By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Sep 27, 2026
Arkansas oversize and overweight permits come from the Arkansas Highway Police Permit Section, by phone, in person in Little Rock, in writing, or online through the Arkansas Routing and Permitting System (ARPARS). Every special permit carries a $17 fee set by Ark. Code Ann. § 27-35-210, and overweight moves add a per-ton charge that rises with trip mileage, from $8 per ton at 100 miles or less to $16 per ton beyond 250 miles. Legal limits are 8 feet 6 inches wide, 14 feet high, and 80,000 pounds gross. Oversize moves run in daylight only and not on six named holidays, loads wider than 12 feet need escorts, and Arkansas has no general annual oversize permit, only specialized annual permits for listed equipment and commodities.
Arkansas legal limits (no permit needed at or under these)
- Width
- 8.5 ft102 inches (8 feet 6 inches), excluding designated safety devices, under Ark. Code Ann. § 27-35-206; the Permit Rules list 8 feet for manufactured homes.
- Height
- 14 ft14 feet, laden or unladen, under Ark. Code Ann. § 27-35-207 as amended by Act 871 of 2021.
- Gross weight
- 80,000 lb80,000 pounds gross on five or more axles, subject to the Federal Bridge Formula.
- Length: Truck tractor semitrailer overall
- No overall length limit when the semitrailer or trailer is 53 feet 6 inches or less
- Length: Twin trailer each unit
- 28 ft28 feet for a semitrailer or trailer in a truck tractor-semitrailer-trailer combination manufactured after December 1, 1982 (28 feet 6 inches if manufactured before December 2, 1982). No over-length permit is needed if either unit exceeds that length but the overall combination is 65 feet or less.
- Length: Front overhang
- 3 ftA permit is needed when the load extends more than 3 feet beyond the front wheels or front bumper; no permit is issued for a front overhang over 20 feet.
- Axle limits lb: note
- Tandem axles are two or more consecutive axles spaced more than 40 and not more than 96 inches apart. The steering axle may carry the manufacturer's rating up to 20,000 pounds (12,000 pounds if unrated), and a tandem steering axle 24,000 pounds under permit. The 50,000 pound tri-axle figure is from the Permit Rules' Table of Legal Dimensions and Weight Limits.
Axle weight limits
Gross weight is one ceiling; each axle group carries its own limit, and a load can be legal on gross weight yet overweight on an axle. Exceeding any of these needs an overweight permit.
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Permit fees
- Single trip
- $17 (Ark. Code Ann. § 27-35-210 charges $17 for each special permit. Overweight permits add a charge for each ton or major fraction of a ton above the lawful weight, priced by trip mileage. Permits are single one-way, non-diverted movements unless stated otherwise, and extensions are granted only for documented weather, breakdown, or similar delays requested before expiry.)
- Annual permit
- Arkansas publishes no general annual oversize or overweight permit. The Permit Rules' list of permit types (Appendix 1) offers single trip and six-day county permits plus annual permits only for specific equipment and commodities, each priced separately in the annual permit fee schedule.
- Annual eligibility
- Annual permits are limited to listed uses: 57 foot trailers, animal feed haulers at up to 85,000 pounds, unprocessed cross-ties (five per person per year), water well drilling and agricultural aviation auger vehicles, wreckers and towing vehicles used as emergency vehicles, loads up to 10 feet 8 inches wide from an adjacent state within one county and 15 miles, agronomic or horticultural products, sealed containers, farm equipment dealers up to 12 feet wide, vehicles of special design (cranes), and forestry equipment. The State Highway Commission also authorizes Multi-State Envelope Permits under the Multi-State Permit Agreement.
Single-trip permit fee schedule
A single-trip permit stacks a base fee with a weight-tiered maintenance fee, and the heaviest loads add a supervision fee.
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To price a specific load, try the oversize permit cost estimator, or compare every state on the national oversize permit table.
To see how these fees combine on real loads, walk through Arkansas oversize permit cost worked examples.
Escort thresholds
What the escort itself has to be
Hitting the threshold is only half of it. The escort vehicle, its equipment, its driver's certification and where it rides are all regulated, and the carrier is the one holding the permit when they are not met.
- Additional escorts
- An officer of command rank of the Arkansas Highway Police, or the Permit Section, may require more escorts, and the Permit Section may require one or more law enforcement vehicles to accompany a move.
- Escort permit
- No permit, bond, or fee is required for an escort vehicle, but escort operators must carry proof of liability insurance of at least $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident, and $25,000 property damage ($325,000 combined single limit) from a company licensed in Arkansas.
- What counts as an escort vehicle
- A truck of at least one-quarter ton rated capacity or an automobile of at least 2,000 pounds, licensed in Arkansas or under reciprocity, with the company name and address on each door legible at 50 feet.
- Equipment the escort vehicle carries
- OVERSIZE LOAD signs (yellow, black letters with a 2 inch stroke, at least 10 inches high), a roof-mounted rotating amber light of at least 35,000 candlepower or amber strobe of at least 500,000 candlepower visible 360 degrees, two 18 inch red flags, a 10 pound BC fire extinguisher, four 15-minute flares, light sticks or triangles, and two-way radio contact; escorts keep 200 feet from the load.
Liability cover the permit itself requires
Distinct from your operating-authority minimums: this is the cover Arkansas attaches to the permit, banded by the dimension you are permitted for. Each one is sourced.
- Permit insurance groups
- Rules 2 to 4 of the Permit Rules (general, over-dimensional, and overweight movements) state no permit-specific liability requirement for the hauling carrier; escort vehicles must carry $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident, and $25,000 property damage, and separate insurance minimums apply to manufactured home and house movers under Rules 7 and 8.
Escort rules beyond the thresholds
Knowing when you need an escort is half of it. These are the Arkansas rules on who may run one, what the vehicle has to carry, and how the move is conducted.
- Additional escorts
- An officer of command rank of the Arkansas Highway Police, or the Permit Section, may require more escorts, and the Permit Section may require one or more law enforcement vehicles to accompany a move.
- Escort permit
- No permit, bond, or fee is required for an escort vehicle, but escort operators must carry proof of liability insurance of at least $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident, and $25,000 property damage ($325,000 combined single limit) from a company licensed in Arkansas.
- Vehicle
- A truck of at least one-quarter ton rated capacity or an automobile of at least 2,000 pounds, licensed in Arkansas or under reciprocity, with the company name and address on each door legible at 50 feet.
- Equipment
- OVERSIZE LOAD signs (yellow, black letters with a 2 inch stroke, at least 10 inches high), a roof-mounted rotating amber light of at least 35,000 candlepower or amber strobe of at least 500,000 candlepower visible 360 degrees, two 18 inch red flags, a 10 pound BC fire extinguisher, four 15-minute flares, light sticks or triangles, and two-way radio contact; escorts keep 200 feet from the load.
Conditions attached to every permit
The standing conditions Arkansas writes into the permit itself, which apply whether or not they are printed on your copy.
- Non divisible
- Permits are issued only for cargo that cannot readily be taken apart, separated, or reduced in size or weight; no permit issues for a multi-unit or otherwise reducible overload.
- Carried in vehicle
- The permit must be carried in the vehicle and shown to any officer on demand; a self-issued permit may be shown on a device with a screen of at least 7 inches, but photocopies and faxes of a self-issued permit are not valid.
- Route
- The Permit Section sets the route by traffic, road and bridge condition, and public safety; any deviation voids the permit, and the permittee must check the route before starting. Travel off the state highway system must be coordinated with the local jurisdiction.
Travel restrictions
- Daylight only
- Yes (Permits are issued for movement during daylight hours only, as set by the National Weather Service. Overweight-only loads within legal width, height, and length may move at night, on weekends, and on holidays, and over-length loads up to 90 feet within legal width and height may move around the clock; loads over 90 feet long travel in daylight only.)
- Curfews
- No oversize movement through greater Little Rock from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. or 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Interstate 30 (mile markers 138 to 143), Interstate 40 (mile markers 151 to 155), and all of Interstate 630.
- Weekend / holiday
- No permits for movement on New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, or Christmas Day, and when one of those falls on a Friday or Monday the adjoining weekend is also closed. Oversize movement is otherwise allowed on Saturdays and Sundays. Farm equipment dealers may move farm machinery on Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day.
- Daylight hours rule
- Permits are issued for movement during daylight hours only, as set by the National Weather Service. Overweight-only loads within legal width, height, and length may move at night, on weekends, and on holidays, and over-length loads up to 90 feet within legal width and height may move around the clock; loads over 90 feet long travel in daylight only.
Superload and beyond-permit review
Loads past the standard single-trip permit thresholds get individual state review rather than an off-the-shelf permit.
Superloads are loads of extraordinary weight (180,000 pounds gross or more) or extraordinary dimension (wider than 16 feet 6 inches, 100 feet or more long, or 15 feet 6 inches or more high). The Department may issue permits for them at its discretion when the move is essential to public health, welfare, safety, or defense.
The Department may require engineering examinations, so applications must be filed far enough ahead to allow them, with a detailed sketch showing tire sizes, axle spacings, axle weights, and overall dimensions.
More Arkansas permit rules
- Single trip fee note
- Ark. Code Ann. § 27-35-210 charges $17 for each special permit. Overweight permits add a charge for each ton or major fraction of a ton above the lawful weight, priced by trip mileage. Permits are single one-way, non-diverted movements unless stated otherwise, and extensions are granted only for documented weather, breakdown, or similar delays requested before expiry.
- Annual permit fee note
- Arkansas publishes no general annual oversize or overweight permit. The Permit Rules' list of permit types (Appendix 1) offers single trip and six-day county permits plus annual permits only for specific equipment and commodities, each priced separately in the annual permit fee schedule.
- Annual permit eligibility
- Annual permits are limited to listed uses: 57 foot trailers, animal feed haulers at up to 85,000 pounds, unprocessed cross-ties (five per person per year), water well drilling and agricultural aviation auger vehicles, wreckers and towing vehicles used as emergency vehicles, loads up to 10 feet 8 inches wide from an adjacent state within one county and 15 miles, agronomic or horticultural products, sealed containers, farm equipment dealers up to 12 feet wide, vehicles of special design (cranes), and forestry equipment. The State Highway Commission also authorizes Multi-State Envelope Permits under the Multi-State Permit Agreement.
- Escort notes: additional escorts
- An officer of command rank of the Arkansas Highway Police, or the Permit Section, may require more escorts, and the Permit Section may require one or more law enforcement vehicles to accompany a move.
- Escort notes: escort permit
- No permit, bond, or fee is required for an escort vehicle, but escort operators must carry proof of liability insurance of at least $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident, and $25,000 property damage ($325,000 combined single limit) from a company licensed in Arkansas.
- Escort notes: vehicle
- A truck of at least one-quarter ton rated capacity or an automobile of at least 2,000 pounds, licensed in Arkansas or under reciprocity, with the company name and address on each door legible at 50 feet.
- Escort notes: equipment
- OVERSIZE LOAD signs (yellow, black letters with a 2 inch stroke, at least 10 inches high), a roof-mounted rotating amber light of at least 35,000 candlepower or amber strobe of at least 500,000 candlepower visible 360 degrees, two 18 inch red flags, a 10 pound BC fire extinguisher, four 15-minute flares, light sticks or triangles, and two-way radio contact; escorts keep 200 feet from the load.
- Escort notes: load marking
- Oversize vehicles display an OVERSIZE LOAD sign front and rear and 18 inch red or fluorescent orange flags on all four corners of the load, and no oversize load may follow another closer than 1,000 feet.
- Permit conditions: non divisible
- Permits are issued only for cargo that cannot readily be taken apart, separated, or reduced in size or weight; no permit issues for a multi-unit or otherwise reducible overload.
- Permit conditions: carried in vehicle
- The permit must be carried in the vehicle and shown to any officer on demand; a self-issued permit may be shown on a device with a screen of at least 7 inches, but photocopies and faxes of a self-issued permit are not valid.
- Permit conditions: route
- The Permit Section sets the route by traffic, road and bridge condition, and public safety; any deviation voids the permit, and the permittee must check the route before starting. Travel off the state highway system must be coordinated with the local jurisdiction.
- Permit conditions: liability
- A permit is no assurance that bridges or clearances will carry the load; the permittee is liable for all damage to roads, bridges, persons, and property.
- Permit conditions: unlicensed vehicles
- No permit is issued for an unlicensed vehicle to tow oversize or overweight equipment.
- Permit insurance groups
- Rules 2 to 4 of the Permit Rules (general, over-dimensional, and overweight movements) state no permit-specific liability requirement for the hauling carrier; escort vehicles must carry $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident, and $25,000 property damage, and separate insurance minimums apply to manufactured home and house movers under Rules 7 and 8.
| Schedule | Distance band |
|---|---|
| General overweight (plus $17 base fee) | 100 miles or less |
| General overweight (plus $17 base fee) | 101 to 150 miles |
| General overweight (plus $17 base fee) | 151 to 200 miles |
| General overweight (plus $17 base fee) | 201 to 250 miles |
| General overweight (plus $17 base fee) | 251 miles or more |
| Mobile construction vehicles and equipment (plus $17 base fee) | 100 miles or less |
| Mobile construction vehicles and equipment (plus $17 base fee) | 101 to 150 miles |
| Mobile construction vehicles and equipment (plus $17 base fee) | 151 to 200 miles |
| Mobile construction vehicles and equipment (plus $17 base fee) | 201 to 250 miles |
| Mobile construction vehicles and equipment (plus $17 base fee) | 251 miles or more |
| Component | Applies to | Fee USD |
|---|---|---|
| Over-length trailer, 53 ft 6 in to 57 ft | Semitrailer or trailer with a truck tractor; single trip or one year | 500 |
| Width up to 10 ft 8 in from an adjacent state | One designated route, one county, one-way mileage no more than 15 miles in Arkansas | 1,000 |
| Unprocessed cross-ties | Five-axle vehicle with an Arkansas K (Class 7) license, 36,500 lb per tandem, loaded trip under 100 miles, off the Interstate; no more than five per person per year | 100 |
| Crane (vehicle of special design) | Over-length crane on pneumatic tires within 35 miles of its point of origin | 100 |
| Water well drilling or agricultural aviation auger vehicle, within 35 miles | Movements within a 35 mile radius of origin | 100 |
| Water well drilling or agricultural aviation auger vehicle, beyond 35 miles | Movements beyond a 35 mile radius of origin | 300 |
| Wrecker or towing vehicle used as an emergency vehicle | Per wrecker or tow vehicle, prorated for terms under one year | 500 |
| Animal feed vehicle | Five-axle truck tractor and semitrailer hauling feed to livestock or poultry, up to 85,000 lb gross and 36,500 lb per tandem (single trip $17) | 500 |
| Agronomic or horticultural products (Annual Route Permit) | Up to five routes per permit; Level I inspection with no critical violations required | 800 |
| Farm equipment dealer transport | Farm machinery up to 12 ft wide, per vehicle; width-restricted highways prohibited | 500 |
| Forestry equipment | Overweight forestry equipment in one timber zone; each additional contiguous zone $125 | 250 |
| Name |
|---|
| Six-day county permit: repeated movements by one unit within one or two contiguous counties over six consecutive days |
| Emergency permits, issued case by case for disasters, national security, and loss of vital services, to pre-registered bonded accounts |
| Compacted seed cotton module vehicles (Rule 14) |
| Round bales of hay up to 10 feet wide on controlled highways: no fee, valid three days |
The Arkansas permit office
- Apply or log in (Arkansas Routing and Permitting System (ARPARS))
- ar.gotpermits.com/arpars
- Hours
- Permits by telephone Monday to Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; in person Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; closed weekends and state holidays. Certain envelope-vehicle permits can be self-issued in ARPARS 24 hours a day.
- [email protected]
Legal limits before you need a permit
Arkansas measures legal width, height, length, and weight against statute and the Permit Rules. Its legal height runs taller than the common limit in many states, so a load that needs a permit elsewhere may not need one here. Gross weight is subject to the Federal Bridge Formula, with separate limits for single, tandem, and tri-axle groups. The legal limits below carry each figure with its source.
What a permit costs
Every special permit pays the same base fee under Ark. Code Ann. § 27-35-210. Overweight permits add a charge for each ton or major fraction of a ton over legal weight, priced in mileage bands, so a longer trip costs more per ton. Mobile construction equipment has its own tiered schedule, and over-length trailers in a set range pay a flat fee.
Permits are single one-way moves. ARDOT grants an extension only for documented weather, breakdown, or similar delay, requested before the permit expires.
When you need escorts
Escort rules turn on width, height, and length, and on the type of highway. Wide loads first need a front escort on highways other than divided four-lane controlled-access routes, then front and rear escorts as width grows, with a single rear escort on divided four-lane highways. Tall loads need a front escort with a clearance bar, and the tallest also need written agreements from utility owners. Long loads need escorts by length band.
Escort vehicles need no permit, but their operators must carry liability insurance at the state minimum and the signs, lights, flags, and radios the rules list.
When and where you can move
Oversize permits are good for daylight only, as the National Weather Service sets it. Overweight-only loads within legal size may move at night, on weekends, and on holidays, and some over-length loads may run around the clock.
No permits issue for the named holidays, and when one lands on a Friday or Monday the adjoining weekend closes too. Greater Little Rock bans oversize moves on stretches of I-30, I-40, and I-630 during morning and evening rush. Movement may be restricted in high wind, and the permit is not valid in low visibility or bad weather.
Superloads and permit conditions
Superloads, the heaviest and largest moves, are permitted at ARDOT's discretion and may need engineering review, so file early with a detailed sketch of axles, tires, and dimensions. Weight-restricted highways need a Master Agreement and a Roadway Maintenance Assessment.
Every permit assumes a load that cannot be broken down. The Permit Section sets the route, any deviation voids the permit, and the permittee answers for damage to roads, bridges, and property.
Annual permits for listed uses only
Arkansas publishes no general annual oversize permit. Annual permits cover listed uses only, each with its own price, and the Multi-State Envelope Permit covers envelope vehicles under the regional agreement.
How to read this page
A value reading "Not confirmed" means we could not verify the figure on an official agency page at review time, so it stays open rather than guessed. Superload moves above the standard permit thresholds get individual review by the state; contact the permit office named on this page. For the rest of the Arkansas permit stack, see Arkansas trucking permits.