(a) Purpose. To promote and encourage the fullest possible use of the highway system and contribute to the economic development and growth of the State of Texas and its residents, the department is authorized by Transportation Code, §502.091 to enter into agreements with duly authorized officials of other jurisdictions, including any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, a foreign country, a state or province of a foreign country, or a territory or possession of either the United States or of a foreign country, and to provide for the registration of vehicles by Texas residents and nonresidents on an allocation or distance apportionment basis, and to grant exemptions from the payment of registration fees by nonresidents if the grants are reciprocal to Texas residents.
(b) Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in this section, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
  (1) Cab card--The apportioned vehicle registration receipt that contains, but is not limited to, the vehicle description and the registered weight at which the vehicle may operate in each jurisdiction.
  (2) Department--The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.
  (3) Director--The director of the Motor Carrier Division, Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.
  (4) Executive director--The chief executive officer of the department.
  (5) Regional Service Center--A department office which provides specific services to the public, including replacement titles, bonded title rejection letters, and apportioned registration under the International Registration Plan (IRP).
  (6) Temporary cab card--A temporary registration permit authorized by the department that allows the operation of a vehicle for 30 days subject to all rights and privileges afforded to a vehicle displaying apportioned registration.
(c) Multilateral agreements.
  (1) Authority. The executive director may on behalf of the department enter into a multilateral agreement with the duly authorized officials of two or more other jurisdictions to carry out the purpose of this section.
  (2) International Registration Plan.
    (A) Applicability. The IRP is a registration reciprocity agreement among states of the United States and other jurisdictions providing for payment of registration fees on the basis of fleet distance operated in various jurisdictions. Its purpose is to promote and encourage the fullest possible use of the highway system by authorizing apportioned registration for commercial motor vehicles and payment of appropriate vehicle registration fees and thus contributing to the economic development and growth of the member jurisdictions.
    (B) Adoption. The department adopts by reference the January 1, 2022, version of the IRP. The department also adopts by reference the January 1, 2016, version of the IRP Audit Procedures Manual. In the event of a conflict between this section and the IRP or the IRP Audit Procedures Manual, the IRP and the IRP Audit Procedures Manual control. Copies of the documents are available for review in the Motor Carrier Division, Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Copies are also available on request.
    (C) Application.
      (i) An applicant must submit an application to the department on a form prescribed by the director, along with additional documentation as required by the director. An applicant shall provide the department with a copy of the applicant's receipt under the Unified Carrier Registration System Plan and Agreement under 49 U.S.C. §14504a (UCR) to prove the applicant is currently registered under UCR if the applicant is required to register under UCR.
      (ii) Upon approval of the application, the department will compute the appropriate registration fees and notify the registrant.
    (D) Fees. Upon receipt of the applicable fees in the form as provided by §209.23 of this title (relating to Methods of Payment), the department will issue one or two license plates and a cab card for each vehicle registered.
    (E) Display of License Plates and Cab Cards.
      (i) The department will issue one license plate for a tractor, truck-tractor, trailer, and semitrailer. The license plate issued to a tractor or a truck-tractor shall be installed on the front of the tractor or truck-tractor, and the license plate issued for a trailer or semitrailer shall be installed on the rear of the trailer or semitrailer.
      (ii) The department will issue two license plates for all other vehicles that are eligible to receive license plates under the IRP. Once the department issues two license plates for a vehicle listed in this clause, one plate shall be installed on the front of the vehicle, and one plate shall be installed on the rear of the vehicle.
      (iii) The cab card shall be carried at all times in the vehicle in accordance with the IRP. If the registrant chooses to display an electronic image of the cab card on a wireless communication device or other electronic device, such display does not constitute consent for a peace officer, or any other person, to access the contents of the device other than the electronic image of the cab card.
      (iv) The authority to display an electronic image of the cab card on a wireless communication device or other electronic device does not prevent the Texas State Office of Administrative Hearings or a court of competent jurisdiction from requiring the registrant to provide a paper copy of the cab card in connection with a hearing, trial, or discovery proceeding.
    (F) Audit. An audit of the registrant's vehicle operational records may be conducted by the department according to the IRP provisions and the IRP Audit Procedures Manual. Upon request, the registrant shall provide the operational records of each vehicle for audit in unit number order, in sequence by date, and including, but not limited to, a summary of distance traveled by each individual vehicle on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis with distance totaled separately for each jurisdiction in which the vehicle traveled.
    (G) Assessment. The department may assess additional registration fees of up to 100% of the apportionable fees paid by the registrant for the registration of its fleet in the registration year to which the records pertain, as authorized by the IRP, if an audit conducted under subparagraph (F) of this paragraph reveals that:
      (i) the operational records indicate that the vehicle did not generate interstate distance in two or more member jurisdictions for the distance reporting period supporting the application being audited, plus the six-month period immediately following that distance reporting period;
      (ii) the registrant failed to provide complete operational records; or
      (iii) the distance must be adjusted, and the adjustment results in a shortage of registration fees due Texas or any other IRP jurisdiction.
    (H) Refunds. If an audit conducted under subparagraph (F) of this paragraph reveals an overpayment of fees to Texas or any other IRP jurisdiction, the department will refund the overpayment of registration fees in accordance with Transportation Code, §502.195 and the IRP. Any registration fees refunded to a carrier for another jurisdiction will be deducted from registration fees collected and transmitted to that jurisdiction.
    (I) Cancellation or revocation. The director or the director's designee may cancel or revoke a registrant's apportioned registration and all privileges provided by the IRP as authorized by the following:
      (i) the IRP; or
      (ii) Transportation Code, Chapter 502.
    (J) Procedures for assessment, cancellation, or revocation.
      (i) Notice. If a registrant is assessed additional registration fees, as provided in subparagraph (G) of this paragraph, and the additional fees are not paid by the due date provided in the notice or it is determined that a registrant's apportioned license plates and privileges should be canceled or revoked, as provided in subparagraph (I) of this paragraph, the director or the director's designee will mail a notice by certified mail to the last known address of the registrant. The notice will state the facts underlying the assessment, cancellation, or revocation; the effective date of the assessment, cancellation, or revocation; and the right of the registrant to request a conference as provided in clause (ii) of this subparagraph.
      (ii) Conference. A registrant may request a conference upon receipt of a notice issued as provided by clause (i) of this subparagraph. The request must be made in writing to the director or the director's designee within 30 days of the date of the notice. If timely requested, the conference will be scheduled and conducted by the director or the director's designee at division headquarters in Austin and will serve to abate the assessment, cancellation, or revocation unless and until that assessment, cancellation, or revocation is affirmed or disaffirmed by the director or the director's designee. In the event matters are resolved in the registrant's favor, the Cont'd...