Alabama Department of Revenue

News Release

June 2, 2006

Online Interstate Truck Renewal Now Available

Montgomery—The Alabama Department of Revenue (ADOR) is now offering online registration renewal for motor carriers enrolled in the International Registration Plan (IRP).

“Over the last several years, the ADOR has diligently worked to expand its suite of online services available to individual and business taxpayers. The online IRP license plate renewal program allows us to offer another group of business taxpayers all the advantages and conveniences of electronic services,” said ADOR Commissioner Tom Surtees.

The IRP is a registration reciprocity agreement among all contiguous states and the provinces of Canada for registering interstate motor carriers traveling in two or more member jurisdictions. Payment of registration and license fees is based on the number of miles traveled by the vehicle in all jurisdictions. Motor carriers register their vehicles in their home or base jurisdiction and the base jurisdiction collects and distributes the fees to other jurisdictions in which the motor carrier requested IRP registration. The unique feature of the IRP is that, even though license fees are paid to the various jurisdictions in which the vehicle operates, only one license plate and one cab card is issued for each vehicle.

The department’s online registration system allows Alabama-based motor carriers to renew their IRP license plates, add vehicles, transfer IRP license plates, and request additional jurisdictions over the Internet—24 hours a day, seven days a week—and receive their registration credentials much sooner than through mail-in registration. Compared to mail-in IRP license renewal applications, which normally take several weeks to process, online registrations allow registration credentials to be mailed to motor carriers within days of the department’s receipt of payment and documents evidencing payment of property and federal heavy vehicle use taxes.

To access the online IRP renewal service, motor carriers log on to ADOR’s Web site at www.revenue.alabama.gov and then select “Divisions and Services,” “Motor Vehicle,” “E-Services,” and “IRP/IFTA E-file.” The carriers will be asked to provide their taxpayer identification number and assigned password and then follow the prompts.

The carrier may calculate a bill or electronically send the IRP renewal to the department at any point in the application process. When a bill is calculated, the carrier will have the option to remit the IRP fees electronically. The department utilizes Official Payments Corporation (OPC) to process electronic payments (credit card or e-check). A 2.5% convenience fee is charged by OPC for credit card payments. The department receives no part of the convenience fee. Carriers who do not wish to pay electronically may calculate their registration fees, print their bill, and pay by mail or in person.

Approximately 45,000 vehicles are registered January through October each year under the IRP to 7,200 Alabama-based motor carriers. The online IRP program also allows carriers to print temporary vehicle registrations (TVRs) from any location.

The online IRP registration program tops out as number four in the department’s lineup of electronic services offered exclusively to motor carriers. The department launched the International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) quarterly tax E-file program in January 2005, followed by the online IRP/IFTA permitting program in November, and introduced the online IFTA license/decal program to motor carrier customers in December 2005.

For more information concerning Alabama motor carrier E-filing services, contact the department’s Motor Carrier Services office at (334) 242-2999 or visit the department’s Web site at www.revenue.alabama.gov.

Media contact for more information:

ADOR Media Affairs Office: Carla A. Snellgrove or Carolyn Blackstock: (334) 242-1390; FAX: (334) 242-0550