By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Sep 28, 2026
Mississippi oversize and overweight permits come from MDOT's Permit & Motor Carrier Division through the ExpressPass online system. A single-trip oversize permit is $10; overweight permits cost five cents per 1,000 pounds over the legal limit for each mile traveled in Mississippi, with a $10 minimum. Every applicant needs a federal DOT number and a certificate of insurance naming MDOT with at least $500,000 single limit liability, and must be current on UCR, IFTA and IRP before any permit issues. Legal limits without a permit are 8 feet 6 inches wide, 13 feet 6 inches high, a 53-foot trailer and 99 feet overall, and 80,000 pounds gross.
Who issues what in Mississippi
The permit pages
Mississippi-specific requirements
Mississippi splits trucking credentials between two agencies. The Mississippi Department of Transportation handles intrastate operating authority, the state's UCR registration, 72-hour trip permits, and oversize and overweight permits through ExpressPass. The Department of Revenue handles apportioned IRP plates and IFTA from one office, both through its Taxpayer Access Point. Mississippi issues no marketed state carrier number and levies no weight-distance tax.
Cargo insurance required of every intrastate general freight carrier
MDOT requires a certificate of insurance showing $5,000 of cargo coverage for loads of three tons or less and $10,000 for loads over three tons, on top of $750,000 in liability for non-hazardous freight. Federal rules require cargo coverage only of household goods carriers.
UCR payment waives the intrastate per-vehicle fee
A carrier that has paid Unified Carrier Registration fees has its $10 per-vehicle intrastate fee waived for the trucks claimed, and gives its USDOT and MC numbers so MDOT can verify the payment. New carriers still pay the one-time $50 filing fee.
Household goods and passenger carriers go to a hearing
Unlike general freight registration, household goods movers and passenger carriers apply by letter for a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity. A hearing is set at least 20 days after filing, and the certificate issues only if the operation is found justified and the applicant fit, willing and able.
One Department of Revenue office runs both IRP and IFTA
Apportioned plates and the IFTA license share one contact line, (601) 923-7142, and one portal, TAP, where a paid application can get temporary credentials the same day. District offices in Hernando, Hattiesburg, Meridian and Biloxi also offer IRP and IFTA service.
Free IFTA decals, renewed in December
Mississippi IFTA decals cost nothing, and the license is renewed every year during the December reporting period on the TAP renewal return.
Age-based additional privilege tax on apportioned plates
Mississippi's share of an IRP fee adds an Additional Privilege Tax that falls with vehicle age on top of the road and bridge privilege tax by weight. At 80,000 pounds it runs from $1,785.71 for a current-model-year truck down to $47.62 at 11 years and older, before apportionment and monthly proration.
Holiday moratorium starts at noon the day before
Permitted oversize loads may not move after 12:00 noon on the day before, or on, New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas, unless the permit says otherwise.
Harvest permits allow 88,000 pounds off the interstate
A $25 annual Harvest Permit lets a truck haul agricultural products, unprocessed forestry products and sand, gravel and similar materials at 80,000 pounds plus a 10 percent tolerance (88,000 pounds) off the interstate system. A companion $25 Special Interstate Agriculture Vehicle Permit extends 88,000 pounds to interstates for crops and raw forest products only.
Permit applicants must be current on UCR, IFTA and IRP
MDOT will not issue any oversize or overweight permit until the owner or operator is current with UCR, IFTA and IRP, holds a federal DOT number, and has a certificate of insurance naming MDOT for at least $500,000 single limit liability on file.
The Mississippi permit system
- Apply or log in (ExpressPass)
- permits.mdot.ms.gov
Which permit you need
Match the permit to the move. An out-of-state heavy truck without Mississippi apportioned plates buys a trip permit. A load past legal width, height, length, or weight needs an oversize or overweight permit, single trip or blanket. Agricultural, forestry, and aggregate haulers can add a Harvest Permit for extra weight off the interstate.
What MDOT checks before any permit issues
MDOT will not issue an oversize or overweight permit until the owner or operator is current on UCR, IFTA, and IRP, gives a valid federal DOT number, and has a certificate of insurance naming MDOT on file. Permits are tied to one owner and one vehicle and must ride in the cab, with electronic copies accepted.
Where to buy
Oversize, overweight, and blanket permits are bought in ExpressPass, MDOT's online permit system. Trip permits can be bought at the scales, by phone from MDOT, or through a permit service. Harvest permits have their own MDOT desk.
Compare beyond Mississippi
Running multi-state loads? The trucking permits by state table shows which permit families and issuing offices apply in every jurisdiction, the oversize permit costs by state table compares limits and fees across all 51 jurisdictions, and the permit cost estimator prices a specific load per state.