By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Aug 5, 2026
Wisconsin runs oversize and overweight permits out of the WisDOT Bureau of Highway Maintenance, priced by the statutory schedule in Wis. Stat. s. 348.25. A single trip permit lasts 5 days and covers one routed trip; a multiple trip permit runs 3 to 12 months with unlimited trips and the carrier doing its own routing. Fees start at $15 for overlength only and $20 for overweight, and most permits self-issue online.
Wisconsin legal limits (no permit needed at or under these)
- Width
- 8.5 ft8 feet 6 inches without a permit under Wis. Stat. s. 348.05(1). Statutory exceptions run higher without a permit: no limit for implements of husbandry, 10 feet for an agricultural commercial motor vehicle and 12 feet when it is spraying pesticides or spreading lime or fertiliser with extending tires or fenders, 12 feet for baled hay and for Christmas trees from September 15 to December 15, 9 feet for loads of tie logs, tie slabs and veneer logs, and 9 feet for utility pole, pipe and girder hauls.
- Height
- 13.5 ft13 1/2 feet without a permit under Wis. Stat. s. 348.06(1). Implements of husbandry of any height run without a height permit, with the operator responsible for clearance. Double-decked buses up to 14 feet 5 inches may operate off the state trunk system on highways posted at 45 miles per hour or less with prior written local approval.
- Gross weight
- 80,000 lb80,000 pounds maximum gross vehicle weight on all axles on class A highways under Wis. Stat. s. 348.15(3)(c). Class A highways are all state trunk and connecting highways plus every county trunk highway, town highway and municipal street not designated class B.
- Off interstate limits
- Class B highways carry 60 percent of the class A limits under Wis. Stat. s. 348.16(2). Class B highways are those county trunk highways, town highways and city and village streets, or portions of them, that local authorities have designated as class B under s. 349.15. A vehicle whose operation is pickup or delivery to a place of business or a residence with an entrance on a class B highway is exempt from the class B gross weight reduction.
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.
Scroll sideways to see every column.
Permit fees
- Single trip
- $20 ($20 is the single trip permit fee for a vehicle or combination that exceeds width limits or height limits, which is the common oversize case, and it is also the floor for an overweight single trip permit up to 90,000 pounds. Length only is $15, both width and height together is $25, and length adds nothing once a width or height fee applies. The overweight fee rises with gross weight, and once an overweight fee applies no extra charge is made for also being oversize. A single trip permit is valid 5 days for one routed trip, with a return trip at no charge if requested with the original application, and may be requested up to five days in advance.)
- Annual permit
- $200 (12-month multiple trip overweight permit up to 90,000 pounds. Oversize-only 12-month permits are $60 for length only and $90 for width and/or height and/or length. A consecutive month permit costs one-twelfth of the 12-month fee times the number of months, plus $15 for each permit issued, with part months rounded up. Commodity permits are priced separately: agricultural products to and from a farm (FF) and sealed load in international trade (CM) are $300 for 12 months, feed, fertiliser and grain (FG) is $325, and the Michigan border permit (MI) runs $100 to $525 for 12 months by weight up to 164,000 pounds.)
- Annual eligibility
- Multiple trip permits allow unlimited trips, run 3 to 12 months, and are valid on all roadways subject to local conditions such as posted bridges or roads, with the carrier responsible for its own routing. Nondivisible multiple trip loads top out at 150 feet of combination length, 14 feet wide, 16 feet high and 170,000 pounds; a mobile crane at 60 feet single vehicle, 75 feet combination, 14 feet wide, 16 feet high; and a mobile home or modular building section at 80 feet single vehicle, 100 feet combination, 15 feet wide at the box, 16 feet at the roof, and 15 feet high. Permits are issued for power units only, except potato seed, and no permit is required for trailers. Multiple trip permits for divisible loads are not valid during spring thaw except where a permit description says otherwise. A renewal notice is emailed in the month before expiry, renewals are made online, and transferring a permit to another vehicle costs nothing.
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.
Scroll sideways to see every column.
Overweight permit fee tiers (annual)
Annual overweight permits are priced by the gross weight the load reaches, in fixed steps.
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 Wisconsin 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.
- How the chart works
- The WisDOT escort grid is two dimensional. Width bands run across the top and length bands down the side, and the requirement is read off the cell where the load's width and length meet, so the wider or longer figure governs. The grid applies to every load moved under permit except the single trip factory built home (SM) and mobile home or modular building section (MH) permit types, which have their own rules.
- Additional escorts
- Additional escorts may be added based on route complexity and turns, or traffic conditions.
- Factory built home sm
- Measured at the bottom of the roof line, a roof width between 12 feet 1 inch and 16 feet needs no escort unless the move uses a highway listed on Form MV2740 Escort Highways; over 16 feet needs private escorts, one behind on divided highways and one ahead plus one behind on non-divided highways. Measured box width outside to outside with no exception for protrusions, 12 feet 1 inch to 15 feet needs no escort unless on an MV2740 Escort Highway, and over 15 feet needs the same private escorts.
- Mobile home mh
- No escort is required unless the move travels on a highway listed on Form MV2740 Escort Highways, or any part of the vehicle or load extends beyond the left of the roadway centreline on a 2-way roadway, or beyond the left edge of the right lane on a highway with more than 2 lanes. Where an escort is required it is one private escort, ahead on non-divided highways and behind on divided highways.
- Signs the escort displays
- A vehicle, load, or vehicle and load more than 10 feet wide or overlength displays 2 warning signs, one on the front of the power unit and one at the rear of the towed unit or the rear of the load. Each sign reads OVERSIZE LOAD in black letters on a yellow background, is at least 7 feet long and 18 inches high, with letters at least 10 inches high and a brush stroke of at least 1.4 inches. The sign may not be displayed when the vehicle is not operating under a permit.
- Flags
- Each flag is solid red or orange, at least 18 inches square, fastened by at least one corner or mounted on a staff. An overwidth load takes a flag at each front and rear corner, plus a flag at the widest point where any part of the load is more than 4 inches wider than the vehicle or load at the front or rear. An overlength load takes one flag at the extreme rear where the projecting portion is 2 feet wide or less, and 2 flags marking maximum width where it is wider than 2 feet.
- Lighting
- An oversize vehicle or a vehicle with an oversize load operating during hours of darkness carries additional lamps: an amber lamp at the outermost extremity of the foremost edge of a projecting load, a red lamp at the outermost extremity of the rearmost edge, and for a load extending more than 4 feet beyond the rear, one red lamp on each side showing maximum overhang plus 2 red lamps and 2 red reflectors at the rear. All required lamps must be lit during hours of darkness and visible at 500 feet. Where a permit requires warning lamps, each amber flashing or revolving lamp has a reflector at least 6 inches in diameter, is visible and attention-attracting at 500 feet, and flashes 30 to 90 times per minute; strobes may be used instead, and warning lamps may not be operated when the vehicle is not under a permit.
Liability cover the permit itself requires
Distinct from your operating-authority minimums: this is the cover Wisconsin attaches to the permit, banded by the dimension you are permitted for. Each one is sourced.
- Permit insurance groups: Group a
- Applies where a permitted vehicle and load do not exceed 12 feet wide, 13 1/2 feet high, or 100 feet long, and do not exceed statutory gross weight limits by more than 25 percent: $150,000 bodily injury liability per person, $450,000 per accident, and $300,000 property damage per accident, or a $750,000 combined single limit.
Escort rules beyond the thresholds
Knowing when you need an escort is half of it. These are the Wisconsin rules on who may run one, what the vehicle has to carry, and how the move is conducted.
- How the chart works
- The WisDOT escort grid is two dimensional. Width bands run across the top and length bands down the side, and the requirement is read off the cell where the load's width and length meet, so the wider or longer figure governs. The grid applies to every load moved under permit except the single trip factory built home (SM) and mobile home or modular building section (MH) permit types, which have their own rules.
- Additional escorts
- Additional escorts may be added based on route complexity and turns, or traffic conditions.
- Factory built home sm
- Measured at the bottom of the roof line, a roof width between 12 feet 1 inch and 16 feet needs no escort unless the move uses a highway listed on Form MV2740 Escort Highways; over 16 feet needs private escorts, one behind on divided highways and one ahead plus one behind on non-divided highways. Measured box width outside to outside with no exception for protrusions, 12 feet 1 inch to 15 feet needs no escort unless on an MV2740 Escort Highway, and over 15 feet needs the same private escorts.
- Mobile home mh
- No escort is required unless the move travels on a highway listed on Form MV2740 Escort Highways, or any part of the vehicle or load extends beyond the left of the roadway centreline on a 2-way roadway, or beyond the left edge of the right lane on a highway with more than 2 lanes. Where an escort is required it is one private escort, ahead on non-divided highways and behind on divided highways.
- Signs
- A vehicle, load, or vehicle and load more than 10 feet wide or overlength displays 2 warning signs, one on the front of the power unit and one at the rear of the towed unit or the rear of the load. Each sign reads OVERSIZE LOAD in black letters on a yellow background, is at least 7 feet long and 18 inches high, with letters at least 10 inches high and a brush stroke of at least 1.4 inches. The sign may not be displayed when the vehicle is not operating under a permit.
- Flags
- Each flag is solid red or orange, at least 18 inches square, fastened by at least one corner or mounted on a staff. An overwidth load takes a flag at each front and rear corner, plus a flag at the widest point where any part of the load is more than 4 inches wider than the vehicle or load at the front or rear. An overlength load takes one flag at the extreme rear where the projecting portion is 2 feet wide or less, and 2 flags marking maximum width where it is wider than 2 feet.
- Lighting
- An oversize vehicle or a vehicle with an oversize load operating during hours of darkness carries additional lamps: an amber lamp at the outermost extremity of the foremost edge of a projecting load, a red lamp at the outermost extremity of the rearmost edge, and for a load extending more than 4 feet beyond the rear, one red lamp on each side showing maximum overhang plus 2 red lamps and 2 red reflectors at the rear. All required lamps must be lit during hours of darkness and visible at 500 feet. Where a permit requires warning lamps, each amber flashing or revolving lamp has a reflector at least 6 inches in diameter, is visible and attention-attracting at 500 feet, and flashes 30 to 90 times per minute; strobes may be used instead, and warning lamps may not be operated when the vehicle is not under a permit.
Travel restrictions
- Daylight only
- Yes for larger loads. A permitted vehicle greater than 12 feet wide, 13 feet 6 inches high, or 150 feet long may not be operated during the hours of darkness. A vehicle that is overweight only, and not oversize, may operate 24 hours a day including weekends and restricted-travel holidays unless its permit says otherwise.
- Curfews
- Smaller permitted loads, at or under 12 feet wide, 13 feet 6 inches high and 150 feet long, have no hours-of-operation restriction in 67 counties unless a permit imposes one, but in Columbia, Dane, Milwaukee, Rock and Waukesha counties they may not operate between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Sunday, between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Friday from the 4th Friday in May through Labor Day, between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. on any restricted-travel holiday, or between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. on the day before any restricted-travel holiday, except July 3 when it falls on a Saturday. Larger loads carry the same 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday and summer Friday restrictions. On the Milwaukee County Expressway, a load over legal width, height or length may not operate 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. or 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. or 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, or 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, with maximum dimensions there of 14 feet wide, 14 feet 6 inches high and 150 feet long, and an exemption for US 45 between West Florist Avenue and West Hampton Avenue and I-94 between the Waukesha line and 108th Street. On the Madison Beltline, a single trip load over legal width, height or length may not run on US-12 and US-18 between Verona Road and Stoughton Road 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. or 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
- Weekend / holiday
- A load greater than 12 feet wide, 13 feet 6 inches high, or 150 feet long may not be operated from noon on Saturday until sunrise Sunday, or from noon on the day preceding until sunrise on the day following every restricted-travel holiday. WisDOT publishes the restricted-travel holiday list each year by November 30 for the following year. Where no list is published, Wis. Adm. Code s. Trans 254.02(2)(c) fixes the days as January 1; the Saturday and Sunday of Easter weekend; the last Monday in May and the preceding Saturday and Sunday; July 4; the Monday after July 4 when July 4 falls on a Sunday; the first Monday in September and the preceding Saturday and Sunday; the Saturday and Sunday that begin the Wisconsin gun deer hunting season; the fourth Thursday in November; the Saturday and Sunday after the fourth Thursday in November where that Sunday closes the gun deer season; December 24; December 25; and December 31.
Superload and beyond-permit review
Loads past the standard single-trip permit thresholds get individual state review rather than an off-the-shelf permit.
Wisconsin publishes no superload permit class. The word does not appear in ch. Trans 230, 250, 252 or 254, and WisDOT sells no permit above the standard single trip and multiple trip types. The ceiling is set per axle instead: a single trip permit may be granted up to 20,000 pounds on the steering axle and 35,000 pounds on any other axle, with additional weight limits imposed by route, and up to 50 feet of length for a single vehicle or 60 feet for a mobile crane. The largest multiple trip nondivisible permit (type AA) tops out at 170,000 pounds, 150 feet long, 14 feet wide and 16 feet high.
Loads past the standard chart are handled through route and structure review rather than a separate permit class. A charge of $10.00 per district applies where the size or weight of the vehicle or load means the route must be reviewed by a regional highway office, and $10.00 per review where the gross weight requires a review of specific highway structures. A load greater than 350,000 pounds must have one law enforcement escort. Wis. Stat. s. 348.25(5) and (6) also let the issuing officer require a bond, certificate of insurance or certified check to cover damage to pavement, bridges, culverts or other improvements, and proof of personal injury and property damage insurance for operation under the permit.
More Wisconsin permit rules
- Single trip fee note
- $20 is the single trip permit fee for a vehicle or combination that exceeds width limits or height limits, which is the common oversize case, and it is also the floor for an overweight single trip permit up to 90,000 pounds. Length only is $15, both width and height together is $25, and length adds nothing once a width or height fee applies. The overweight fee rises with gross weight, and once an overweight fee applies no extra charge is made for also being oversize. A single trip permit is valid 5 days for one routed trip, with a return trip at no charge if requested with the original application, and may be requested up to five days in advance.
- Annual permit eligibility
- Multiple trip permits allow unlimited trips, run 3 to 12 months, and are valid on all roadways subject to local conditions such as posted bridges or roads, with the carrier responsible for its own routing. Nondivisible multiple trip loads top out at 150 feet of combination length, 14 feet wide, 16 feet high and 170,000 pounds; a mobile crane at 60 feet single vehicle, 75 feet combination, 14 feet wide, 16 feet high; and a mobile home or modular building section at 80 feet single vehicle, 100 feet combination, 15 feet wide at the box, 16 feet at the roof, and 15 feet high. Permits are issued for power units only, except potato seed, and no permit is required for trailers. Multiple trip permits for divisible loads are not valid during spring thaw except where a permit description says otherwise. A renewal notice is emailed in the month before expiry, renewals are made online, and transferring a permit to another vehicle costs nothing.
- Escort notes: how the chart works
- The WisDOT escort grid is two dimensional. Width bands run across the top and length bands down the side, and the requirement is read off the cell where the load's width and length meet, so the wider or longer figure governs. The grid applies to every load moved under permit except the single trip factory built home (SM) and mobile home or modular building section (MH) permit types, which have their own rules.
- Escort notes: additional escorts
- Additional escorts may be added based on route complexity and turns, or traffic conditions.
- Escort notes: factory built home sm
- Measured at the bottom of the roof line, a roof width between 12 feet 1 inch and 16 feet needs no escort unless the move uses a highway listed on Form MV2740 Escort Highways; over 16 feet needs private escorts, one behind on divided highways and one ahead plus one behind on non-divided highways. Measured box width outside to outside with no exception for protrusions, 12 feet 1 inch to 15 feet needs no escort unless on an MV2740 Escort Highway, and over 15 feet needs the same private escorts.
- Escort notes: mobile home mh
- No escort is required unless the move travels on a highway listed on Form MV2740 Escort Highways, or any part of the vehicle or load extends beyond the left of the roadway centreline on a 2-way roadway, or beyond the left edge of the right lane on a highway with more than 2 lanes. Where an escort is required it is one private escort, ahead on non-divided highways and behind on divided highways.
- Escort notes: signs
- A vehicle, load, or vehicle and load more than 10 feet wide or overlength displays 2 warning signs, one on the front of the power unit and one at the rear of the towed unit or the rear of the load. Each sign reads OVERSIZE LOAD in black letters on a yellow background, is at least 7 feet long and 18 inches high, with letters at least 10 inches high and a brush stroke of at least 1.4 inches. The sign may not be displayed when the vehicle is not operating under a permit.
- Escort notes: flags
- Each flag is solid red or orange, at least 18 inches square, fastened by at least one corner or mounted on a staff. An overwidth load takes a flag at each front and rear corner, plus a flag at the widest point where any part of the load is more than 4 inches wider than the vehicle or load at the front or rear. An overlength load takes one flag at the extreme rear where the projecting portion is 2 feet wide or less, and 2 flags marking maximum width where it is wider than 2 feet.
- Escort notes: lighting
- An oversize vehicle or a vehicle with an oversize load operating during hours of darkness carries additional lamps: an amber lamp at the outermost extremity of the foremost edge of a projecting load, a red lamp at the outermost extremity of the rearmost edge, and for a load extending more than 4 feet beyond the rear, one red lamp on each side showing maximum overhang plus 2 red lamps and 2 red reflectors at the rear. All required lamps must be lit during hours of darkness and visible at 500 feet. Where a permit requires warning lamps, each amber flashing or revolving lamp has a reflector at least 6 inches in diameter, is visible and attention-attracting at 500 feet, and flashes 30 to 90 times per minute; strobes may be used instead, and warning lamps may not be operated when the vehicle is not under a permit.
- Escort notes: state patrol
- Law enforcement escort support is requested from the Wisconsin State Patrol on the permit support request form linked from the WisDOT permit requirements page. Chapter Trans 252 sets escort vehicle operator qualifications and equipment.
- Permit insurance groups: group a
- Applies where a permitted vehicle and load do not exceed 12 feet wide, 13 1/2 feet high, or 100 feet long, and do not exceed statutory gross weight limits by more than 25 percent: $150,000 bodily injury liability per person, $450,000 per accident, and $300,000 property damage per accident, or a $750,000 combined single limit.
- Permit insurance groups: group b
- Applies where the permit is issued for any dimension beyond Group A: $200,000 bodily injury liability per person, $600,000 per accident, and $400,000 property damage per accident, or a $1,000,000 combined single limit.
- Permit insurance groups: note
- The permittee must keep this coverage in force on the vehicle and load named in the permit while it is on the public highway. It is separate from the operating-authority liability filing in the state intrastate authority page.
| Name | Detail |
|---|---|
| Frozen road declaration | Normally in effect from late December to late February or early March. Increased weight limits are open only to vehicles hauling abrasives or salt for highway winter maintenance and peeled or unpeeled forest products cut crosswise, not including wood chips. No special permit is required during the declaration for legally licensed vehicles hauling those loads, meaning vehicles currently registered for 80,000 pounds or the maximum gross vehicle weight if less. The declaration covers the state highway system only; local and county road authorities set their own. Current status is on a recorded message at (608) 266-8417. |
| Class II roads, spring thaw | Typically from early March until late April or early May. Most divisible load multiple trip permits exceeding legal axle weights or 80,000 pounds are suspended statewide, the exceptions being raw forest products at 98,000 pounds (RS) and potato seed (PS) permits authorised by Wis. Stat. ss. 348.27(9m)(a)4. and 348.27(9t). Overweight nondivisible single trip and multiple trip permits must stay off highway sections designated class II, roughly 1,400 miles across 94 segments, about 12 percent of the state highway system. Travel under single trip or annual nondivisible overweight permits is not restricted on local or state roads in Milwaukee County or anywhere on the Interstate system, and elsewhere is unrestricted on class I roadways. |
| Seasonal posted roads | Normally runs from the second week in March until late April or early May, alongside the class II programme. Applies to the state highway system only; county and township authorities decide when their own roads are frozen or thawing and whether to post them. |
| Agricultural products to and from a farm (FF) | Multiple trip divisible load permit for fruit, vegetables, grain including distillers' grain, live livestock, and feed or nutritional supplements for livestock and fish or minnows. Issued for 80,001 to 90,000 pounds on a vehicle or combination with at least six axles. Not valid on Interstate highways except the portion designated I-41 between I-94 at the Zoo Interchange and I-43 in Green Bay. Twelve-month fee $300. |
| Fruits, vegetables and raw forest products at 90,000 lbs (RF) | Allows 112.5 percent of the weight authorised by Wis. Stat. s. 348.15(3)(b) and (c) up to 90,000 pounds, for raw forest products and for fruits or vegetables moving field to storage or field to processing, plus limited movement of bulk potatoes from storage to rail loading. Not valid on the Interstate except I-39 from STH 29 south of Wausau to the Portage Interchange and I-41 from I-94 to I-43. |
| Raw forest products at 98,000 lbs (RS) | Authorised by Wis. Stat. s. 348.27(9m)(a)4. Maximum 98,000 pounds on a combination with at least six axles, no axle over 18,000 pounds. Not valid on the Interstate except I-41 from I-94 to I-43 and I-39 from WI-34 to WI-29. One of the two divisible load permits that may still operate during spring thaw. |
| Hay or straw (HM) | Authorised by Wis. Stat. s. 348.27(16) for overweight transportation of hay or straw, maximum permit height 15 feet. A vehicle that is overweight only, and legal in all other dimensions, may run on all Interstate highways except where already restricted by law; a load that is both overheight and overwidth may not use any Interstate. Written permission is needed for local roads. |
| Fluid milk products at 98,000 lbs (FMP) and milk product byproduct at 98,000 lbs (MPB) | Both allow a six-or-more axle combination to exceed the s. 348.15(3)(c) gross weight limit by up to 18,000 pounds, to a maximum of 98,000 pounds. FMP covers raw milk from the farm where it was produced to the first processing plant or transfer station. MPB covers raw milk plus liquid milk products and byproducts including whey, and is not valid on the Interstate. Neither is valid above the s. 348.15(3)(c) maximum during spring thaw. |
| Potatoes bulk (PB) and potato seed (PS) | Both allow up to 10,000 pounds over the s. 348.15(3)(c) limit to a maximum of 90,000 pounds, and neither is valid on any Interstate highway. PB moves bulk potatoes from storage to food processing only and may not travel during spring thaw. PS moves potatoes intended for use as seed, allows 53 foot trailers, may travel during spring thaw on the routes specified in ch. Trans 258, and needs written local route approval. |
| Michigan border (MI) | Lets Michigan rigs and configurations hauling miscellaneous commodities operate in Wisconsin within 11 air miles of the Wisconsin-Michigan border, and lets raw forest products, lumber, or forestry biomass run beyond 11 miles on specified corridors. Maximum permit weight 164,000 pounds; 12-month fee $100 to $525 by weight. |
The Wisconsin permit office
- Agency
- Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Bureau of Highway Maintenance, Oversize-Overweight Permit Unit
- [email protected]
- Address
- P.O. Box 7980, Madison WI 53707-7980. Overnight mail and the 24-hour drop box go to 4822 Madison Yards Way, 3rd Floor South, Madison WI 53705.
- Note
- Direct online self-issuance or renewal of all permit types is available at the portal. Mailed applications carry a minimum 10-day turnaround. The drop box outside the south entrance of the Hill Farms State Office Building is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with pickup once a day Monday through Friday; the Madison counter is permanently closed. Permits for local roads are issued by the officer in charge of maintenance for that highway, not by WisDOT. Commercial permit services may charge their own fee on top of the state charge.
Legal limits before you need a permit
Wisconsin publishes its no-permit lines for width, height, length by configuration, gross weight and axle groups, all in ch. 348. Length is the layered one: the statute sets separate ceilings for a single vehicle, a two-vehicle combination and a tractor-semitrailer, then removes the overall length limit entirely on designated highways and allows a longer semitrailer when the kingpin to axle measurement stays inside the published figure.
Statutory exceptions run above the general width line without any permit at all, covering implements of husbandry, agricultural commercial motor vehicles, baled hay, seasonal Christmas tree hauls, tie logs and veneer logs, and utility pole and girder work.
Weight has a second, harsher layer. Class B highways, which local authorities designate from county trunk highways, town highways and municipal streets, carry a fixed percentage of the class A limits. A truck that is legal on a state trunk highway can be badly overweight on a town road. Pickup or delivery to a business or residence fronting a class B highway is exempt from the gross weight reduction. The limits table on this page carries each figure with its statute.
Single trip permits
A single trip permit authorises one routed trip, valid for a short window, and may be requested a few days in advance. A return trip rides along at no charge when it is asked for on the original application.
Pricing stacks in a particular order. Overlength alone is the cheapest line, width or height costs more, and both together more again, with length adding nothing once a width or height charge applies. Overweight is a separate ladder that climbs with gross weight and absorbs any oversize charge, so a load that is both pays the weight price only. Two review charges can be added: one per district when a regional highway office has to review the route, and one per review when specific structures have to be checked.
Government vehicles pay nothing. The fee schedule table on this page lists each component with its band and amount.
Multiple trip permits
For repeated work, the multiple trip permit runs three to twelve months and allows unlimited trips on all roadways, subject to posted bridges and roads, with the carrier responsible for its own routing. Permits are issued for power units, and no permit is required for the trailer.
The overweight ladder climbs by weight increment, and above the second tier the statute states the rule as a base amount plus a fixed addition per increment, with weight rounded up before the fee is read. Oversize-only permits are priced separately and more cheaply. A permit for part of a year costs a pro-rated share of the annual amount plus an issuance charge, and transferring a permit to another vehicle costs nothing.
Most divisible load permits are suspended during spring thaw. The multiple trip fee table on this page carries each tier with its source.
Escort requirements
The WisDOT escort grid is two dimensional. Width bands run across the top, length bands down the side, and the requirement is whatever the cell where your load's width and length meet says, so the more demanding of the two governs. Escorts phase in from none, through one private escort, up to two private escorts and two law enforcement escorts at the widest band. Height adds a pole vehicle on top, and total private escorts including the pole vehicle stay capped.
Extreme weight has its own trigger for a law enforcement escort. Factory built homes and mobile home sections come off the grid and follow their own rules keyed to roof width and to a published list of escort highways.
Signs, flags and lighting have their own published specifications, and warning devices may not be displayed when the vehicle is not running under a permit. The escort table on this page carries each threshold.
When permitted loads can move
Overweight-only loads get the loosest treatment in Wisconsin: legal in every dimension and simply heavy, they may run around the clock including weekends and restricted-travel holidays unless the permit says otherwise. Cross the published width, height or length lines and the night ban, the Saturday noon to Sunday sunrise ban and the holiday moratoria all attach.
Curfews are geographic. Five counties restrict smaller permitted loads on late Sunday afternoons, on summer Friday afternoons and around holidays, and the Milwaukee County Expressway and the Madison Beltline carry weekday rush-hour bans with their own dimension ceilings.
One honest gap: WisDOT publishes no statewide wind or weather restriction for permitted loads on its hours of operation page or in the rule chapter, so this page records none rather than inventing one.
Wisconsin has no superload class
Several states sell a separate superload permit above the standard chart. Wisconsin does not, and the word appears in none of the relevant administrative code chapters. The ceiling is set per axle instead, with a published maximum on the steering axle and another on any other axle, plus length ceilings for a single vehicle and for a mobile crane, and route-imposed limits on top of both.
Loads past the standard chart are handled through route and structure review rather than a new permit class, at a per-district or per-review charge. The issuing officer may also require a bond, a certificate of insurance or a certified check against damage to pavement, bridges or culverts, and proof of injury and property damage insurance for the move.
The insurance a permit carries
Permit insurance is separate from the operating-authority filing. Wisconsin sorts permitted moves into two groups: one for loads inside a published set of dimensions and within a stated margin over the statutory gross weight limits, and a higher group for anything beyond that. Each group has its own bodily injury and property damage figures, or a combined single limit alternative.
The permittee has to keep that coverage in force on the named vehicle and load the whole time it is on a public highway. Our Wisconsin trucking insurance requirements page covers the authority-side filings, which are a different obligation.
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 Wisconsin permit stack, see Wisconsin trucking permits.
Frequently asked questions
What can I haul in Wisconsin without an oversize permit?
- Anything inside the published legal limits for width, height, length by configuration, gross weight and axle groups. Several statutory exceptions run above the general width line without a permit, covering farm equipment, baled hay, log hauls and utility work. The limits table on this page lists each figure with its statute.
How much does a Wisconsin single trip oversize permit cost?
- It depends which line you cross. Overlength alone is cheapest, width or height costs more, both together more again, and overweight is a separate ladder that absorbs any oversize charge. Route and structure reviews can add a charge each. The sourced fee schedule on this page carries every amount.
When does an oversize load need an escort in Wisconsin?
- Read the escort grid at the cell where your load's width and length meet, because the more demanding of the two governs. Height adds a pole vehicle, and extreme weight triggers a law enforcement escort. Factory built homes and mobile home sections follow separate rules. The escort table on this page carries each threshold.
Does Wisconsin issue superload permits?
- No. Wisconsin publishes no superload permit class, and sells nothing above the standard single trip and multiple trip types. The ceiling is set per axle, and anything past the standard chart goes through route and structure review at a per-district or per-review charge.
Can an overweight truck move at night in Wisconsin?
- Yes, if it is overweight only and legal in every dimension. Those loads may operate around the clock including weekends and restricted-travel holidays unless the permit says otherwise. Once the load is also oversize past the published lines, night travel stops.
Does spring thaw stop Wisconsin overweight permits?
- It stops most divisible load multiple trip permits statewide, with narrow exceptions for raw forest products and potato seed, and it closes a long list of class II highway segments to overweight nondivisible permits. Milwaukee County roads and the Interstate system stay open.
Haul Handbook publishes educational information about trucking registration and compliance requirements. This is not legal, financial, or tax advice. Rules, fees, and deadlines change; confirm with the agency before you file or pay.