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Indiana Base Plate Migration: Moving Truck Registration From the BMV to DOR Motor Carrier Services

Reviewed by Austin Park, founder of ICR Filings · Updated November 11, 2026

The short answer
  • Owners of five or more qualifying commercial vehicles registered with the Indiana BMV must register them with DOR Motor Carrier Services instead.
  • Accounts open November 16, 2026. You need your company name, FEIN or SSN, and the Letter ID from the mailed notice.
  • Vehicle registration runs January 4 to February 28, 2027, and must be complete by March 1, 2027.
  • You get new base plates, and future renewals go through DOR, not the BMV.

If you run a fleet out of Indiana and got a letter from the BMV or the Department of Revenue about transferring your vehicle registration, it is real, and it has dates attached. Indiana is moving larger commercial fleets off BMV registration and onto DOR's Motor Carrier Services (MCS), under the Base Plate Registration (BPR) program.

  1. Oct 2026BMV and DOR mail notices to qualifying carriers
  2. Nov 16, 2026Carriers open an MCS account online
  3. Jan 4, 2027Vehicle registration window opens
  4. Mar 1, 2027Registrations must be complete

Who has to move

DOR cites Indiana Code 9-18.1-13: owners of five or more qualifying commercial motor vehicles currently registered with the BMV are required to register them with DOR Motor Carrier Services. You qualify if you own five or more of these power units:

  • Trucks, semi-tractors, and recovery vehicles with a registered weight of 11,001 pounds or greater.

If you qualify, these migrate with them:

  • Full trailers with a registered weight of 9,001 pounds or greater.
  • Semitrailers.

Step 1: open your MCS account (from November 16, 2026)

DOR says carriers must provide additional information to create an MCS account, and that renewal of 2026 plates cannot be started without it. A second notice from MCS carries a unique Letter ID. To create the account you need:

  • Company name
  • FEIN or SSN
  • The Letter ID from that notice

You start from the Start Registration button on DOR's Base Plate Migration page.

Step 2: register your vehicles (January 4 to February 28, 2027)

DOR says the registration window is not open until January 4, and that qualifying carriers get another notice by mail in December. Existing registrations with a February 28, 2027 expiration date must be registered with MCS, not through the BMV, to be active by March 1, 2027. Registration is completed online.

In DOR's words:

“The registration window is not open until January 4. Qualifying carriers will receive notice by mail in December. Registrations must be completed by the due date of March 1, 2027.”
Indiana DOR: Base Plate Migration from BMV to DOR-MCS

What changes afterward

  • You are issued new base plates for the vehicles.
  • Future renewals are done through MCS.
  • DOR's online system handles renewals, adding vehicles, plate transfers, replacement plates, and printing cab cards. DOR says IRP and BPR transactions must be conducted electronically.

DOR publishes a BPR User Guide covering company registration, creating a user ID, vehicle renewals, and printing registration cab cards. Its migration page also answers common questions, such as whether you can stay with the BMV, whether costs change, and what happens if you later drop below five vehicles. We have not copied those answers here: read them on DOR's page, since they are the ones that bind.

Lost the letter?

The Letter ID is on the notice from MCS. If you do not have it, contact DOR at baseplatemigration@dor.in.gov or Motor Carrier Services at 317-615-7200 before the registration window opens, not during it.

This is not your operating authority

Base plate registration is vehicle registration. DOR notes that intrastate carriers may have other requirements too: for-hire carriers of general freight, and private carriers of hazardous materials, may need Indiana intrastate operating authority. Interstate carriers still need their federal filings. See which trucking filings you need and what IRP apportioned plates are.

Common questions

Who has to move from the BMV to DOR Motor Carrier Services?

Owners of five or more commercial power units registered with the BMV: trucks, semi-tractors, and recovery vehicles with a registered weight of 11,001 pounds or greater.

What is the Letter ID?

A unique ID printed on the second notice DOR Motor Carrier Services mails to qualifying carriers. You need it, with your company name and FEIN or SSN, to create your MCS account.

When is the deadline?

DOR says registrations must be completed by the due date of March 1, 2027. The online registration window opens January 4, 2027.

Do my trailers move too?

If you qualify, DOR says full trailers with a registered weight of 9,001 pounds or greater and semitrailers also migrate to MCS.

Who do I contact with questions?

DOR lists baseplatemigration@dor.in.gov for migration questions, and Motor Carrier Services at 317-615-7200, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern.

Official sources

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules and fees change, so confirm with the official source before you file.

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