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IFTA decals: who needs them and exactly where they go on the cab

Short answerYou need an IFTA license and decals if you run a qualified motor vehicle in more than one IFTA jurisdiction: two axles and over 26,000 pounds gross or registered weight, three or more axles at any weight, or a combination over 26,000 pounds. Each qualified truck gets at least two decals, and the IFTA Articles of Agreement (R625) say they must go on the exterior of both sides of the cab. You file a fuel tax return every quarter and renew the license and decals every year.

What IFTA is

The International Fuel Tax Agreement lets a carrier hold one fuel tax license from its base jurisdiction and file one fuel tax return per quarter that covers every member state and province it drove in. The base jurisdiction collects the tax and distributes it to the others. The license and the decals are how an officer knows a truck is covered.

Who needs an IFTA license

IFTA covers a qualified motor vehicle. That's a vehicle used, designed or maintained to carry people or property that has:

Two axles and a gross vehicle weight or registered gross vehicle weight over 26,000 pounds, or
Three or more axles, regardless of weight, or
Is used in combination, when the combination weighs over 26,000 pounds

Recreational vehicles are excluded. Kansas notes an IFTA board interpretation that trailer axles don't count toward the axle test; only the power unit's axles do, and the trailer only matters for the combination weight test. Some states list more exclusions (Kansas, for example, excludes government-owned vehicles and school buses), so check with your base jurisdiction.

If your truck never leaves your state, ask your state's fuel tax agency what applies. IFTA is built for trucks that travel in more than one member jurisdiction.

How many decals and where they go

Each licensee is issued a minimum of two decals for each qualified vehicle. The IFTA Articles of Agreement, section R625 (Display of Decals), say: "The decals must be placed on the exterior portion of both sides of the cab." Utah's DOT repeats the same rule. Kansas puts it as display decals on both exterior sides and carry a legible copy of the IFTA license in the power unit.

Some jurisdictions give more detail. Manitoba's placement notice, for example, says not to put decals on windows, mirrors, tanks or vents, and to remove expired decals. Your base jurisdiction's instructions are the ones to follow.

In practice they end up on or near the doors, next to your USDOT lettering. Leave room so the decals don't cover any part of your name or number. Under 49 CFR 390.21 that marking still has to read from 50 feet in daylight. If you're ordering USDOT truck lettering, our live preview on a photo of your truck type helps you see how much door space it takes.

Annual renewal

The license and decals run on the calendar year and expire December 31. Each base jurisdiction sets its renewal calendar. Iowa's, for example, lets next year's decals go on starting November 1 and has carriers carry both years' credentials through December 31. Watch for your state's renewal notice and don't let the old decals be the only ones on the cab once they're no longer honored.

Quarterly returns

You file a return every quarter showing miles and fuel by jurisdiction. As of October 2026, California's CDTFA lists the standard due dates:

January to March: due April 30
April to June: due July 31
July to September: due October 31
October to December: due January 31