New Hampshire Oversize Permit Cost: Worked Examples

How RSA 266:22 prices New Hampshire oversize and overweight permits, worked through a 10 ft wide load, a 120,000 lb haul and a supermove.

By Haul Handbook editorial team· Updated Oct 4, 2026 · 11 min read

New Hampshire sets its oversize and overweight permit fees in the statute itself, and they are small. Every over-dimension permit costs the same flat amount, whatever the dimension. Overweight permits step up by gross weight. The permit comes from the Department of Transportation's Oversize/Overweight Permit Office in Concord. For most moves, escorts, the weekday travel rule and an engineer's report on the biggest loads shape the cost far more than the permit does. Every fee this guide works through renders with its source on the New Hampshire oversize and overweight permits page. To see which states treat your load as oversize at all, run it through the oversize permit cost estimator.

Sources for the fees below: New Hampshire General Court, RSA 266:22, Permit Fees., accessed October 4, 2026, gc.nh.gov; and New Hampshire General Court, N.H. Admin. Rules Tra 300, Part Tra 304, Oversize and Overweight Vehicle Permits, accessed October 4, 2026, gc.nh.gov.

How New Hampshire builds the number

Start with the legal envelope. RSA 266:12 bars a vehicle wider than 102 inches including load. RSA 266:10 caps height at 13 feet 6 inches. RSA 266:11 allows 45 feet for a single unit and a 53-foot semitrailer on the Interstate and designated highways, and sets no overall length for a tractor-semitrailer. A five-axle combination may gross 80,000 pounds under RSA 266:18 and RSA 266:18-a.

Once a load breaks one of those lines, RSA 266:24 lets the commissioner of transportation issue a special permit, and RSA 266:22 sets the fee. There is no bracket table by overage and no mileage charge. Here is how the statute prices it:

Over-dimension. Each permit for over-length, over-width or over-height, or any combination of them, costs $6.00. A load that is wide, long and tall at once pays the same as one that is only wide.
Overweight. The fee follows the gross weight of vehicle and load, in six steps. The lowest step, up to 50,000 pounds, is $5.50. The top step, from 90,001 to 100,000 pounds, is $10.50.
Above 100,000 pounds. The statute adds $2.00 for each additional 10,000 pounds.
Annual option. A special annual permit covering all types of moves costs $115.00 for each unit and runs one year. A lower-priced permit covers moves within 100 miles of the holder's home location.

The statute prices over-dimension and overweight permits in separate paragraphs. It does not say how a load that is both oversize and overweight is billed, so read the total on the permit the office issues. Tra 304.18 makes every fee nonrefundable, and permits for federal, state and local government are free.

You apply through NHDOT Permits at nhdotpermits.org, where online payment is by card only, by mail on the paper application, or in person at the John O. Morton Building, 7 Hazen Drive, Concord.

Worked example 1: a 10 foot wide excavator

Start with a common move. A contractor hauls a 10 foot wide excavator on a trailer, at legal height, legal length and the truck's registered weight. Width is the only line it breaks.

The single-trip permit is $6.00. The fee would be the same for 9 feet or 11 feet 11 inches, and the same for a short trip or a long one.

The load needs no escort. Tra 304 calls for an escort only from 12 feet wide, 90 feet long, more than 14 feet high or 15 feet of overhang, and the load still shows its red or orange flags at the extremities and OVERSIZE LOAD signs front and rear. A single-trip permit is valid for 5 business days, or 10 for a round trip by the reverse route.

If you move this machine often, look at the annual permit. Tra 304.09 grants annual permits for construction equipment and self-propelled units that stay within 10 feet 6 inches wide, 13 feet 6 inches high, 45 feet long for a single unit or 75 feet for tractor, trailer and load, and the legally registered weight. This excavator fits. The annual permit for one unit is $115.00, about what 19 single-trip permits cost. A load that steps outside the annual envelope needs a single-trip or emergency supplemental under the annual permit.

Worked example 2: a 120,000 pound load

Now a heavy one. A tractor and multi-axle trailer carry a non-divisible machine at legal width, height and length, for a gross weight of 120,000 pounds.

Let's break it down. A gross weight above 100,000 pounds starts from the top weight step, $10.50. The next 20,000 pounds are two additional 10,000-pound steps. Each step adds $2.00, so the permit costs the top-step fee plus that add-on twice. The statute does not say how a weight that falls partway into a step is counted, so check the figure NHDOT Permits quotes for a weight between steps.

Three rules shape this move more than the fee:

Non-divisible loads only. Tra 304 issues permits only for a load that would lose its function or value if split, or would take more than 8 work hours to dismantle.
No stacking with weight certification. A truck certified under RSA 266:18-d for additional weight cannot combine that certification with an oversize/overweight permit. NHDOT issues the permit for the actual weight and dimensions of the load.
Time of day. An overweight-only vehicle that travels at normal traffic speed is not held to the date and time restrictions that apply to oversize loads. Bridge and highway postings still apply, and spring thaw postings drop posted state highway sections to 30,000 pounds gross.

Out-of-state carriers face one more check. A vehicle registered outside New Hampshire cannot get a permit for a move between two New Hampshire points unless it is IRP-registered with New Hampshire on the cab card. The apportioned side of that is on the New Hampshire IRP registration page.

Worked example 3: a supermove

Now the big one. A precast beam on a steerable trailer makes a combination 115 feet long and 15 feet 6 inches wide, at legal height, grossing 160,000 pounds.

The statute fees stay small. The over-dimension permit is $6.00. The weight runs six 10,000-pound steps past 100,000 pounds, so the overweight fee is the top-step fee plus six add-ons. The real cost sits elsewhere. Here is why:

Supermove status. Tra 304.12(c) treats any vehicle and load over 15 feet wide, over 110 feet long, over 13 feet 6 inches high or over 149,999 pounds as a supermove. This load trips three of the four.
Engineer's report. A supermove needs, at the applicant's expense, a report from a New Hampshire-licensed professional engineer certifying the vehicle, pavement, bridges, clearances and turning paths along the whole route, plus confirmation from the district engineer or the Bureau of Bridge Design. A route survey is required for any load over 110 feet long. The rules set no price for either, so get engineering quotes before you bid the job.
State Police escorts. At 100 feet long, Tra 304 adds a State Police escort to the non-police escorts. Over 14 feet wide, the count rises to two State Police escorts in total, counting the one already required for length. A move that closes all or part of a highway needs three. We have no sourced State Police escort rate, so ask for the charge when you book.
Scheduled date. The supermove permit is issued for a specific date and time, which may fall on a weekend. No annual permit supplemental is available for a supermove.

Escort rules for ordinary permits

Escorts follow the dimensions of the load. Under Tra 304, one non-police escort is required at 12 feet wide and under 14 feet, at 90 feet long, above 14 feet high, or at 15 feet of front or rear overhang. It runs in front on an undivided highway and behind on a divided one. Two are required when 15 feet of rear overhang combines with 12 feet of width, one ahead and one behind. No more than two non-police escorts are required, but State Police escorts come on top, and the permit office may require more of either.

Non-police escorts must be compact-car size or larger, with a top-mounted amber light visible for 1,000 feet, a two-way radio on the load's frequency and OVERSIZE LOAD signs. Convoys are not permitted. A permitted move must pull over once 7 or more vehicles are queued behind it.

The calendar

New Hampshire's travel windows shape the schedule more than the fee does (New Hampshire Department of Transportation, Oversize and Overweight Permit Holiday Travel Restrictions - 2026, memo dated September 2, 2025, accessed October 4, 2026, nhdotpermits.org):

Oversize moves run in daylight only, from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset.
Oversize permits are not valid on weekend days under Tra 304.14(h), except supermoves and wide building moves the permit schedules otherwise.
From April 18 to November 21, 2026, permitted vehicles may also travel on designated routes on Saturdays from 30 minutes before sunrise until noon. From May 30 to August 29, 2026, Saturday travel on I-95 ends at 9 a.m. You select the Saturday Morning Move option on the application.
No travel on the listed holidays. For 2026 NHDOT lists Jan. 1, Jan. 19, Feb. 16, May 25, July 3, Sept. 7, Oct. 12, Nov. 11, Nov. 26, Nov. 27 and Dec. 25, and no restriction on Juneteenth.
No permitted move may start in inclement weather, including fog, heavy rain, freezing rain, sleet, ice, snow or wind. A load already rolling must leave the highway at the first available spot.

Town roads and the regional permit

An NHDOT permit covers state-maintained highways and bridges only. Town and city roads need the local government's permission. Tra 304.04(b) honors a permit issued under the New England Transportation Consortium agreement without a separate New Hampshire permit, which helps on a multi-state New England run.

What to check before quoting

Next steps, in order:

Measure each dimension and the gross weight, and compare them against the legal limits.
Price the over-dimension permit and the overweight step from RSA 266:22, adding a step for each 10,000 pounds above 100,000.
Check whether the load crosses a supermove line, and budget for the engineer's report and route survey if it does.
Count escorts from the Tra 304 table and book State Police escorts early.
Check the date against the weekend rule, the Saturday window and the holiday list.
If the move repeats and fits the annual envelope, compare the annual permit against single trips.

The permit office answers at 603-271-2691 and nhdotpermits@dot.nh.gov, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (New Hampshire Department of Transportation, Contact Us, notice dated January 24, 2019, accessed October 4, 2026, nhdotpermits.org). Compare your quote against the same move elsewhere on the oversize permit costs by state table, and see the rest of the credential stack at New Hampshire trucking permits.

FAQ

How much does a New Hampshire oversize permit cost?

RSA 266:22 sets one flat fee for each permit for over-length, over-width or over-height, or any combination of them. Overweight permits are priced by the gross weight of vehicle and load, in six steps up to 100,000 pounds, plus a fixed add-on for each additional 10,000 pounds. A special annual permit for all types of moves is sold per unit. Tra 304.18 makes every fee nonrefundable. The current figures render with their source on the New Hampshire oversize and overweight permits page.

When does a New Hampshire oversize load need an escort?

Under Tra 304, one non-police escort is required at 12 feet wide (under 14 feet), 90 feet long, more than 14 feet high, or 15 feet of front or rear overhang. Two are required when 15 feet of rear overhang combines with 12 feet of width. A State Police escort is added at 100 feet long, two in total over 14 feet wide, and three for any move that closes all or part of a highway.

Can I use my additional weight certification with an oversize permit?

No. NHDOT will not let a carrier combine the Division of Motor Vehicles additional weight certification with an oversize/overweight permit. The permit is issued for the actual weight and dimensions of the load.