Skip to main content

At more than 20,000 locations around the country you can rent a U-Haul truck, or van, or trailer, and they come in seven different sizes. But they all have one thing in common: they are all registered in Arizona. Arizona isn’t particularly special. U-Haul’s corporate offices happen to be in Phoenix, and the company registers all of the company’s trucks there as “apportioned” vehicles. But there’s more to the story of why all U-Haul trucks have Arizona plates.

U-Haul recently got national attention

A rented U-Haul truck
A U-Haul truck | U-Haul

As CNN explains, interest in the issue was piqued after a recent attack in New York city. The attacker was tied to a U-Haul truck with Arizona plates. That started a lot of people asking, “Why do they all have Arizona plates?”

U-Haul trucks are “apportionable vehicles.”

They are commercial vehicles with a license plate that was issued in accordance with the International Registration Plan.

U-Haul rents super-convenient box trucks, pickups, trailers. You can be drive them state-to-state. Some people even prefer to rent a U-Haul over a standard car from the airport.

What is the International Registration Plan?

U-Haul trailer looking abandoned in a parking lot
A lone U-Haul trailer sits in the lot of a U-Haul store | Tim Boyle, Getty Images

You can learn everything about apportioning your own truck for commercial use at www.irponline.org.

Years ago, it wasn’t uncommon to see commercial trucks and semis with dozens of license plates from multiple states. Can you imagine waiting in that many DMV lines to register your truck? It was awful. So, multiple states and some Canadian provinces all banded together to allow commercial drivers to pay one fee in one state that they all share. That’s why all U-Hauls have Arizona plates.

The IRP is a reciprocity agreement among the states, the District of Columbia, and provinces of Canada. The agreement allows commercial carriers to pay one fee but drive anywhere. But not Hawaii.

The IRP is super clever if you drive in multiple states, and why all U-Hauls have Arizona Plates

Front view of a U-Haul moving truck
Front view of a U-Haul moving truck | Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

 According to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, which has a good explanation of “apportioned.”  

“Apportioned means the registration fees for the vehicle are divided up among the states and provinces through which the vehicle travels or within which the vehicle travels. The operator of a commercial motor vehicle bearing an apportioned tag is required to carry a valid cab card inside the vehicle to reflect valid registration. The cab card displays vehicle-specific information, lists each state or province within which the vehicle may operate, and lists the registered weight for each state or province.”

One card in your glovebox gets you a registration in 49 states, Washington D.C., and some Canadian provinces. It’s not cheap, but it certainly beats sitting in 49 MVD offices.

RELATED: U-Haul Ran out of Moving Trucks to Get People out of California

Related

How Much Power Does the 2022 Nissan Frontier Have?

Best in Tips, Tricks & Trends
Writer - Sedans & Coupes

Dan Mayfield

Dan joined MotorBiscuit in 2022 with over 20 years of experience in journalism and a lifelong passion for anything related to the automotive industry. He grew up wrenching a 1949 Ford pickup truck and an MGB with his dad, learning how not to wire a fuel pump (he inadvertently set the MGB on fire).

After earning a bachelor’s degree in photojournalism from the University of New Mexico, Dan has contributed his expertise to a range of local outlets, including the City of Albuquerque, US Eagle, and the Alliance for Local Economic Prosperity.

On weekends, Dan spends Saturdays enjoying “cars and coffee” chats and, on Sundays, he’s watching the Route 66 Cruise roll through town. He also races motorcycles, and it’s not unusual to find him elbows-deep in his latest cafe racer build.

Taking advantage of the local desert terrain, Dan also enjoys exploring and driving off-road in his trusty Ram Rebel pickup truck, which provides personal insights into his contributions to our Trucks, SUVs, & Crossovers coverage. Dan strives to give our readers unique information about the dynamic automotive market, reading anything that has to do with cars, trucks, bikes, 4X4s, and, in his words, “everything with a motor.”

Dan has earned a number of accolades from the Public Relations Society of America, and is a University of Southern California, Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism Fellow.