By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Sep 27, 2026
North Dakota Highway Patrol issues oversize and overweight permits through its online E-Permits system (24/7 automated routing), the Permit Office in Bismarck (701-328-2621), or any trooper or motor carrier inspector. A single-trip permit costs 20 dollars plus an 8 dollar service and routing fee, graduated from 30 to 70 dollars above 150,000 pounds, with 5 cents per ton per mile on weight above 200,000 pounds. Annual over-width (to 14 feet 6 inches) and over-length (to 120 feet) permits cost 150 dollars each. Legal limits are 8 feet 6 inches wide, 14 feet high, 53 foot trailers, and 80,000 pounds on the interstate but 105,500 pounds on state highways, where North Dakota's own bridge formula governs.
Who issues what in North Dakota
The permit pages
North Dakota-specific requirements
North Dakota asks little of a new intrastate carrier: no state operating authority, no state carrier number, no USDOT number for purely intrastate work, no weight-distance tax, and no state hazmat permit. The distinctive rules are about weight and weather: 105,500 pounds is legal on state highways (but only 80,000 on the interstate without a permit), 129,000 and 131,000 pound permits exist for divisible loads on designated routes, spring load restrictions cut axle weights statewide, and 10 percent harvest and winter weight exemptions are sold by the month. IRP and IFTA both run through one NDDOT office in Bismarck.
No intrastate authority and often no USDOT number
The Highway Patrol handbook states North Dakota does not require operating authority for intrastate commerce and that intrastate carriers not needing a federal hazardous materials safety permit are not required to obtain a USDOT number. Farm trucks crossing state lines do need one. Full detail in the state intrastate authority page (B1).
IFTA is run by the DOT, not the tax department
The NDDOT Motor Carrier Section in Bismarck (701-328-1287, [email protected]) handles both IRP and IFTA in one online system. New IRP and IFTA accounts are opened by email or fax only, not in person.
105,500 pounds legal off the interstate
State highways allow up to 105,500 pounds gross under North Dakota's exterior bridge formula unless posted lower, with a 48,000 pound cap on groups of three or more axles; the interstate stays at 80,000 pounds unless the carrier buys a 10 dollar interstate permit for divisible loads up to 105,500. Other highways are 80,000 pounds unless local authorities designate them higher.
129,000 and 131,000 pound divisible-load permits
The 129,000 pound Primary Network permit (20 dollars single trip, 100 dollars for 30 days, 700 dollars a year) covers designated routes, and the winter longer combination vehicle permit allows up to 131,000 pounds off the interstate from December 1 to March 7. North Dakota registered vehicles must be licensed for 105,500 pounds to use either.
10 percent harvest and winter weight exemptions
Monthly permits (50 dollars per 30 days) allow 10 percent over legal axle or bridge weights for harvested products from July 15 to November 30 and for divisible loads from December 1 to March 7, capped at 105,500 pounds and barred from the interstate and local roads; a combined season permit costs 250 dollars.
Spring load restrictions by ton class
Restricted highways drop to 8-ton, 7-ton, 6-ton, or 5-ton classes (for example, 16,000 pounds per single axle on an 8-ton road), and overweight moves on restricted state highways pay ton mile fees.
14 foot legal height with low underpasses
Legal height is 14 feet, but the handbook lists underpasses below that on state highways and city streets, including 13 feet 2 inches at Towner on ND 14 and 12 feet 7 inches on 4th Avenue NE in Jamestown.
Border free zones
North Dakota keeps reciprocity zones with Minnesota (20 miles, IRP and IFTA), South Dakota (north of US 12 and SD 20, IRP only for north-south moves), and farm-vehicle arrangements with Montana, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. See the state IRP page (B5).
20 dollar trip and 15 dollar fuel permits for visitors
Out-of-state trucks without North Dakota on an IRP cab card buy a 20 dollar 72-hour trip permit, and those without IFTA buy a 15 dollar fuel permit, through NDHP E-Permits.
County permits in energy counties
Oversize and overweight moves on county roads in coal, oil, and gas producing counties need a Uniform County Truck Permit from the Western Dakota Energy Association, separate from the Highway Patrol's state highway permit.
No weight-distance tax
North Dakota levies no weight-distance or highway use tax; the handbook's registration and fuel tax section covers only registration, IRP, and IFTA or fuel permits.
The North Dakota permit system
- Apply or log in (NDHP E-Permits (automated permit routing system, most single-trip permits issued in real time 24/7))
- statepatrol.nd.gov/e-permits
More North Dakota rules that catch carriers out
- State carrier number: note
- No state carrier number exists, and the Highway Patrol handbook states North Dakota has no operating authority requirement for intrastate commerce. See the state intrastate authority page (B1) for the registration-only regime.
- ELD intrastate adoption: regulation
- NDCC chapter 39-32, the statutory intrastate hours-of-service regime, applied alongside NDAC 38-04-01-02, the Highway Patrol's adoption of the federal motor carrier safety regulations including 49 CFR Part 395
- ELD intrastate adoption: summary: text
- North Dakota writes its own intrastate driving clock into statute. NDCC 39-32-02(2) bars an intrastate driver from driving more than 12 cumulative hours following 10 consecutive hours off duty, after the end of the 16th hour after coming on duty, or after 70 hours on duty in any 7 consecutive days. The federal baseline in 49 CFR 395.3 is 11 driving hours inside a 14-hour window and 60 hours in 7 days or 70 in 8, each weekly period restartable with 34 consecutive hours off duty. All three North Dakota figures are the limits 49 CFR 350.305(d) lets a state apply to intrastate transportation. Separately, NDAC 38-04-01-02 adopts 49 CFR Part 395, including amendments, for carriers operating within or through the state, so the electronic logging device requirement of 49 CFR 395.8 applies to a North Dakota intrastate driver who must keep a record of duty status, unless a federal ELD exception applies.
- ELD intrastate adoption: adopted parts: value
- NDAC 38-04-01-02 adopts by reference, including amendments, 49 CFR Parts 382, 385 (subparts A to E), 386 (subparts F and G), 387, 390, 391, 392, 393, 395, 396 and 397. NDAC 38-04-01-03 provides that the regulations include such amendments as the United States Department of Transportation may promulgate, so the adoption rolls forward and carries 49 CFR 395.8 and its ELD requirement. NDAC 38-04-01-01(3) makes the adopted regulations binding on all motor carriers and their employees while operating within or through North Dakota, enforced by the North Dakota Highway Patrol.
- ELD intrastate adoption: weight exemption: value
- NDAC 38-04-01-02 exempts intrastate commercial motor vehicles with a gross vehicle weight, gross vehicle weight rating, gross combination weight and gross combination weight rating of 26,000 pounds or less from all federal motor carrier safety regulations, unless the vehicle transports hazardous materials requiring a placard, is designed to transport more than 8 passengers including the driver for compensation, or is designed to transport more than 15 people including the driver not for compensation. NDCC 39-32-02(1)(b) draws the same line for the statutory hours limits at less than 26,001 pounds, with the same placard and passenger conditions.
- ELD intrastate adoption: intrastate driver definition: value
- NDCC 39-32-01 defines an intrastate driver as a driver who will be operating a commercial motor vehicle within North Dakota for a seven-consecutive-day period.
- ELD intrastate adoption: no 34 hour restart: value
- The Highway Patrol's 2026 Motor Carrier Handbook states that a driver using the intrastate hours-of-service rules is not eligible for the 34-hour restart provision in the 60/70-hour rule, and that intrastate CMV drivers may elect to use the federal hours-of-service regulations in place of the intrastate rules.
- ELD intrastate adoption: no 34 hour restart: regulation
- NDCC 39-32-02(2)(c), as restated in the NDHP 2026 Motor Carrier Handbook, Section 05
- ELD intrastate adoption: hours exemptions: value
- NDCC 39-32-02(1) removes three groups of intrastate drivers from hours-of-service regulation: drivers of authorized emergency vehicles, drivers of vehicles under 26,001 pounds (unless placarded hazmat or the passenger thresholds apply), and tow truck drivers operating at the request of a law enforcement officer. NDCC 39-32-02(3) lifts the limits for emergency relief during an emergency declared by the governor. NDCC 39-32-02(4) lifts them for an intrastate driver transporting agricultural commodities or farm supplies, including farm equipment or machinery, for agricultural purposes during planting and harvesting seasons from January 1 through December 31, within a 150 air-mile radius of the source of the commodities or the distribution point for the supplies.
- ELD intrastate adoption: record of duty status: value
- NDCC 39-32-02(5) exempts an intrastate driver from keeping a record of duty status if the driver operates within a 150 air-mile radius of the normal work-reporting location or the vehicle's official worksite, returns to the work-reporting location and is released within 14 consecutive hours (a driver salesperson excepted), has at least 10 consecutive hours off duty separating each 14 hours on duty, and the motor carrier keeps accurate time records for 6 months showing when the driver reports for and is released from duty each day. A driver outside that exemption records duty status under 49 CFR 395.8 as adopted by NDAC 38-04-01-02; the Highway Patrol handbook states CMV drivers must keep that record on an ELD from FMCSA's registered list unless an ELD exemption applies, and that an ELD is not required when no record of duty status is required.
- ELD intrastate adoption: record of duty status: regulation
- NDCC 39-32-02(5); 49 CFR 395.8(a)(1), applied by NDAC 38-04-01-02
- ELD intrastate adoption: notes
- Authored 2026-09-27 by reading NDCC chapter 39-32 and NDAC chapter 38-04-01 at ndlegis.gov, Section 05 of the NDHP 2026 Motor Carrier Handbook, and 49 CFR 350.305, 395.3 and 395.8 through the eCFR, re-verifying the keyword pass (docs/state-rollouts/north-dakota/keyword-pass.md). NDAC 38-04-01-02 history shows last amendment effective January 1, 2022. A posted Highway Patrol rule change (hp062926) that would add an under-21 intrastate driver exemption from 49 CFR 391.11(b)(1) is pending and not recorded here until its effective date is confirmed; it concerns driver age, not hours of service.
ELD intrastate adoption: hours of service variance: items
| Name | Intrastate | Federal interstate | Regulation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driving time | Not more than 12 cumulative hours following 10 consecutive hours off duty. | A driver may drive a total of 11 hours during the 14-hour period that follows 10 consecutive hours off duty. | NDCC 39-32-02(2)(a), against 49 CFR 395.3(a)(3)(i) |
| On-duty window | No driving after the end of the 16th hour after coming on duty following 10 consecutive hours off duty. | No driving after a period of 14 consecutive hours after coming on duty following 10 consecutive hours off duty. | NDCC 39-32-02(2)(b), against 49 CFR 395.3(a)(2) |
| Weekly limit | No driving after having been on duty 70 hours in any period of 7 consecutive days. | No driving after 60 hours on duty in 7 consecutive days or 70 hours in 8 consecutive days; either period may end with 34 or more consecutive hours off duty. | NDCC 39-32-02(2)(c), against 49 CFR 395.3(b) and (c) |
The permit office and its channels
The Highway Patrol's Permit Office works from the DOT Building on the Capitol Grounds, with NDDOT engineers giving routing input on heavy moves. E-Permits calculates routes and fees automatically and issues most single-trip permits without waiting for office hours. Phone permits follow the weekday office schedule.
One boundary matters in the west. Oversize and overweight moves on county roads in coal, oil, and gas producing counties need a Uniform County Truck Permit from the Western Dakota Energy Association, on top of any state highway permit.
The permit types North Dakota issues
Single-trip permits cover one non-divisible load movement over the legal limits, valid for up to five days, with a routing fee on top and graduated fees as gross weight climbs. Annual permits cover over-width only and over-length only moves, with monthly and per-trip versions of the same classes.
Divisible loads get their own family. The interstate permit lets a legal-size divisible load run heavier on the interstate. The large truck network permit and the winter longer combination vehicle permit allow heavier loads still on designated routes, and harvest and winter exemptions add a set percentage over legal axle weights by the month.
Conditions, holidays, and weather
The permit rides in the vehicle in print or electronic form and must be shown to a peace officer on request. Overweight permits issue only for single-piece loads and self-propelled non-reducible vehicles, and only when the vehicle is registered for the weight it can carry legally without a permit.
Over-dimensional loads move from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset, with a night exception for narrower and shorter loads. The widest loads may not move on Saturday afternoons, Sundays, or the listed holidays. Nothing moves in inclement weather or low visibility, overweight permits stop on flexible pavement in high heat, and spring load restrictions shut off ordinary overweight permits on restricted roads.
Compare beyond North Dakota
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.