What's in a Trucking Permit Book? What to Keep in the Cab (2026)

A permit book is the binder, folder or app that holds the papers a truck has to be able to show at a scale house, a port of entry or a roadside inspection. Drivers also call it the cab book or the credentials book. Nobody publishes one official list of what goes in it, because the right packet depends on the carrier, the truck, the load and the states on the trip.

This guide walks through what is commonly kept in a permit book, where a few of those items come from in federal rules, and how a single-trip oversize or overweight permit fits in. If you are deciding between paper and an app, see Digital Permit Book alternatives compared and Is Digital Permit Book Worth It?

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Core credentials most trucks carry

These are the standing documents tied to the truck and the carrier. They change at renewal time, not every trip.

• Registration or IRP cab card. Interstate trucks registered under the International Registration Plan carry an apportioned cab card that lists the jurisdictions and weights the truck is registered for. Intrastate trucks carry their state registration.
• IFTA license. Carriers in the International Fuel Tax Agreement keep a copy of the IFTA license in each qualified vehicle, along with the decals on the cab.
• Proof of insurance. Many carriers keep a current insurance card or certificate in the cab. What is required varies by state and operation, so check with your safety department.
• State tax credentials where they apply. A few states run their own weight-distance or highway-use taxes with separate credentials, for example New York’s HUT, Kentucky’s KYU, Oregon’s weight-mile tax and New Mexico’s weight-distance tax. Carry what the states on your lanes require.

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Annual permits, trip permits and oversize permits

This is the part of the book that changes most often.

• Annual or blanket permits. Some states issue annual oversize or overweight permits for loads that stay inside set limits. Keep the current one for each state that issued it.
• Trip and fuel permits. A truck that is not apportioned or not under IFTA for a state may run on a temporary trip or fuel permit. Keep it until the trip is done.
• Single-trip oversize or overweight permits. These are issued for one load, one route and a set of dates. They carry the route, dimensions, weights, escort rules, curfews and other conditions the driver has to follow. A multi-state move usually means one permit per state; see multi-state oversize permits.

A single-trip permit is not just a document to file. It is the set of instructions for that load, and it deserves a full read before the truck rolls. Our guide on how to read an oversize load permit covers what to look for.

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Driver, ELD and safety papers

• ELD documents. Under 49 CFR 395.22, a driver using an ELD must have on board a user’s manual, an instruction sheet on transferring data to an officer, an instruction sheet on what to do if the ELD malfunctions, and enough blank paper log graph-grids to record duty status for 8 days. The manual and instruction sheets may be electronic.
• Periodic inspection proof. 49 CFR 396.17 requires annual periodic inspections. Proof, a copy of the inspection report or a decal that meets the rule, has to be with the vehicle.
• Lease agreement. If the equipment is leased to a carrier, 49 CFR 376.11 requires a copy of the lease to be carried in the equipment while it is in that carrier’s service.
• Hazmat papers, when hauling hazmat. Shipping papers and the carrier’s hazmat registration information go with those loads.
• The driver’s own papers. The CDL and, for drivers who need one, a current medical certificate. These belong to the driver, not the truck, but they get checked at the same stop.

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Paper binder or digital permit book?

A paper binder works anywhere and costs nothing extra. The weak point is upkeep: someone has to pull every expired page and put the renewed one in, truck by truck.

Digital permit book apps put the packet on the driver’s phone, push renewals from the office and send expiry alerts. Our comparison of Digital Permit Book alternatives lists what each vendor’s public page says about price and offline access.

Two cautions either way. First, whether an electronic copy is accepted at roadside depends on the state and the document, so confirm before you go fully paperless, and keep paper for anything you are not sure about. Second, a phone that is dead or out of signal is not a permit book. Test the app with the data off before you rely on it.

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Making sense of the oversize permit in the book

Storing an oversize permit and understanding it are different jobs. A permit book, paper or app, keeps the document where an officer can see it. It does not tell the driver which turn has a curfew or where the escort has to join.

That reading step is what JaloPermit does. Drop an already-issued, text-based permit PDF into the permit decoder on the JaloPermit homepage and it lays out the route, escorts, curfews, dimensions and limits on one route card, with weigh stations, truck stops and low-bridge alerts, so the driver can check it against the original. It is a reading aid. It does not file, order or renew permits, it does not store a fleet’s documents, and it does not plan routes or provide navigation. The issued permit always wins, and it stays in the book.

JaloPermit covers the 48 contiguous states and reads text-based PDFs only, not scans or photos. Guests get three free decodes a day with no account and no card. Logged-in users get 10 free decodes a day. After those free decodes, each one is $3.50. There is no subscription. For how the two jobs split, see Digital Permit Book vs a permit card.

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A quick permit book checklist

1. Cab card or registration, current and for this truck.
2. IFTA license copy, plus any state tax credentials your lanes need.
3. Proof of insurance, if your operation or state calls for it.
4. Current annual permits for each state that issued them.
5. Trip or fuel permits for this trip, if any.
6. Every single-trip oversize or overweight permit for this load, one per state, read end to end.
7. ELD manual, data-transfer sheet, malfunction sheet and 8 days of blank logs.
8. Periodic inspection report or decal.
9. Lease agreement, if the equipment is leased on.
10. Hazmat papers, if the load is hazmat.

Walk the book at every truck swap and every renewal. Expired pages are as much of a problem as missing ones.

Questions about how JaloPermit reads a permit? Email support@jalopermit.org.

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FAQs