By Haul Handbook editorial team· Updated Oct 4, 2026
RIDOT issues oversize and overweight permits online. Without a permit a Rhode Island vehicle may be 102 inches wide and 162 inches (13 feet 6 inches) high; a single vehicle may be 40 feet long and a semitrailer 53 feet, with semitrailers over 48 feet 6 inches limited to designated routes. Axles are capped at 22,400 pounds single and 36,000 pounds tandem, and gross weight follows the bridge formula up to 80,000 pounds. A non-divisible single-trip permit costs $40 under R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-21, and RIDOT's rate chart lists $300 at 130,000 pounds or more; an annual construction-equipment blanket permit costs $400. Escorts start at 12 feet wide, 80 feet long or a 15-foot overhang.
Who issues what in Rhode Island
The permit pages
Rhode Island-specific requirements
Rhode Island still certificates every for-hire intrastate property carrier through the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers, after a public hearing, with its own $250,000/$500,000/$25,000 liability floor and a $25,000 cargo minimum. It is not on FMCSA's list of states requiring an intrastate USDOT number. IFTA licenses and decals are free, IRP runs from a separate DMV IRP Office in Cranston, and RIDOT issues oversize permits online with a $40 single trip and a $400 construction-equipment blanket.
Authority still goes through a public hearing
Every new property carrier application is set for a public hearing noticed in the Providence Journal's legal notices at least 10 days ahead, and the applicant must prove at the hearing that it is fit, willing and able.
Annual December 31 renewal
A common carrier certificate must be renewed before close of business on December 31 each year, with a $100 renewal fee.
Rhode Island office or agent required
An intrastate certificate holder must keep an office in Rhode Island, or keep a Rhode Island agent for service of process on file and recertify it every year; post office boxes are not accepted as addresses.
Free IFTA credentials
Rhode Island charges nothing for the IFTA license, renewal, reinstatement or decals; the $10 fees ended July 5, 2019.
36,000-pound tandem
Rhode Island caps tandem axles spaced 8 feet or less at 36,000 pounds, above the common 34,000-pound figure, with a 22,400-pound single axle and an 80,000-pound gross cap.
Washington Bridge limits on I-195
RIDOT lists I-195 East and West over the Washington Bridge in Providence as restricted to 48 tons (96,000 pounds) with no oversize vehicles, anticipated until December 2028.
Rush-hour bans for big loads
Loads over 8 feet 6 inches wide, 80 feet long or 130,000 pounds may not run on freeways or arterials from 7 to 9 a.m. or 3 to 7 p.m. on weekdays, and holiday blackouts cover full weekends around Memorial Day, Victory Day, Labor Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Columbus Day plus Wednesday through Sunday of Thanksgiving week.
Divisible-load permits all expire March 31
An Annual Divisible Load permit expires March 31 whatever its issue date, and the vehicle needs a manufacturer's GVWR certification before it is issued.
Bridge authority crossings need their own permit
A RIDOT permit does not cover the Mount Hope or Newport bridges, which need Rhode Island Bridge Authority permits, or city and town streets.
More Rhode Island rules that catch carriers out
- State carrier number: summary
- The DPUC certificate (or contract carrier permit) number, which must be painted on both sides of every carrier vehicle with the certificate name and street address, and which household goods movers must also print in every advertisement. See intrastate-authority for the program.
- UCR participation: summary
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 39-12-26 requires every interstate for-hire property carrier using Rhode Island highways to register and identify its vehicles under the Unified Carrier Registration Act of 2005 and the UCR Agreement. Intrastate carriers outside UCR take a $20 DPUC identification device per vehicle instead.
Size and weight: when you need a RIDOT permit
Anything over the legal width, height, length or weight limits needs a RIDOT permit before it moves. Rhode Island allows a heavier tandem axle than many states, applies the federal bridge formula to axle groups and caps gross weight without a permit.
RIDOT sells three permit types: a single-trip permit for non-divisible loads, a yearly blanket permit for construction equipment and boats, and an Annual Divisible Load permit for overweight gravel, liquids and similar loads.
Temporary registration and fuel credentials
A truck that must be IRP-registered but is not apportioned for Rhode Island can run on a short-term IRP trip permit from the DMV. A Rhode Island-based truck otherwise due for IRP registration can use a hunter's permit.
For fuel tax, an unlicensed carrier can get a temporary license from the Division of Taxation for one qualified vehicle. It carries no fee, no fuel tax and no bond, and the Division's manual treats trip-by-trip fuel credentials as meant for occasional travel.
Identification devices for intrastate carriers
Interstate for-hire carriers register through the Unified Carrier Registration system. Intrastate carriers outside UCR register each truck with the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers instead and receive an identification device and registration card every year. The device cannot move to another truck without the Division's approval.
Compare beyond Rhode Island
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.