Minnesota Oversize & Overweight Permits for Heavy Haul
Minnesota permit rules, legal limits and escort triggers, and how we book heavy haul carriers for moves in and through the state.
Quick answer
Do I need a permit to move an oversize load in Minnesota?
Yes, when the load is over 8 ft 6 in wide, 13 ft 6 in high or 80,000 lbs gross, or over the axle limits. MnDOT's single trip permit is $15 and valid for 7 days, and overweight loads add a damage assessment fee charged per mile for each heavy axle group. The permit covers state, US and Interstate highways only.
Updated November 2026 by the Quickway Transports broker team (FMCSA MC# 1245224).
Heavy haul and oversize freight in Minnesota
Minnesota's oversize freight ranges from Iron Range mining equipment in the north to farm machinery, wind components and Twin Cities manufacturing in the south. I-94 and I-35 cross in the Twin Cities, I-35 continues to Duluth's port on Lake Superior, and I-90 runs along the southern edge between South Dakota and Wisconsin. We book carriers for loads moving within the state or crossing it toward the Dakotas and the Great Lakes.
Minnesota leaves most hours open: oversize loads can generally move day or night, and there is no general weekend ban. The limits come from the calendar instead. Spring load restrictions cut axle weights zone by zone for six to eight weeks, wide loads stop around holidays and on summer Friday and Sunday evenings, and Twin Cities and Duluth rush hours are closed to the widest and longest loads.
What are the legal size and weight limits in Minnesota?
Under the oversize load regulations in Minnesota, 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 |
Limits are set by Minn. Stat. 169.80 to 169.824 and apply to 10-ton roads. Unpaved roads are 9-ton routes with 18,000 lbs on a single axle, and both allow 80,000 lbs gross.
Who issues Minnesota oversize permits?
MnDOT's Office of Freight and Commercial Vehicle Operations in St. Paul issues oversize and overweight permits through the Minnesota SUPERLOAD system. A single trip permit is valid 7 days, and a job permit lets the same power unit repeat a similar load on one route for 60 days.
MnDOT permits cover state trunk, US and Interstate highways only. County, city and township roads need the local road authority's approval, and MnDOT can ask to see those approvals before it issues the state permit, so the carrier's permit service gathers them early.
What do Minnesota oversize and overweight permits cost?
- request_quote Single trip permit: $15. Job permit for repeat moves on one route: $36.
- request_quote Overweight loads add a damage assessment fee: the per-mile factors of every over-legal axle group, added together and multiplied by the miles.
- request_quote Typical factors: a tandem at 38,000 lbs adds $0.14 a mile, and a tridem within 9 ft at 60,000 lbs adds $0.19 a mile.
- request_quote Loads over 14 ft 6 in wide permitted while spring load restrictions are on: an extra $120.
- request_quote MnDOT lists no separate superload fee, but a bridge consultant its Bridge Office calls for is hired and paid by the carrier.
Worked example: a 38,000 lb tandem and 60,000 lb tridem over 200 miles
The 13,000 lb steer axle is legal, so it adds nothing. The tandem adds $0.14 and the tridem $0.19, a damage factor of $0.33 a mile, so 200 miles adds $66 to the $15 permit, $81 in all. Escorts and any local road permits come on top.
Minnesota pilot car and escort requirements
- local_police Over 15 ft wide at the bottom of the load, or over 16 ft at the top: one rear escort on a divided multilane road, front and rear on an undivided road.
- local_police Over 110 ft long: one rear escort on a divided multilane road, front and rear on an undivided road.
- local_police Over 150 ft long on a divided multilane road: escorts front and rear.
- local_police Any part of the load or truck crossing the centerline of an undivided road: a licensed peace officer leads, with certified escorts front and rear.
- local_police Over 16 ft high, 20 ft wide or 175 ft long: MnDOT requires an approved physical route survey before it issues the permit, and does not accept a pole car in its place.
- local_police Escort drivers need a Minnesota pilot/escort certificate or one from a reciprocal state such as Washington or Virginia.
What hours can oversize loads move in Minnesota?
- calendar_today Oversize loads may generally move day or night and on weekends unless the permit sets hours.
- calendar_today Twin Cities and Duluth rush hours, 6:00 to 8:30 AM and 3:30 to 6:00 PM on weekdays: closed to loads wider than 14 ft 6 in or longer than 110 ft.
- calendar_today Wider than 16 ft inside the seven metro counties: weekday moves only from midnight to 5 AM.
- calendar_today Summer, Memorial Day to Labor Day: loads wider than 12 ft 6 in or longer than 110 ft park from 4 to 8 PM every Friday and Sunday.
- calendar_today Holidays, including the spring fishing opener: the same loads stop between 2 PM on the eve of each holiday and 2 AM on the day following it. Nothing moves when visibility is under 500 ft.
Seasonal weight limits in Minnesota
Minnesota sets spring load restrictions for six frost zones, usually starting in early March in the south and mid to late March in the north and lasting six to eight weeks. While they are on, single axles are held to 10 tons on paved surfaces and 5 tons where the road is unpaved, and new overweight permits go only to loads whose every axle group is legal, except on the Interstate. Winter brings the opposite: a 10 percent weight increase by zone.
Minnesota Oversize Load Questions
Permits, escorts and travel rules for oversize moves in Minnesota.
How much is a Minnesota oversize permit?
When does a Minnesota load need an escort?
What is a superload in Minnesota?
When are Minnesota spring load restrictions?
Can oversize loads travel at night in Minnesota?
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.
- MnDOT Oversize/Overweight Permits (home)
- MnDOT Find out if you need a permit
- MnDOT Permit types and fees
- MnDOT Damage Assessment Fee Calculator
- MnDOT Escort requirements
- MnDOT 2026 Holiday Restrictions for Oversize Vehicles
- MnDOT Route survey page
- MnDOT General Provisions for Oversize/Overweight Loads (version August 2024)
- MnDOT Guide to Transporting Superloads in Minnesota (May 2025)
- Minnesota Commercial Vehicle Resource Book 2026 (MnDOT)
- MnDOT Seasonal Load Limits (dates)
- Minn. Stat. 169.812 (escort vehicles)
- Minn. Stat. 169.86 (special permits; fees)
- Minn. Stat. 169.87 (seasonal load restriction)
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Heavy Haul Solutions for Oversized and Specialized Loads
Near Minnesota: states and services
- Heavy Haul in Wisconsin →Oversize moves in and through Wisconsin: Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay and the WI permit rules.
- Heavy Haul in Iowa →Oversize moves in and through Iowa: Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport and the IA permit rules.
- Heavy Haul in South Dakota →Oversize moves in and through South Dakota: Sioux Falls, Rapid City, Aberdeen and the SD permit rules.
- Heavy Haul in Illinois →Oversize moves in and through Illinois: Chicago, Aurora, Rockford and the IL permit rules.
- Heavy Equipment Transport →Which trailer, permits and preparation each kind of construction, farm, mining and industrial machine needs.
- Heavy Haul Trucking →Oversize and overweight loads on RGN, step-deck and flatbed trailers, with permits, pilot cars and route surveys arranged.