By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Sep 27, 2026
Nebraska Department of Transportation issues oversize and overweight permits online through its automated truck permit system, and a user profile is required before buying. A single-trip permit costs 15 dollars for oversize only, 20 dollars for overweight only, or 25 dollars for both, and continuous (annual) local or statewide envelope permits cost 25 dollars per 90 days up to 100 dollars a year. Legal limits are 8 feet 6 inches wide, 14 feet 6 inches high, and 80,000 pounds gross on the interstate, where a Conditional Interstate Use Permit allows divisible loads up to 95,000 pounds. Oversize moves run only from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset, never on listed holidays or in Lincoln and Omaha weekday rush hours, and loads over 16 feet wide, 15 feet 11 inches high, 150 feet long, or 160,000 pounds are superloads.
Nebraska legal limits (no permit needed at or under these)
- Width
- 8.5 ft102 inches including load, excluding designated safety devices, on every highway. Off the interstate, farm equipment in temporary movement, combines, livestock forage vehicles (up to 18 feet), baled livestock forage in daylight (up to 12 feet), and harvest equipment transport up to 15 feet are excepted.
- Height
- 14.5 ft14 feet 6 inches unladen or loaded. Combine transport and farm equipment dealers may reach 15 feet 6 inches in daylight, as may baled livestock forage loads. Owners, lessees, and operators of vehicles taller than 12 feet 6 inches assume the risk of striking overhead structures.
- Gross weight
- 80,000 lb80,000 pounds is the gross cap on the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways unless the Director-State Engineer authorizes more: a Conditional Interstate Use Permit allows divisible loads up to 95,000 pounds on the interstate with no axle over 20,000 pounds single or 34,000 pounds tandem. Natural gas or battery electric vehicles may exceed limits by up to 2,000 pounds (82,000 maximum) on the interstate, and idle reduction equipment by up to 550 pounds.
- Off interstate limits
- No flat gross cap applies off the interstate: weight is governed by the 10,000 pound wheel, 20,000 pound single axle, and 34,000 pound tandem limits and the statute's bridge table, whose top entry is 95,000 pounds on seven axles spread 60 feet. The State Patrol guide gives 95,000 pounds on state highways; NDOT's Legal Sizes and Weights sheet still prints 94,000 pounds on US and state routes.
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
- $25 (25 dollars for a single-trip overweight and overdimensional permit; 15 dollars for overdimensional only and 20 dollars for overweight only. Amending a permit costs 10 dollars and a permit may be amended once. Fees are not refunded. A single-trip permit is valid for up to 10 moving days.)
- Annual permit
- $100 (Continuous local or statewide envelope permits cost 25 dollars per 90 days, 50 dollars per 180 days, 75 dollars per 270 days, or 100 dollars for a full year.)
- Annual eligibility
- A continuous (annual) permit is issued in 90-day increments up to one year for a specific vehicle and is not transferable. The statewide envelope permit covers all state and national highways for loads up to 10 feet wide, 15 feet high, a 53 foot loaded semitrailer (60 feet empty), triple axle groups at most, 20,000 pounds per single axle, and up to 10 percent over legal axle-group and gross weight. The continuous local permit, limited to properly licensed Nebraska vehicles of a local business, covers state highways in the home county and adjoining counties for loads up to 14 feet wide, 15 feet 6 inches high, and 75 feet long, with no axle over 20,000 pounds. Local self-propelled and two-axle flotation continuous permits and a statewide empty trailer permit are also available.
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 Nebraska 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.
- Escort vehicle
- A single standard-size truck or car at least 60 inches wide with yellow or amber flashing, rotating, or strobe lighting mounted at least 53 inches above the road and visible at 800 feet, OVERSIZE LOAD signs visible front and rear (at least 5 feet by 12 inches with 8 inch letters), and red flags on all four corners; radio contact with the permitted driver may be required.
- Load signs and flags
- Loads over 10 feet wide display OVERSIZE LOAD signs on the front of the hauling vehicle and the rear of the load (yellow, at least 7 feet by 18 inches, black letters at least 10 inches high); loads over 12 feet wide also fly red flags at least 18 inches square on all four corners.
Escort rules beyond the thresholds
Knowing when you need an escort is half of it. These are the Nebraska rules on who may run one, what the vehicle has to carry, and how the move is conducted.
- Escort vehicle
- A single standard-size truck or car at least 60 inches wide with yellow or amber flashing, rotating, or strobe lighting mounted at least 53 inches above the road and visible at 800 feet, OVERSIZE LOAD signs visible front and rear (at least 5 feet by 12 inches with 8 inch letters), and red flags on all four corners; radio contact with the permitted driver may be required.
- Load signs and flags
- Loads over 10 feet wide display OVERSIZE LOAD signs on the front of the hauling vehicle and the rear of the load (yellow, at least 7 feet by 18 inches, black letters at least 10 inches high); loads over 12 feet wide also fly red flags at least 18 inches square on all four corners.
Conditions attached to every permit
The standing conditions Nebraska writes into the permit itself, which apply whether or not they are printed on your copy.
- Non divisible
- Permits are not issued for vehicles or loads that can be reduced to legal size and weight; the load must be carried with its least dimension as its width and may not cross the centerline except to avoid a collision.
- Registration
- A vehicle seeking an overweight permit must first be registered for the maximum gross weight the permit allows, and a permit never waives Nebraska license or registration requirements.
- Insurance
- Before granting any permit, NDOT may require a certificate of public liability and property damage insurance and additional security to indemnify the state for highway damage; the rule sets no fixed dollar amount.
- Tandem allowance
- A non-divisible load on a truck-tractor semitrailer may be permitted at up to 46,000 pounds on each tandem and 106,000 pounds gross, on designated routes (I-80, I-76, and listed north-south corridors).
Travel restrictions
- Daylight only
- Overdimensional permitted moves run only from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset; overweight-only permits may travel 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- Curfews
- No overdimensional permit travel Monday through Friday 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Lincoln's state highways (Highways 2, 6, 34, and 77, not I-80) and on all state highways in the Omaha urban area, including the interstates and I-80 from the Iowa border to the Gretna interchange (milepost 432).
- Weekend / holiday
- Overdimensional moves are barred on NDOT holidays, typically from noon on the day before until sunrise after the holiday (2026: New Year's, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas). On University of Nebraska-Lincoln home football game days no permit traffic may use any Nebraska highway in the area bounded by the Iowa border, Highway 14, the Kansas line, and Highway 91; overweight-only permits are still allowed.
- Weather
- Overdimensional travel is prohibited when visibility is under half a mile, in rain, sleet, or snow, when highways are slippery from ice, snow, slush, or frost, or when debris from an accident, disaster, or emergency is on the highway; wet pavement and light drizzle are not inclement weather. Overweight-only single-trip permits are not weather-restricted.
Superload and beyond-permit review
Loads past the standard single-trip permit thresholds get individual state review rather than an off-the-shelf permit.
A superload is a vehicle or combination carrying a nondivisible load over 16 feet wide, 15 feet 11 inches high, 150 feet long, or 160,000 pounds gross.
Superload applications need review and approval by the Lincoln Permit Office and may need Bridge Division or District Engineer review; the definitions section allows up to ten business days, and the single-trip section says a written request may be required and review may take up to five working days. Single axles may exceed 20,000 pounds for such loads only when the weight spreads across more than one lane and the interior of the external axles is at least 14 feet apart, with an axle drawing submitted.
More Nebraska permit rules
- Data quality note
- Legal limits come from Neb. Rev. Stat. 60-6,288, 60-6,289, 60-6,290, and 60-6,294 as published by the Nebraska Legislature; permit fees, escort thresholds, travel restrictions, and the superload definition come from Title 408 NAC chapter 3 (Nebraska Department of Transportation rules for overweight and overdimensional permits); office details and permit practice come from NDOT's Oversize/Overweight Truck Permits page and the Nebraska State Patrol 2026-27 Nebraska Truck Information Guide. Where NDOT's one-page Legal Sizes and Weights sheet disagrees with the statute (it prints 94,000 pounds on US and state routes), the statute's bridge table is recorded and the disagreement is noted.
- Single trip fee USD: note
- 25 dollars for a single-trip overweight and overdimensional permit; 15 dollars for overdimensional only and 20 dollars for overweight only. Amending a permit costs 10 dollars and a permit may be amended once. Fees are not refunded. A single-trip permit is valid for up to 10 moving days.
- Single trip fee note
- Single-trip permit fees are set by 408 NAC 3-009.04. Statute 60-6,298 caps ordinary permit fees at 50 dollars and authorizes superload single-trip fees of up to 250 dollars (300,000 pounds or less), 400 dollars (over 300,000 to 500,000 pounds), and 800 dollars (over 500,000 pounds) plus the department's direct costs; the NDOT rule's fee schedule lists no separate superload fee.
- Annual permit fee note
- Set by 408 NAC 3-009.05; statute 60-6,298(7)(a) caps continuous permit fees at 50 dollars per 90 days, 100 dollars per 180 days, and 200 dollars per year.
- Annual permit eligibility
- A continuous (annual) permit is issued in 90-day increments up to one year for a specific vehicle and is not transferable. The statewide envelope permit covers all state and national highways for loads up to 10 feet wide, 15 feet high, a 53 foot loaded semitrailer (60 feet empty), triple axle groups at most, 20,000 pounds per single axle, and up to 10 percent over legal axle-group and gross weight. The continuous local permit, limited to properly licensed Nebraska vehicles of a local business, covers state highways in the home county and adjoining counties for loads up to 14 feet wide, 15 feet 6 inches high, and 75 feet long, with no axle over 20,000 pounds. Local self-propelled and two-axle flotation continuous permits and a statewide empty trailer permit are also available.
- Escort notes: escort vehicle
- A single standard-size truck or car at least 60 inches wide with yellow or amber flashing, rotating, or strobe lighting mounted at least 53 inches above the road and visible at 800 feet, OVERSIZE LOAD signs visible front and rear (at least 5 feet by 12 inches with 8 inch letters), and red flags on all four corners; radio contact with the permitted driver may be required.
- Escort notes: load signs and flags
- Loads over 10 feet wide display OVERSIZE LOAD signs on the front of the hauling vehicle and the rear of the load (yellow, at least 7 feet by 18 inches, black letters at least 10 inches high); loads over 12 feet wide also fly red flags at least 18 inches square on all four corners.
- Escort notes: I80 without escort
- A vehicle permitted to travel Interstate 80 without an escort must stay on the permitted route and, if directed off, use only the three pre-approved detours (US-30 in the west, US-34 in the center, US-6 in the east) with rear amber lighting.
- Permit conditions: non divisible
- Permits are not issued for vehicles or loads that can be reduced to legal size and weight; the load must be carried with its least dimension as its width and may not cross the centerline except to avoid a collision.
- Permit conditions: registration
- A vehicle seeking an overweight permit must first be registered for the maximum gross weight the permit allows, and a permit never waives Nebraska license or registration requirements.
- Permit conditions: tires
- Overweight permits are granted only when every tire on the permitted vehicle is pneumatic.
- Permit conditions: insurance
- Before granting any permit, NDOT may require a certificate of public liability and property damage insurance and additional security to indemnify the state for highway damage; the rule sets no fixed dollar amount.
- Permit conditions: tandem allowance
- A non-divisible load on a truck-tractor semitrailer may be permitted at up to 46,000 pounds on each tandem and 106,000 pounds gross, on designated routes (I-80, I-76, and listed north-south corridors).
- Permit conditions: weigh stations
- Vehicles operating under an oversize or overweight permit must always exit to any open weigh station, regardless of bypass signals.
| Name |
|---|
| Seasonally harvested products permit: 25 dollars per 30 days, renewable to 150 days a year, up to 15 percent over weight and 10 percent over length for moves up to 120 miles from field to storage or market; no single axle over 20,000 pounds; not valid on the interstate |
| Conditional Interstate Use Permit: 10 dollars per 10-day increment up to 90 dollars for 90 days, divisible loads up to 95,000 pounds on the interstate |
| Baled Livestock Forage Interstate Permit: 25 dollars for 90 days, up to 12 feet wide, 15 feet 6 inches high, and 59 feet 6 inches long on the interstate |
| Interstate Implement of Husbandry Permit: 25 dollars per 90 days, no more than 100 dollars a year |
| Garbage or refuse permit: 10 dollars per month, no more than 100 dollars a year |
| Highway 75 Implement of Husbandry Permit (US-34/US-75 expressway, 2.78 miles between Bay Road and the US-34 interchange): no fee, by phone to the Lincoln Permit Office |
| Non-resident grain hauler's permit for non-apportioned out-of-state trucks hauling harvested products from the field: 20 dollars for a straight truck or 150 dollars for a combination, valid 90 days between June 1 and December 15, from the county treasurer where hauling begins |
The Nebraska permit office
- Apply or log in (Automated Truck Permit System (NE Connect))
- ne.gotpermits.com
- [email protected]
Nebraska legal size and weight limits
Nebraska's legal height is taller than the common eastern limit, and a truck-tractor with one semitrailer has no overall length cap, only a cap on the trailer. Weight follows wheel, axle, and tandem limits plus the statute's bridge table.
The interstate has a flat gross cap. Off the interstate, gross weight follows the bridge table, and the Department's one-page limits sheet prints a different top figure than the statute does. We record the statute and note the gap.
What Nebraska permits cost
Single-trip fees come from the Department's rule, with one price for oversize only, one for overweight only, and one for both. A permit can be amended once for a fee, and nothing is refunded. Continuous permits are sold in ninety-day increments up to a year.
The statute caps ordinary permit fees and lets the Department charge superloads more by weight band plus direct costs, though the rule's fee schedule lists no separate superload fee.
Continuous envelope permits
A continuous permit covers one specific vehicle and is not transferable. The statewide envelope permit covers all state and national highways for moderately oversize and overweight loads. The continuous local permit, for properly licensed Nebraska vehicles of a local business, covers the home county and the counties around it at larger dimensions.
Escorts, signs, and flags
Escort requirements step up with width, length, and height. The Department may require an escort for any overwidth load, requires one escort in the middle width band and two above it, and adds escorts for long loads. Very tall loads need a pole car and a written route survey, and the applicant must confirm under oath that electric utilities were contacted.
Escort vehicles carry amber lights, OVERSIZE LOAD signs, and red flags, and wide loads carry their own signs and corner flags.
When oversize loads can move
Oversize permitted moves run from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset. They stop for weekday morning and evening rush hours on Lincoln's state highways and across the Omaha urban area, on Department holidays, in high wind, and in rain, snow, ice, or low visibility. Overweight-only permits run around the clock and are not weather-restricted.
On University of Nebraska-Lincoln home football game days, no permit load may use highways across a wide area of southeast Nebraska.
Superloads and permit conditions
A superload is a nondivisible load past the state's width, height, length, or gross weight thresholds. It needs review by the Lincoln permit office and sometimes the Bridge Division or a district engineer, so apply days ahead.
Every permit carries conditions: the load must be nondivisible, the truck must be registered for the permitted gross weight, and permitted vehicles must enter every open weigh station. Heavy divisible loads have their own route on the interstate through the Conditional Interstate Use Permit.
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 Nebraska permit stack, see Nebraska trucking permits.