What to Know About Staggered Apportioned Registration in PA

In Pennsylvania, registering your commercial vehicles with the International Registration Plan (IRP) is an option that allows for interstate operation (across state lines) under a single registration plate and registration certificate, which would be issued by your “home” or “base” state.

You must register your vehicle(s) apportionately if the vehicle(s) travels or is intended for travel in two or more of the member jurisdictions and is used for the transportation of persons for hire or is designed, used, or maintained primarily for the transportation of property, and: 

• is a power unit having a gross or registered weight in excess of 26,000 pounds, or
• is a power unit having three or more axles regardless of weight, or
• is used in combination when the weight of such combination exceeds 26,000 pounds gross vehicle weight.

Vehicles or combinations, having a gross vehicle weight of 26,000 pounds or less and two axle vehicles, may be apportioned at the option of the registrant.

But what about this staggered apportioned registration?

What is changing

New legislation (Act 90 of 2022) directs the PA Department of Transportation to establish a system of staggered apportioned registration renewal in a manner that apportioned registration will expire in no less than four periods throughout the year.

To implement and maintain this staggered system, PennDOT may prorate annual apportioned registration fees.

The legislation allows current apportioned registrants with a fleet expiration date in the month of May the option to change their fleet expiration date to a different month of the year.

This option to change fleet exportation date will become available during the 2024-2025 apportioned registration renewal year. The request to change must be indicated on the 2024-2025 apportioned renewal application.

Then, your fleet expiration month will be updated during the processing of your renewal supplement and your new fleet expiration will be indicated on your renewal invoice and your 2024-2025 cab cards.

This is a one-time option!

Once new expiration month is selected, the fleet expiration month cannot be changed thereafter. Also, this option is only available during the 2024-2025 renewal period.

Your fleet expiration month cannot be changed after your renewal supplement has been processed.

How will this affect renewal invoice?

Depending on the new fleet expiration month selected, your renewal invoice will be prorated between six and seventeen months.

Based on the new expiry month selected, you may be required to renew your fleet twice in the initial year of the change, or your prorated invoice may be greater than 12 months resulting in an increased invoice amount.

Subsequent renewal periods after the initial change will resume the standard 12-month billing cycle.

Scenarios of how optional change may impact renewal process

Scenario #1

A registrant with May 2024 fleet expiration elects November as their new fleet expiration. 

• The registrant shall be billed 6 months registration fees to be paid by May 31, 2024. 
• The fleet registration period will be June 1, 2024 to November 30, 2024 (6 months). 
• The registrant shall receive a renewal notice in August 2024 for the December 1, 2024 to November 30, 2025 renewal cycle.  Payment will be due by December 1, 2024.
• The fleet will continue this December 1^st to November 30^th 12-month cycle thereafter. 

Scenario #2

A registrant with May 2024 fleet expiration elects March as their new fleet expiration. 

• The registrant shall be billed 10 months registration fees to be paid by May 31, 2024. 
• The fleet registration period will be June 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025 (10 months). 
• The registrant shall receive a renewal notice in December 2024 for the April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026 renewal cycle. Payment will be due by March 31, 2025.
• The fleet will continue this April 1^st to March 31^st 12-month cycle thereafter. 

Scenario #3

A registrant with May 2024 fleet expiration elects October as their new fleet expiration. 

• The registrant shall be billed 17 months registration fees to be paid by May 31, 2024. 
• The fleet registration period will be June 1, 2024 to October 31, 2025 (17 months). 
• The registrant shall receive a renewal notice in July 2025 for the November 1, 2025 to October 31, 2026 renewal cycle.  Payment will be due by October 31, 2025.
• The fleet will continue this November 1^st to October 31^st 12-month cycle thereafter. 

The table below lists the prorated billing cycles for the 2024-2025 registration year. Please note the fleet expiration date and the number of months invoiced for each fleet expiration month. It is recommended that you use this table to consider the financial impact when selecting a new fleet expiration month.

Fleet Expiration Month Options	# Of Months Invoiced	Fleet Renewal Expiration Date	# Of Months on next Invoice Due Date
November	6	11/30/2024	12
December	7	12/31/2024	12
January	8	1/31/2025	12
February	9	2/28/2025	12
March	10	3/31/2025	12
April	11	4/30/2025	12
June	13	6/30/2025	12
July	14	7/31/2025	12
August	15	8/31/2025	12
September	16	9/30/2025	12
October	17	10/31/2025	12

IRP Audit Representation

The long list of rules and regulations involved with the International Registration Plan (IRP) can be difficult to follow. Failure to stay up to date with your registration fee or changes to those rules and regulations can lead to the failure of an IRP audit.

An IRP Audit Specialist at CNS can help prepare your company for an IRP audit as well as represent you during the audit.

If you have any questions, call (888) 260-9448 or email at info@cnsprotects.com.