MCS) 'Permits website, or call:

Motor Carrier Permit (MCP) Operations at (916) 657-8153.

WEBSITES

For more details, please see the California Department of Motor Vehicles websites:

Commercial Vehicle Registration Act of 2001 (CVRA)at: http://www.dmv.ca.gov/commercial/cvra.htm or
International Registration Plan at: http://www.dmv.ca.gov/vehindustry/irp/irpinfo.htm.

NEW CONTACT INFORMATION for DMV's IRP UNIT

(NOTE: TRIP PERMITS ARE NOT AVAILABLE AT DMV'S IRP UNIT. TO OBTAIN TRIP PERMITS, SEE #2 "TRIP PERMITS" ABOVE.)

IF YOU HAVE AN IRP ACCOUNT, YOU MAY NOW CONTACT A DMV CASE MANAGER. FOR PHONE NUMBERS, CLICK ON "IRP CASE MANAGER / PFR CONTACT LIST." SELECT THE CASE MANAGER ACCORDING TO THE LAST TWO DIGITS OF YOUR IRP ACCOUNT NUMBER.

IF YOU DO NOT HAVE AN IRP ACCOUNT, call IRP Operations at (916) 657-7971 for recorded information during normal business hours, or email DMV at IRP_Customer_Response@dmv.ca.gov.

CONTACTS

Caltrans Legal Truck Size & Weight Work Group
Casey Robb
Manuel Fonseca
General number (916) 654-5741
E-mail: Truck Size & Weight Unit.

Return to the Caltrans "Office of Truck Services" page.

Revised 12/12/11.