IFTA and IRP Records for Audit

FMCSA compliance reviews cover federal safety regulations — driver qualification, HOS, maintenance, drug and alcohol, and accident records. IFTA is a state tax compact administered by base jurisdictions; the two systems do not intersect in a standard FMCSA review. The situation where both come up together is a state enforcement audit with a unified program, where a single agency handles both safety and IFTA in the same visit. That varies by state. Keeping IFTA records organized is practical regardless, because fuel receipts and mileage summaries sometimes come up as supporting documents when ELD data is questioned during a safety review.

IRP (International Registration Plan) cab cards are the apportioned registration credential that allows a vehicle to operate in multiple IRP member jurisdictions. They replace a single state registration for vehicles operating interstate. During a roadside inspection, the cab card is the document that shows the vehicle is properly registered for the jurisdictions it operates in. Carriers should keep copies in the office as well as in the vehicle, so that a lost or damaged cab card can be replaced quickly and so the office packet shows registration was current during the audit period.

IFTA member jurisdictions typically require carriers to retain fuel and mileage records for four years. This covers the period most base jurisdictions can audit. The specific requirement is in the IFTA Articles of Agreement and the base jurisdiction's implementing rules. Quarterly return copies, fuel receipts matched to units and dates, and mileage summaries should all be kept for the full retention period. Carriers that transition between fuel card vendors or dispatch systems often have gaps in this record if they did not migrate historical data.