Heavy haul truck hauling an oversized load in Michigan

Quickway Transports

Michigan Oversize & Overweight Permits for Heavy Haul

Name: Quickway Transports
Address: 1271 West Main St, Riverhead, NY, 11901, US
Telephone: +1 (631) 898-4248

Michigan permit rules, legal limits and escort triggers, and how we book heavy haul carriers for moves in and through the state.

Quick answer

What permit does an oversize load need in Michigan?

An MDOT transport permit, filed through MiTRIP on the MDOT Permit Gateway. A single-trip permit is $15 for a load that is only over-dimension and $50 once it is over legal axle weights. Michigan limits weight per axle, so a long multi-axle combination can gross well over 80,000 lbs. Permitted loads move in daylight, Monday to Friday.

Updated November 2026 by the Quickway Transports broker team (FMCSA MC# 1245224).

Heavy Haul | MI

Heavy haul and oversize freight in Michigan

Michigan's oversize freight follows its industry: presses, tooling and automation lines moving between plants around Detroit, Flint, Lansing and Grand Rapids, construction machines across the Lower Peninsula, and mining and forestry equipment in the Upper Peninsula. I-75, I-94, I-96 and I-69 carry most of it, and the Detroit, Port Huron and Sault Ste. Marie crossings tie it to Ontario.

Two rules shape a Michigan quote more than any other. Weight is limited per axle rather than by one gross number, so the trailer's axle count decides what a machine can weigh on the road. And from March through May, seasonal limits cut every axle's allowance, which can turn a legal summer move into a permitted spring one.

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What are the legal size and weight limits in Michigan?

Under the oversize load regulations in Michigan, a load above any of these limits needs a state oversize or overweight permit.

Width	8 ft 6 in
Height	13 ft 6 in
Semitrailer length	53 ft
Gross weight	80,000 lbs
Single axle	20,000 lbs
Tandem axle	34,000 lbs

Michigan allows 102 in wide only on designated highways; elsewhere the base width is 96 in (8 ft). Because weight is set per axle, a properly spaced 11-axle combination can legally gross up to 164,000 lbs, a grandfathered exception to the federal 80,000 lbs standard.

Who issues Michigan oversize permits?

MDOT's Transport Permits Unit in Lansing issues oversize and overweight permits online only, through MiTRIP (Michigan Transport Routing and Internet Permitting System) on the MDOT Permit Gateway. MiTRIP sets the fee from the exact dimensions and weights entered, and an application is not processed until it is paid.

County road commissions and cities issue permits for their own roads, so a jobsite off the state trunkline system can need a second permit. The carrier's permit service handles both filings; we line up the route and the carrier.

Permit system: MiTRIP (Michigan Transport Routing and Internet Permitting System), accessed through the MDOT Permit Gateway (MPG) with a MiLogin account

What do Michigan oversize and overweight permits cost?

request_quote Single trip, over-dimension at legal weight: $15.
request_quote Single trip, over legal axle weights, with or without extra size: $50.
request_quote Extended (annual) permit renewal: $30 per unit for over-dimension loads at legal weight, $100 per unit for overweight loads; new extended permits are prorated.
request_quote Annual construction equipment permit: $264 per power unit.

Worked example: a 12 ft wide dozer from Grand Rapids to Detroit

At legal axle weights on its trailer, the dozer needs one single-trip MDOT permit: $15. If it were heavier than the axle limits allow for that trailer, the same trip would be $50. Any escort MDOT requires is written into the permit, and its cost is part of the carrier's rate.

Michigan pilot car and escort requirements

local_police MDOT does not publish fixed width or length triggers. It writes the escort requirement into each permit as a special provision, based on the load and the route.
local_police When a front escort is required for a load over 14 ft 6 in high, it carries a height pole set to clear the load.
local_police Superload routes must be surveyed in advance with a height pole.
local_police Loads over 90 ft long need a pilot vehicle on the Interstate, according to the Mackinac Bridge Authority.
local_police Every permitted load crossing the Mackinac Bridge is escorted across by the Bridge Authority.

What hours can oversize loads move in Michigan?

calendar_today Permits are valid in daylight, half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset, Monday through Friday.
calendar_today Loads no more than 10 ft wide, 14 ft high and 90 ft long can also run all day Saturday and until 3 PM Sunday if weekend travel is selected on the permit.
calendar_today No movement from noon the day before New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving or Christmas until daylight the day after; a Friday or Monday holiday stretches the ban across the weekend.
calendar_today When the permit lists Special Provision 15: no movement 7 to 9 AM or 3 to 6 PM in 11 counties, including Wayne, Oakland and Macomb around Detroit and Kent around Grand Rapids.

Seasonal weight limits in Michigan

From March through May, MCL 257.722 cuts maximum axle loads by 25% on rigid concrete pavement and 35% on flexible roads. MDOT, county road commissions and cities set the exact dates each year by bulletin, and in the southern counties the limits often start in February or early March.

FAQ

Michigan Oversize Load Questions

Permits, escorts and travel rules for oversize moves in Michigan.

How much does a Michigan oversize permit cost?

A single-trip MDOT permit is $15 when the load is over-dimension but within legal axle weights, and $50 when it is over the axle limits. Annual extended permits are $30 per unit for over-dimension loads and $100 per unit for overweight ones, and an annual construction equipment permit is $264 per power unit. MiTRIP works out the fee from the dimensions entered.

Why can Michigan trucks gross more than 80,000 lbs?

Michigan limits weight by axle instead of setting one gross figure, a rule older than the federal 80,000 lbs standard and kept as a grandfathered exception. A combination with 11 properly spaced axles can legally gross up to 164,000 lbs. For heavy equipment, the right multi-axle trailer can keep a machine at legal weight where a five-axle setup would need an overweight permit.

Are Michigan oversize loads allowed to run on weekends?

Some can. Permits normally run Monday to Friday, but a load no more than 10 ft wide, 14 ft high and 90 ft long can travel all day Saturday and until 3 PM Sunday when weekend travel is selected on the MiTRIP application. Wider or longer loads, and all mobile homes, wait until Monday daylight.

How do oversize loads cross the Mackinac Bridge?

The carrier calls the Mackinac Bridge Authority at least 24 hours before arriving, and an Authority vehicle escorts the load across in daylight only. Wind can stop the crossing: at sustained winds of 35 to 50 mph, over-dimension vehicles are not allowed on the bridge, so Upper Peninsula moves need some slack in the schedule.

Do spring weight limits affect equipment moves in Michigan?

Yes, from March through May. Seasonal limits cut axle loads by 25% on concrete pavement and 35% on other roads, and local agencies may start them early. A machine that rides at legal weight in July can need an overweight permit or a trailer with more axles in April, so give the move date when you ask for a quote.

Sources

We last checked the figures above against these official sources in October 2026. Before each move, the carrier's permit service confirms the rules in force that day.

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