By Haul Handbook editorial team· Updated Oct 6, 2026
Missouri oversize and overweight permits are issued by MoDOT Motor Carrier Services online only, through MoDOT Carrier Express. Legal limits are 8 feet 6 inches wide, 13 feet 6 inches high (14 feet on the Interstate and designated highways), 45 feet for a single unit and 80,000 lbs gross. A single-trip permit costs $15, plus $20 for each 10,000 lbs over legal gross weight when overweight. Routine permits reach 16 feet wide, 16 feet high, 150 feet long and 160,000 lbs; past that a load is a superload with a $250 feasibility fee and bridge analysis. Annual blanket permits run $128 to $624.
Who issues what in Missouri
The permit pages
Missouri-specific requirements
MoDOT Motor Carrier Services runs intrastate authority, IFTA, IRP and oversize permits from one MoDOT Carrier Express account. Missouri charges nothing for IFTA, requires authority only for for-hire intrastate carriers, and sets intrastate insurance at split limits far below the federal level. Legal height is 13 feet 6 inches off the Interstate and designated routes.
One agency, one portal
MoDOT Motor Carrier Services handles intrastate authority, IFTA, IRP, oversize permits and trip permits in MoDOT Carrier Express. The Department of Revenue handles only driver licensing.
Per-truck decal instead of an authority fee
Authorized carriers outside UCR pay $10 per power unit each year for a license decal.
Split-limit intrastate insurance
For-hire property carriers file $100,000 / $300,000 / $50,000, not the federal $750,000.
No IFTA fees
Missouri charges nothing for the IFTA license or decals.
Two legal heights
Legal height is 14 feet on the Interstate and designated routes and 13 feet 6 inches on other highways, except vehicles hauling motor vehicles (RSMo 304.170.2).
Daylight rule for oversize loads
Oversize loads move from a half hour before sunrise to a half hour after sunset, with night permits only for narrower, shorter loads.
No weight-distance tax
Missouri carriers report fuel tax through IFTA; Missouri levies no weight-distance tax.
The Missouri permit system
- Apply or log in (MoDOT Carrier Express; all OSOW permits are applied for online, except house moves, which go through MoDOT district offices)
- modot.org/mce
The MoDOT permit office
Set up a MoDOT Carrier Express account and apply online at any hour. Pay by card or e-check for a processing fee, or keep money in an escrow account. For help, call Motor Carrier Services and choose the oversize option.
The permit types Missouri issues
Single-trip permits cover one move, with charges added for overweight loads, very large dimensions and loads above the bridge-analysis weight. Annual blanket permits cover repeat moves of a named commodity inside a set width and length, and three overweight blankets cover emergency response, concrete pump trucks and well drill rigs. Superloads need a route survey and engineering review.
Curfews and holidays
Oversize loads move only around daylight hours, and extra curfews apply around the Lake of the Ozarks, Branson, Kansas City, Springfield and St. Louis. MoDOT also bars oversize and overweight moves over the major holiday periods it publishes each year.
Compare beyond Missouri
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.