# IRP in British Columbia: Apportioned Registration, Fees and the Distance Schedule

British Columbia carriers that run qualified vehicles into other states or provinces register under IRP with ICBC's Prorate office, and pay an apportioned fee split by where the fleet actually drives. Here's how the credential works in British Columbia, what drives the fee, and where the distance figures come from.

Source: https://www.highpointgps.com/resources/irp-british-columbia-apportioned-registration
By Israel Margulies, CEO & Founder — published 2026-09-18, updated 2026-09-18

## Who Administers IRP in British Columbia

British Columbia's IRP program is administered by ICBC, the province's public auto insurer, through its Prorate office — which surprises carriers who expect a transportation ministry. ICBC issues the apportioned plate and cab card and collects the apportioned fees; the IFTA side is separate, with the Ministry of Finance. A Vancouver, Surrey or Kamloops carrier running port drayage to Alberta, or south through the Pacific Highway crossing into Washington, is interjurisdictional and registers with ICBC as its base jurisdiction.

The threshold is the Plan's: a power unit over 26,000 pounds gross or registered weight, or with three or more axles, or in a combination over 26,000 pounds, operating in two or more member jurisdictions. Trailers are not apportioned; they carry an ordinary plate and travel on the power unit's cab card.

## What Drives the British Columbia Apportioned Fee

The fee is the sum of every jurisdiction's registration fee for the vehicle's weight class, each weighted by the fleet's percentage of distance there over the twelve months ending June 30 before the registration year. Registered weight is the largest lever, and the distance split is the second.

BC's distance pattern is defined by the Port of Vancouver and the border: containers moving east on the Trans-Canada and the Coquihalla to Alberta and beyond, and cross-border freight into Washington and Oregon. A fleet's reporting year can put a large share of its distance in Alberta and Washington, both of which price the apportioned fee on their own schedules, and the mountain routes make trip-sheet reconstruction unreliable in a way prairie routes do not. Telematics distance-by-jurisdiction reporting, from continuously logged position, gives ICBC the schedule it asks for and gives the fleet the same numbers for its IFTA return.

## Roadside and Audit

Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement inspection stations on the Coquihalla, the Trans-Canada and the border approaches check cab cards, weights and hours of service together. BC's own carrier safety program, the National Safety Code certificate, is checked with them. Keeping IRP, IFTA, the NSC and a Canadian-certified ELD current from one telematics dataset is the practical way a BC fleet stays clean at the scale.

The base jurisdiction can audit the distance behind an application for three years after the registration year closes, and asks for trip-level distance by jurisdiction tied to a unit and a date. GPS trip logs behind a distance report answer that; reconstructed trip sheets get the fee recalculated.

## FAQ

### Who handles IRP registration in British Columbia?

ICBC's Prorate office. Applications, renewals and supplements for the apportioned plate and cab card go through that office.

### Does a British Columbia truck that never leaves the jurisdiction need IRP?

No. IRP applies to qualified vehicles operating in two or more member jurisdictions. A vehicle that stays home registers the ordinary way, and an occasional trip can use a trip permit instead.

### What distance does the British Columbia IRP renewal use?

Actual distance in each jurisdiction for the twelve months ending June 30 before the registration year, per vehicle. A first-year fleet with no history uses the base jurisdiction's average distance chart.

### Is IRP the same as IFTA?

No. IRP apportions the annual registration fee; IFTA settles quarterly fuel tax. They share a weight threshold and both need distance by jurisdiction, but they are separate credentials, and in many jurisdictions separate agencies.

### How long must IRP distance records be kept?

At least three years after the close of the registration year they support, since that is the audit window.

## Sources

- [ICBC: Prorate (IRP) Registration](https://www.icbc.com/vehicle-registration/commercial-vehicles/prorate)
- [IRP, Inc.: The Plan](https://www.irponline.org/)