Heavy haul truck hauling an oversized load in Montana

Quickway Transports

Montana Oversize & Overweight Permits for Heavy Haul

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

Montana 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 Montana?

Yes, once the load is wider than 8 ft 6 in, taller than 14 ft or over the axle and bridge-formula limits; Montana has no fixed 80,000 lb cap for loads that meet them. MDT issues permits through eTRIPS: a single trip oversize permit is $10, and overweight loads pay by distance and by how far the axles are over legal.

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

Heavy Haul | MT

Heavy haul and oversize freight in Montana

Montana's heavy freight covers long distances: I-90 crosses the state from Idaho through Missoula, Butte, Bozeman and Billings toward Wyoming, I-15 runs from Idaho through Butte, Helena and Great Falls to the Canadian border, and I-94 heads east from Billings into North Dakota. Mining and energy equipment, farm machinery and freight between the Pacific Northwest and the Midwest make up much of it. We book carriers for moves within Montana or across it.

Montana is generous on the Interstate: loads up to 18 ft wide can travel there around the clock, holidays included, and many routine permits self-issue in eTRIPS. The limits sit on the two-lane highways, where loads over 10 ft wide move in daylight and the widest stop for holiday weekends, and in spring, when MDT posts load restrictions on roads that start breaking up.

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What are the legal size and weight limits in Montana?

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

Width	8 ft 6 in
Height	14 ft
Semitrailer length	53 ft
Gross weight	131,060 lbs
Single axle	20,000 lbs
Tandem axle	34,000 lbs

Limits are set by MCA 61-10-102 to 61-10-107. Montana sets no fixed 80,000 lb gross cap: a load legal on its axles and the bridge formula, on a truck licensed for the weight, needs no permit, and reducible loads top out at 131,060 lbs.

Who issues Montana oversize permits?

MDT's Motor Carrier Services Division in Helena issues permits through eTRIPS, which self-issues trip, term and weight permits around the clock when no special approval is needed, and after hours the Billings and Haugan weigh stations can help. A single trip permit is good for the dates printed on it and becomes void when the load leaves Montana.

Anything past 18 ft wide, 17 ft high or 150 ft long counts as a Montana superload; below that, a single trip permit covers the move. A county or city permit may be needed for local roads in addition to the MDT permit.

Permit system: MT eTRIPS (Electronic Transportation Routing and Intra/Interstate Permitting System)

What do Montana oversize and overweight permits cost?

request_quote Oversize single trip: $10. Annual oversize term permit, up to 15 ft wide and 95 ft long: $75.
request_quote Legal axle weights but over the bridge formula: $10 for trips up to 100 miles, $30 for 100 to 199 miles and $50 for longer ones.
request_quote Over the axle limits: $3.50 for each 5,000 lbs of total excess axle weight per 25 miles, with miles and weight rounded up.
request_quote Winter weight permit, up to 10% over legal from December 1 to March 7 off the Interstate: $50 for 30 days or $150 for the season.
request_quote eTRIPS passes card and online payment fees to the carrier.

Worked example: 31,250 lbs of excess axle weight over 389 miles

MDT's own example: 31,250 lbs of excess axle weight rounds up to 35,000 lbs, seven 5,000 lb steps at $3.50, or $24.50 per 25 miles. A 389-mile trip rounds up to 16 segments of 25 miles, so the permit costs $24.50 x 16 = $392.

Montana pilot car and escort requirements

local_police Non-Interstate: one front pilot over 12 ft 6 in wide, front and rear over 16 ft 6 in, and at least two front and one rear over 18 ft.
local_police Interstate: no pilot up to 16 ft 6 in wide, one rear pilot over 16 ft 6 in, and two side by side at the rear over 18 ft.
local_police Length on non-Interstate highways: one rear pilot over 150 ft, front and rear over 200 ft.
local_police Over 17 ft high: a front pilot with a height pole, and a rear pilot as well over 24 ft.
local_police Overweight loads crossing bridges at 10 mph need at least one rear pilot, and bridge-centerline crossings need two.
local_police Montana sets no pilot driver certification; pilot vehicles carry signs, amber lights and two-way radios and stay within 1,000 ft of the load.

What hours can oversize loads move in Montana?

calendar_today Interstate: travel at any hour, holidays included, for loads up to 18 ft wide.
calendar_today Non-Interstate: any hour up to 10 ft wide, 150 ft long and 15 ft 6 in high, and daylight only above that.
calendar_today Off the Interstate, no weekend moves for loads past 18 ft wide, 17 ft high or 150 ft long.
calendar_today Holidays: Christmas, New Year's Day, Thanksgiving (Thursday to Sunday), Memorial Day, Labor Day and the Fourth of July, stretched to the weekend when they fall beside one, stop larger non-Interstate loads and Interstate loads over 18 ft.
calendar_today Two local limits: loads wider than 9 ft may use MT-35 from Polson to Bigfork only when the trip begins or ends on that stretch, and US-12 in Deep Creek Canyon takes nothing wider than 12 ft.

Seasonal weight limits in Montana

In spring MDT posts load and speed restrictions on highways that start breaking up, such as 8 tons per single axle, and no overweight permit is valid on a restricted highway without the district administrator's approval. There are no fixed dates; postings stay until MDT lifts them. Winter runs the other way: a winter weight permit allows 10% over legal on non-Interstate roads from December 1 to March 7.

FAQ

Montana Oversize Load Questions

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

How much is a Montana oversize permit?

MDT charges $10 for a single trip oversize permit and $75 for an annual term permit covering loads up to 15 ft wide and 95 ft long. Overweight loads that only break the bridge formula pay $10, $30 or $50 depending on trip length, and loads over the axle limits pay $3.50 per 5,000 lbs of excess axle weight for every 25 miles.

Can oversize loads travel at night in Montana?

On the Interstate, yes: loads up to 18 ft wide can run at any hour with full length and width lighting. On other highways only loads up to 10 ft wide, 150 ft long and 15 ft 6 in high travel at night, and larger ones need MDT approval, requested in eTRIPS with the reason, highway and times.

Does Montana have a gross weight limit?

Not a fixed one. Montana uses the bridge formula and axle limits, so a truck licensed for the weight can exceed 80,000 lbs without a permit if every axle and axle group is legal, up to 131,060 lbs for reducible loads. Non-reducible loads over those limits need an overweight permit.

When are Montana's oversize holiday restrictions?

Larger non-Interstate loads stop for Christmas, New Year's Day, Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, Labor Day and the Fourth of July. The stop covers the whole weekend whenever the holiday lands on a Monday, a Friday or the weekend itself, and runs Thursday through Sunday for Thanksgiving. Interstate loads up to 18 ft wide are not restricted at all.

What is a superload in Montana?

A load past 18 ft wide, 17 ft high or 150 ft long, or one whose weight or route has to be cleared by MDT's Bridge Bureau. District decisions take about 2 working days for Class 1 superloads and 5 for Class 2, and conditions can include route surveys, traffic control plans and utility approvals.

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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