What paperwork changes when I add or sell a truck?

Chapter 01

What has to change hands when I add or sell a truck?

Each truck carries its own set of papers, and a different office keeps each one. Your insurer keeps the policy. Your State keeps the title. Your base State runs your IRP account, which gives the truck its plate and cab card. It also runs your IFTA license, which gives the truck its fuel tax decals. The IRS takes Form 2290. FMCSA sets the rules on markings, inspections and maintenance files, and it keeps your MCS-150. When a truck joins or leaves your fleet, each of these must change, in order, with proof.

Here is how that looks in real life. Say you run three trucks under your own USDOT number. A broker keeps offering you more loads than you can haul. Another small carrier is selling a 2019 tractor. You look it over and agree on a price. You plan to pick it up on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, and have it hauling by the next Monday. This page does not cover the price or the loan. That part is between you, the seller and your lender. Whether to buy another truck at all, or keep fixing an old one, is its own question: repair, overhaul or replace the truck.

The paperwork is where owners get hurt. Most of it is not hard. The trouble is that it is spread across several offices, and each one handles only its own piece. Forget one piece, and you find out later. It shows up at a scale, at your insurance renewal, or in a toll bill for a truck you no longer own.

So start with what each paper does. The insurance policy lists the trucks it covers. The title shows who owns the truck. The plate and the cab card show where it is registered. For a truck that crosses State lines, that usually means apportioned plates under the International Registration Plan, or IRP. Your base State issues one plate and one cab card for each truck. The fees are split among the States your fleet drives in, by the share of miles in each (the IRP Plan).

IFTA, the fuel tax agreement, gives each qualified truck at least two decals, one for each side of the cab (the IFTA Articles). A qualified truck has two axles and weighs over 26,000 pounds, or has three or more axles at any weight. A truck and trailer with a combined weight over 26,000 pounds qualify too. Form 2290 is the federal tax on trucks with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more. The IRS stamps its Schedule 1 and sends it back as your proof of payment. States generally want that proof before they register a truck (the IRS instructions).

Then come FMCSA’s rules. Your company name and USDOT number must be on both sides of the truck (the marking rule). The truck must have passed an annual inspection in the last 12 months, with proof on board (the inspection rule). You keep a maintenance file for each truck you control for 30 days in a row or more (the maintenance rule). Last, your MCS-150 tells FMCSA who you are and how many trucks you run (the MCS-150 rule; FMCSA’s scoring manual).

So when you add a truck, you build its set of papers. When you sell one, you take the set apart and keep the pieces you will need later. Both jobs start before any money changes hands.

Chapter 02

What should I get from the seller before I pay?

Get every paper the seller has for the truck on the day you pay, before you drive away. That means the signed title, a dated bill of sale and the last annual inspection report. It also means the seller’s stamped Schedule 1 from Form 2290, with a signed note that the tax was paid. Ask for copies of the maintenance records too. Once the money is paid, the seller has little reason to go looking for any of it.

Start with ownership. The title, signed over to you, and a bill of sale make the truck yours. Write the date, the time and the odometer reading on the bill of sale. How a title moves from one owner to the next is set by each State, and the rules differ. So ask your State’s title office what it wants to see. Keep copies of both papers. You will want them again if anything happens in that truck around the day of the sale.

Next, get the annual inspection report. The seller did the truck’s last annual inspection, not you. The rule still makes you responsible for producing that report. An official may ask for “the original or a copy of the last annual inspection report”. Then you are the one who must get it (the inspection records rule). So get a copy now, while the seller still answers your calls. Check its date as well. Say it is dated March 10, 2026. The truck must have passed an inspection within the last 12 months (the inspection rule). So this one covers it until March 2027.

Then ask for the maintenance records. The seller is a carrier too. The rule makes him keep this truck’s maintenance records for 6 months after it leaves his control (the maintenance rule). So he should still have them. The rule does not make him hand them over, so ask politely. They show what was done and what is due, and they give your own file a starting point.

Then collect the tax papers. Say the seller paid a full year of Form 2290 on this truck in July. You drive it home the day you buy it, so you pay for fewer months, as the section on the tax shows. But first you must check that the seller really paid. The IRS says a copy of the seller’s stamped Schedule 1 is one way to do it. It also wants you to keep proof of whether the truck was used, or its tax suspended, before it came to you. A written statement, signed and dated by the seller, will do (the IRS instructions). Yours could read like this.

Seller’s statement. I, [seller’s name], sold the 2019 tractor, VIN [number], to [your company] on October 14, 2026, at [time]. I paid the heavy vehicle use tax on this truck for July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027. A copy of my stamped Schedule 1 is attached. [Signature and date]

A suspended tax works differently. A seller may suspend the tax because he expects the truck to run 5,000 miles or less in the year. If so, he must give you a statement with his name, the VIN, the date of sale and the odometer readings. You attach it to your own return. And the miles you both drive count toward the same 5,000 (the IRS instructions).

Put all of it in one folder for the new truck. Call it Truck 4. That folder is the start of its record, and every later step adds a page to it.

Chapter 03

In what order do I set up the new truck?

Insurance comes first, before the truck moves. Then come the tax and the plate, then the fuel tax decals, then the markings, the inspection proof and the file. The truck should not haul a load until each one is done, or covered by a temporary permit. Here is the order, with the proof to keep from each step.

1. Insurance, before pickup. Call your agent and add the truck to your policy from the day you take it. Ask for the change in writing.
2. The drive home. The truck needs a legal plate or permit for that trip. Each State handles this differently, so ask yours before pickup day.
3. Form 2290. File it the next day, and keep the stamped Schedule 1.
4. The IRP account. Add the truck to your apportioned account with your base State, and get its plate and cab card.
5. IFTA decals. Get two decals from your base State, and put one on each side of the cab.
6. Markings. Take the seller’s name and USDOT number off, and put yours on both sides.
7. The inspection proof and the file. Put proof of the current annual inspection in the truck, and open its maintenance file.

Now walk through it with Truck 4. On Monday, October 12, you call your agent. You add the truck to your policy from October 14 and ask for the updated list of covered trucks by email. Your own policy decides how and when a new truck is covered, so do not assume it happens by itself. If a broker keeps a certificate of insurance from you, ask whether it needs a new one. The agent’s email is your first handoff record.

On Wednesday, you meet the seller. You check the VIN on the title against the VIN on the truck. You sign, you pay and you collect the folder. You drive home on the permit your State told you to get. That drive counts as the truck’s first use on a public road for Form 2290 (the IRS instructions).

On Thursday, October 15, you file Form 2290 electronically. The IRS says a stamped Schedule 1 can be ready within minutes after it accepts the return (the IRS instructions). The next section works out the amount and the deadline. You print the Schedule 1 and take it to the plate office.

Then you add Truck 4 to your IRP account, at your base State’s office or on its website. Expect to show the title papers. The base State must see proof that the Form 2290 tax was paid before it issues apportioned plates. A State may accept a bill of sale from the last 60 days instead. But it does not have to (the federal rule on proof of payment). Your Schedule 1 settles that question.

How are the fees calculated? The IRP Plan lets you add trucks at any time during the year. Unless a State sets a different rule, your base State counts the fees from the first day of the month you add the truck. It uses the same split of miles as the rest of your fleet (the IRP Plan). So Truck 4’s fees run from October 1. The Plan does not set the dollar amounts. Each State has its own fees, so we give no national figure. How the account works, from opening it to the yearly renewal, is in our guide to IRP apportioned registration.

Plates can take time to arrive. The Plan lets a base State issue temporary proof of registration while the plate and cab card are on the way. That temporary proof lasts no more than 60 days, and the other IRP States must accept it. But a State does not have to offer it (the IRP Plan). Say yours does. You print it, put it in the cab and file a copy in the folder.

The IFTA decals come from the same base State, under your IFTA license. Each qualified truck gets at least two, placed on the outside of both sides of the cab (the IFTA Articles). You may not move decals from one truck to another without your base State’s permission. If the decals are not ready, your base State may issue a temporary decal permit for 30 days, which rides in the cab. A truck with no decals and no permit can be made to buy a trip permit, or get a citation. Every truck also carries a copy of your IFTA license.

Now the doors. The rule wants “the legal name or a single trade name” of the carrier operating the truck, as it appears on your MCS-150. It also wants your number with the letters “USDOT” in front (the marking rule). The marking goes on both sides of the truck. The letters must stand out from the background. A person must be able to read them from 50 feet in daylight while the truck is parked. They can be painted on, or be a removable sign that passes the same test. Take the seller’s name and number off first. If another name stays on the truck, the rule puts the words “operated by” before your name.

There is one exception to know about. A truck you rent for 30 days or less may keep the rental company’s name and USDOT number on its doors. For that, the rental agreement must name your company and ride in the truck (the marking rule). Truck 4 is yours, not rented, so it carries your name.

Next comes the proof of inspection. The rule wants proof on the truck itself. That can be the report, or a sticker or decal based on it. A sticker must show the inspection date, where the report is kept, and a statement that the truck passed (the inspection rule). The seller’s March report covers Truck 4 until March 2027. Put a copy in the cab, keep a copy in the folder, and put the due date on your calendar. Some owners have their own shop inspect a used truck right away, so it starts on their own schedule. The rule does not require that, so it is your choice.

Then open Truck 4’s maintenance file. The record must name the truck: your unit number if it has one, the make, the serial number and the year. It must show what inspections and service are due, and when. And it must list each inspection, repair and service with its date (the maintenance rule). Put the seller’s records in first. How to set the service dates is in our guide to a preventive maintenance schedule.

Last, move your ELD into the truck and put your toll transponder on it. By Friday night, the folder holds the policy change, the bill of sale and the title papers. It also holds the Schedule 1, the temporary registration, the decal receipt, photos of both doors and the inspection report. On Monday, October 19, Truck 4 hauls its first load. Two deadlines still lie ahead: the tax payment and your MCS-150 update.

Chapter 04

When is Form 2290 due, and do I update my MCS-150?

Form 2290 is due by the last day of the month after the truck’s first use on a public road (the IRS instructions). Truck 4 was first driven in October, so its return is due November 30, 2026. The MCS-150 has no deadline tied to a new truck. The rule asks for it before you start and then every 24 months (the MCS-150 rule). But FMCSA uses its truck count in your safety scores, so an MCS-150 update keeps that count accurate.

Take the tax first. The Form 2290 due date depends on the month of first use, not on your plate. The IRS says it plainly: “The filing deadline isn’t tied to the vehicle registration date” (the IRS instructions). You drove Truck 4 home on October 14. So October is the month of first use, and the return is due November 30, 2026. You filed on October 15, well ahead.

Now the amount. A truck taxed at over 75,000 pounds pays $550 for a full tax year, which runs from July 1 to June 30 (Form 2290). The seller already paid for this year. You drove the truck in the month you bought it, so your tax starts with the next month, November. That is 8 months out of 12. So you owe 8/12 of $550, which comes to $366.67. On line 1 of the form, you enter the month after the sale, written 202611. Your due date does not move. The IRS walks through the same kind of case in its own example (the IRS instructions).

A dealer sale would work differently. Say the truck came from a dealer who had not paid the tax. Then you would pay from October, the month of first use. The IRS table gives $412.50 for October in that top weight class (the IRS instructions). Either way, file on time. The return must go in electronically if it reports 25 or more taxed trucks. With four trucks, you may choose paper. But electronic filing can get the stamped Schedule 1 back within minutes. How to file, pay and get that page back is in our guide to filing Form 2290.

Now your MCS-150. That is the form that tells FMCSA who you are and what you run, including how many trucks. The rule asks you to file it before you start operating, and then every 24 months. The month comes from the last digit of your USDOT number. The digit before it decides whether you file in odd or even years (the MCS-150 rule). Say your number ends in 71. The 1 means January. The 7 is odd, so you file in odd years. Your next update is due by January 31, 2027.

The rule does not make you file a new form the day you add a truck. So why bother? Because your safety scores, which most owners call CSA scores, use that count. For unsafe driving and for crashes, FMCSA divides your points by your average number of trucks. It takes that number from its own records, which come mainly from your MCS-150. The average blends your count now, 6 months ago and 18 months ago (FMCSA’s scoring manual). If FMCSA still thinks you run three trucks when you run four, each violation weighs more than it should. And when you do file, every number must be true. The rule sets penalties for misleading information on the form (the MCS-150 rule).

Where do you file it? Since May 2026, in Motus, FMCSA’s new registration system. Motus replaces the older online registration system and the FMCSA Portal. Carriers use it to update their information and file the update every two years (FMCSA’s April 2026 notice). During the move to Motus, FMCSA “has temporarily suspended enforcement of biennial updates and the inactivation of USDOT Numbers”. Its registration page said so in September 2026 (FMCSA’s registration page). That pause does not change the rule itself. Our advice is to file on time anyway.

With Truck 4 insured, plated, taxed and counted, your fleet is four trucks. A month later, you decide to sell your oldest one.

Chapter 05

What do I do when I sell a truck?

Take your name off it before it leaves. That means your name and USDOT number on the doors, your IFTA decals, your plate and cab card, your ELD and your toll transponder. Take the truck off your insurance from the moment of the sale, not before. Then claim back the tax for the months after the sale, tell your base State, and keep the truck’s records. A truck that still carries your name can bring the buyer’s tolls, tickets and crashes back to you.

Say it is Truck 1, a 2014 tractor. You sell it to an owner-operator who will run it under his own authority. He picks it up on Friday, November 20, 2026, at 3 p.m. If the truck will stay with you instead, leased on with its owner driving, that is another story. It is told in leasing an owner-operator onto your carrier.

Start with the bill of sale. Write the date and the hour, the odometer reading, the VIN and the buyer’s name and address. The IRS needs the buyer’s name and address for your tax credit (the IRS instructions). The date and time also matter if something goes wrong after the sale.

Say you left your name on the doors, and the buyer crashes in December. The crash can land on your record. You can ask the State that reported it to take it off, but the proof is up to you. The bill of sale, the title in the buyer’s name, your insurance change and your ELD records do that work. Our guide to disputing a crash in DataQs tells that exact story. States take crash requests for 5 years after the crash (the April 2026 DataQs rules). So keep the sale papers at least that long.

The doors come first. The marking must show the carrier operating the truck (the marking rule). From 3 p.m. on November 20, that carrier is not you. Paint over your name and number, or take off the removable signs. Then take a photo of each side, with the date on it.

Then the decals. Your IFTA decals belong to your license, and they may not move to another truck without your base State’s permission (the IFTA Articles). Scrape them off. Ask your base State whether it wants to be told about the sold truck.

Then the plate and the cab card. The IRP Plan lets your base State require you to return the plate of a sold truck. Or it can ask you to certify that the plate was destroyed, lost, stolen or kept for reuse. It can also move that plate to a replacement truck, and it may ask you to report the sale (the IRP Plan). Money back for the rest of the year depends on each State. The Plan says the unused fees can move to a replacement truck, or be credited or refunded “subject to the law of each Member Jurisdiction”. So take the plate off, and ask your base State what it wants done with it.

Then the devices. Pull your ELD out of the truck. Take off the toll transponder, or the buyer’s tolls may be billed to your account. Close out any fuel card or tracking service tied to that truck.

Insurance comes off last. Keep Truck 1 on your policy until the buyer has it, and take it off from the date and time of the sale. Get the change in writing. Your policy’s own terms decide how that works, so ask your agent before sale day.

Now the tax. You paid $550 for Truck 1 in July. You used it from July through November, which is 5 months. A truck sold before June 1, and not used by you again, earns a credit for the rest of the year (the IRS instructions). The IRS table shows $229.17 for 5 months in the top weight class. So your credit is $550 minus $229.17, which comes to $320.83. You can take it on your next Form 2290, or ask for a refund on Form 8849 with its Schedule 6. The claim needs the VIN, the weight class, the date of sale, the IRS worksheet and the buyer’s name and address.

Hand the buyer copies of two papers, and keep your originals. The first is your stamped Schedule 1 for this truck. It shows him the tax for this year was paid. He drives the truck away in November, so his tax starts in December (the IRS instructions). The second is the last annual inspection report. He did not do that inspection, so the rule makes him responsible for producing the report (the inspection records rule). You were in his place a month ago with Truck 4.

Two more things. Are you selling one truck and buying its replacement at the same time? Then ask your base State about moving the registration and plate to the new truck. The IRP Plan allows that under each State’s own transfer rules (the IRP Plan). And you are back to three trucks, so update your MCS-150 again. The count FMCSA divides by should match the trucks you really run (FMCSA’s scoring manual).

Chapter 06

How long do I keep the papers, and what has changed?

Keep each truck’s maintenance file while you run it, and for 6 months after it leaves you (the maintenance rule). Keep the annual inspection report for 14 months from its date. Keep Form 2290 records for at least 3 years. And keep proof of the sale date for at least 5 years. A crash can be disputed for that long (the April 2026 DataQs rules). What changed in 2026 is where you tell FMCSA about your fleet. Since May, that is Motus.

For Truck 1, the maintenance file stays until May 20, 2027, 6 months after the sale (the maintenance rule). The rule wants it kept where the truck was housed or maintained. The table puts every record in one place, for the truck you bought and the truck you sold.

The IRS records deserve a closer look. For each truck, keep a description with the VIN, the date you got it and who you got it from. Keep the month of first use, and proof of whether the tax was paid or suspended before the truck came to you. When a truck leaves, add the date of sale and the buyer’s name and address (the IRS instructions). Your two folders already hold all of that.

A short log on the front of each folder ties it together. Each line holds a date, what changed hands and where the proof is. For Truck 4, the first line reads “October 12: added to policy, agent’s email”. For Truck 1, the last line reads “November 20, 3 p.m.: sold, bill of sale and door photos”. When an auditor, an officer or a DataQs reviewer asks, you open one folder.

Here is what changed, and which advice is now out of date. Since May 2026, you update FMCSA through Motus. Guides that send you to the old FMCSA Portal or the old online registration system are out of date (FMCSA’s April 2026 notice). The rule still says you may mail the MCS-150. But FMCSA’s registration page says it stopped taking paper forms on September 30, 2025 (FMCSA’s registration page). The same page says FMCSA has paused enforcement of the update every two years while carriers move into Motus. We could not open FMCSA’s page on that pause, so we do not know when enforcement resumes. And Form 2290 has a new revision for the tax year that began July 1, 2026 (the IRS instructions).

Some habits were never right. Taking a truck off the policy the day it is listed for sale can leave it uncovered while it still carries your name. Leaving your name on the doors “for the buyer to deal with” sends his first loads down the road under your USDOT number. And moving decals or a plate to another truck on your own breaks the IFTA and IRP rules above.

There are things we could not check. Titles, the drive home, temporary registration, plate returns and IRP refunds are all State matters, and we did not check each State. We could not see whether Motus asks for anything extra when your number of trucks changes. Coverage and cancellation depend on the terms of your own insurance policy. And we left out UCR, the yearly registration whose fee depends on how many trucks you own or operate (the UCR fee rule). We could not confirm from the UCR Plan itself how a truck added during the year is counted. How to file it each year is in our UCR guide.

Would you rather hand the whole chain to someone? We keep each truck’s papers, file the tax and handle the plate, decal and insurance changes: here is what it costs.