Illinois Oversize Permit Cost: Worked Examples

Three worked Illinois oversize moves: which IDOT fee grid prices each one, when the width add-on lands, and where width alone creates a superload.

By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Jul 26, 2026

Illinois does not have an oversize permit price. It has two fee grids and a set of rules deciding which one a move reads from, or whether it reads from both. IDOT prices over-dimension moves off Table 1 by category and trip distance, prices overweight moves off Table 2 by axle-configuration class and distance band, and then layers width rules on top of whichever answer you land on. Every published Illinois fee renders with its source on the Illinois oversize and overweight permits page; this guide walks three real-shaped moves through the grids. To see which states call your load's width and height oversize at all, run it through the oversize permit cost estimator.

Where the Illinois grids start

Legal limits are 8 feet 6 inches wide and 13 feet 6 inches high on any highway in the state (625 ILCS 5/15-102 and 5/15-103). Illinois has no 14-foot height allowance, so a load that runs legal through a western state can need an Illinois permit on height alone. Length is set by highway class rather than by one statewide number (625 ILCS 5/15-107): on Class I and Class II highways a combination has no overall length cap, but the semitrailer stops at 53 feet and the kingpin to rear-axle distance at 45 feet 6 inches on a semitrailer longer than 48 feet, while a non-designated highway caps a tractor semitrailer at 65 feet overall and drops the kingpin measurement to 42 feet 6 inches. Gross weight is 80,000 pounds for a combination of five or more axles, subject to the Illinois bridge formula (625 ILCS 5/15-111).

Permits issue through ITAP, the Illinois Transportation Automated Permit system, from the IDOT Bureau of Operations Permit Office, and most issue immediately. Roads under Cook County jurisdiction and routes under City of Chicago jurisdiction, including the Central Business District, go to those agencies instead, so a door-to-door move in the metro can involve more than one permit office.

The two grids

Table 1 prices over-dimension. Five categories, a through e, each defined by a width, height, and length ceiling, and each priced across four trip-distance bands. The cheapest cell is category a, a load no wider than 10 feet, no higher than 14 feet 6 inches, and no longer than 70 feet, for a trip of 0 to 90 miles, at $12.00. At the far corner sits category e, past 18 feet wide, 16 feet high, or 120 feet long, over 270 miles, at $125.00.

Table 2 prices overweight. A separate grid of twelve letter classes running from f to r, each class defined by total axles, maximum gross weight, and the front and rear group limits, and each priced across eleven distance bands that run from 0 to 45 miles up to 451 to 495 miles. It behaves as a lookup rather than a per-mile rate, so crossing a band boundary steps the fee rather than sliding it.

A load that is both pays Table 2 plus additions. Table 2 fees already include dimensions up to 15 feet high, 145 feet long, and 12 feet 6 inches wide. From 12 feet 7 inches to 14 feet 6 inches wide, a flat $15.00 goes on top. Past 15 feet high, 145 feet long, or 14 feet 6 inches wide, the applicable Table 1 fee is added to the Table 2 fee as well.

Table 3 covers the axle-only case. Where an axle or axle group is overweight but the gross weight is legal, the fee comes off Table 3 by pounds over legal and by group type, charged for each 45-mile increment of the move.

Worked example 1: a 10-foot excavator on a short haul

An excavator on a lowboy at 10 feet wide, legal height, and under 70 feet overall, moving less than 90 miles, is the cheapest permit Illinois issues: Table 1 category a at $12.00. Nothing stacks on it. The load sits under the 14 feet 6 inch width that would require a civilian escort, and at legal height it falls inside the tier Illinois lets run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That night window is the detail out-of-state carriers most often miss: an overweight or oversize load up to 12 feet wide, 13 feet 6 inches high, and 200 feet long may move after dark in Illinois with one extra civilian escort (92 Ill. Adm. Code 554.1210).

Send the same excavator past 270 miles and the permit becomes $21.00. For a dimension-only move that is the entire Illinois effect: one category, four steps, distance doing all the work.

Worked example 2: a press bed at practical maximum weight

Now take a press bed 12 feet 6 inches wide and 13 feet high on a five-axle tractor semitrailer loaded to 100,000 pounds gross, which is exactly where Illinois sets its practical maximum weight for that configuration. The move is over on both counts, and Illinois prices it from Table 2, not Table 1: the letter class comes from the axle configuration and gross weight, and the fee cell from the distance band the trip falls in.

Two charges people expect here do not appear. There is no separate over-dimension fee, because Table 2 already includes width up to 12 feet 6 inches. And there is no width add-on, because the load has not reached 12 feet 7 inches.

Widen that same trailer to 13 feet and both facts flip. The

$15.00

width add-on lands on top of the Table 2 fee, and the schedule tightens: above 12 feet wide the load leaves the round-the-clock tier and moves from a half hour before sunrise to a half hour after sunset, 7 days a week. Six inches of width changed the permit cost and the dispatch plan at the same time.

Worked example 3: where width alone creates a superload

This is the Illinois rule that catches carriers used to weight-triggered superloads. Superload status turns on width, not on a gross-weight figure: moving a vehicle or object more than 14 feet 6 inches wide requires a superload permit (92 Ill. Adm. Code 554.1320), whatever it weighs. A towed permit that fails the minimum axle-spacing requirements is processed as a superload too. Practical maximum dimensions stop at 14 feet 6 inches wide, 15 feet high, and 145 feet long, and anything beyond is considered case by case.

So a legal-weight vessel 16 feet 6 inches wide, 15 feet high, and 100 feet long is a superload on width alone. It is also a Table 1 category d over-dimension move, and at 181 to 270 miles that line reads $50.00. The permit line is no longer the story. What sits on top of it:

Three civilian escorts. Past 16 feet wide, Illinois requires three (92 Ill. Adm. Code 554.1235). One would have covered any width over 14 feet 6 inches; crossing 16 feet adds the other two.
A 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. weekday window. Over 16 feet wide or 17 feet high, the load moves Monday through Friday between those hours only, with no Saturday or Sunday movement at all.
Engineering time. Bridge structural analysis bills at $40.00 per hour plus computer costs, and a District investigation of movement feasibility at $40.00 per IDOT District.
A non-refundable surcharge. Supplements to superload permits with weight carry $50.00, against $5.00 for an ordinary revision or extension.

Push the same vessel past 18 feet wide and the escorts become Illinois State Police. The permittee arranges them with State Police Headquarters at least 24 hours before the move and pays

$80.00

per escort vehicle per Illinois State Police District to the Permit Office, plus an hourly charge billed separately by the State Police.

What actually moves an Illinois number

Four things, in this order. Which grid the load reads from, because Table 1 and Table 2 are different questions and a load can owe both. Which distance band the trip lands in, because the fee steps at the boundary rather than accruing per mile. Whether width crosses 12 feet 7 inches, 14 feet 6 inches, or 16 feet, each of which changes something (the add-on, superload status, the escort count). And whether the load runs often enough to justify a Limited Continuous Operation permit, which is what Illinois calls its blanket permit, priced by load family, maximum dimensions, and 3-month or 12-month term. The LCO fee families and the full Table 1 grid render with their sources on the Illinois oversize and overweight permits page.

Compare how other states price the same load on the oversize permit costs by state table, and see the rest of the Illinois credential stack at Illinois trucking permits.

FAQ

Who issues Illinois oversize permits?

The IDOT Bureau of Operations Permit Office, through the Illinois Transportation Automated Permit system (ITAP), and most permits issue immediately. Roads under Cook County jurisdiction and routes under City of Chicago jurisdiction, including the Central Business District, are permitted by those agencies instead.

What makes a load a superload in Illinois?

Width. Moving a vehicle or object more than 14 feet 6 inches wide requires a superload permit under 92 Ill. Adm. Code 554.1320, whatever the load weighs, and a towed permit that fails the minimum axle-spacing requirements is processed as a superload as well.

Can an oversize load move at night in Illinois?

Yes, within limits. An overweight or oversize load up to 12 feet wide, 13 feet 6 inches high, and 200 feet long may move 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with one extra civilian escort during the hours of darkness. Wider or taller tiers lose the night window.

Illinois IFTA Filing Walkthrough (Quarterly)

How an Illinois carrier registers for IFTA on Form MFUT-12 in MyTax Illinois and files Form MFUT-15 every quarter, step by step.

California Oversize Permit Cost: Worked Examples

Three worked California oversize moves: which Caltrans permit each needs, which fee lines apply, and where escort and curfew rules change the total.

Florida Oversize Permit Cost: Worked Examples

Three worked Florida oversize moves: dimension tiers for trip permits, per-mile overweight pricing, and where the annual permit starts beating trip permits.

Sources

Primary statutes and official agency pages this guide relies on. Laws and fees change, so confirm against the current source before you act.

Table 1 - Overdimension Fee Categories · Illinois Department of Transportation
Table 2 - Overweight Fee Categories · Illinois Department of Transportation
Oversize and Overweight Permits · Illinois Department of Transportation
Oversize and Overweight Permit Movements on State Highways (92 Ill. Adm. Code 554) · Illinois Department of Transportation
625 ILCS 5/15-102, Width of vehicles · Illinois General Assembly
625 ILCS 5/15-301, Permits for excess size and weight · Illinois General Assembly

Haul Handbook publishes educational information about trucking registration and compliance requirements. This is not legal, financial, or tax advice. Rules, fees, and deadlines change; confirm with the agency before you file or pay.