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Missouri Oversize Permits

Missouri Oversize Permits

MoDOT Carrier Express permits, fees by weight, escort tiers and the 2026 Highway Patrol pilot, metro curfews and river crossings

Quick answer

What are Missouri's oversize regulations?

Past 8 ft 6 in wide, 14 ft high on Interstates and designated routes (13 ft 6 in elsewhere), a 53 ft semitrailer or 80,000 lb, a load needs a MoDOT permit from MoDOT Carrier Express. A single trip starts at $15, overweight adds $20 per 10,000 lb over legal gross, and moves run in daylight outside metro rush hours and holiday periods.

Updated October 2026 by the HTS Logistics broker team (FMCSA MC# 1178470).

Checked October 2026; the issued permit controls

Missouri lets loads run 14 ft high on the Interstate and Commission-designated routes, 6 in more than neighboring Illinois or Iowa allows, two of the states in our oversize permits by state guide, and MoDOT applies that figure to its primary system and within 10 air miles of it. The rule behind every permit, 7 CSR 10-25.020, was amended effective March 30, 2025, opening weekend travel to loads up to 16 ft wide and night travel to loads up to 12 ft 6 in wide and 110 ft long.

On heavy haul loads crossing Missouri, HTS books the carrier as a licensed broker (MC 1178470) and orders the MoDOT permit, which MoDOT accepts only online through Carrier Express. MoDOT's Engineering Policy Guide says applications received by 5 PM Central on a weekday are processed that business day and permits are usually issued within 60 minutes, while superloads take about two weeks for the structure analysis.

When Missouri requires a permit and how to get one

MoDOT Motor Carrier Services in Jefferson City issues permits under RSMo 304.200 and 7 CSR 10-25.020, only through MoDOT Carrier Express, which is open 24/7. A routine single trip covers one load between one origin and one destination, must be finished in 7 moving days, and tops out at 16 ft wide, 16 ft high, 150 ft long and 160,000 lb; anything larger is a superload.

MoDOT permits cover the state highway system only: the applicant gets approval from the agency responsible for any off-system street and obeys its bridge postings. The City of St. Louis, for example, issues a $25, 7-day overdimensional permit for its streets from 9 ft wide, 15 ft high, 50 ft (single unit) or 75 ft (combination) long, or 22,400 lb per axle. An I-270 crossing into Illinois takes the MoDOT permit plus the IDOT permit whose number MoDOT asks for on I-270, and how oversize permits work explains how such multi-state moves are permitted.

Permit office

Issuing office
MoDOT Motor Carrier Services, Oversize/Overweight Permits
Address
830 MoDOT Drive, PO Box 270, Jefferson City, MO 65102
Phone
1-866-831-6277 (option 4 for an OSOW agent) or 573-751-7100; emergency moves after hours (573) 291-4517
Hours
Phone help Monday–Friday, 7:30 AM–4 PM CT
Roads covered
State highway system only; cities and counties permit their own streets and roads

Fees

MoDOT single-trip and blanket fees (7 CSR 10-25.020(4)(B))
PermitFee
Oversize single trip $15
Oversize over 16 ft wide, 16 ft high or 150 ft long $15 plus a $250 movement feasibility fee
Overweight up to 160,000 lb $15 plus $20 for each 10,000 lb over legal gross
Overweight over 160,000 lb, moves of 0–50 miles $15 plus $20 per 10,000 lb, plus a $425 bridge and roadway analysis
Overweight over 160,000 lb, 51–200 miles The same, with a $625 analysis
Overweight over 160,000 lb, over 200 miles The same, with a $925 analysis
Multi-stop oversize (farm implements only) $25
Amendment, within 2 business days of the start date $2
30-day blanket $300
Annual blankets, prorated quarterly $128 to $624 by type

A 120,000 lb load, for example, is 40,000 lb over legal gross and pays $15 plus 4 × $20, or $95, before card fees of 2% plus $0.25 (eCheck $0.50; no cash). One analysis fee covers identical applications while the bridge study is under 30 days old (loads over 300,000 lb) or 60 days old (under 300,000 lb), a change that needs a new analysis adds $425, and fees are nonrefundable and owed even on permits left to expire in approved status. Insurance runs $750,000 combined single limit for routine moves and $2,000,000 for superloads.

Escort and pilot car rules in Missouri

MoDOT's Escort Requirements Table (rev. 01/20/2026) applies 7 CSR 10-25.020 load by load and dimension by dimension, so requirements add up, to a ceiling of 2 front and 2 rear civilian escorts in most cases. Missouri sets no escort-driver certification; our page on pilot car requirements in each state shows where one is required.

Missouri escort tiers (7 CSR 10-25.020; MoDOT Escort Requirements Table, rev. 01/20/2026)
LoadEscort requirement
Wider than 12 ft 6 in, through 14 ft 1 escort: front on two-lane highways, rear on divided and multilane undivided highways, with two-way radio contact
Wider than 14 ft, through 16 ft Front and rear on two-lane and multilane undivided highways; 1 rear on divided highways
Wider than 16 ft, through 18 ft Front and rear on all highways, plus a second front escort on two-lane highways
Wider than 18 ft Front and rear civilian escorts plus law enforcement on all highways, and a second front escort on two-lane highways
Longer than 110 ft, through 125 ft 1 rear escort, except on divided highways
Longer than 125 ft, through 150 ft 1 rear escort on all highways
Longer than 150 ft, through 200 ft A rear escort plus a front one on two-lane highways; the route is driven or modeled first
Longer than 200 ft A rear escort and law enforcement, plus a front escort on two-lane highways
Taller than 15 ft 6 in A front height detection vehicle, which counts as the front escort; over 16 ft add a front escort on two-lane highways, and over 18 ft law enforcement
Heavier than 220,000 lb (or 160,000 lb with another escort trigger) Front escort on two-lane highways; over 350,000 lb front and rear plus a second front on two-lane highways, and an extra power unit
Bridge crawl in Kansas City or St. Louis, over 160,000 lb 1 front and 2 rear civilian escorts while crossing at crawl speed

The law enforcement triggers above are MoDOT's 2026 pilot, in force from Jan 1, 2026 and monitored through the year; the rule itself calls for a Highway Patrol escort over 16 ft wide on two-lane highways, over 150 ft long and over 17 ft high. When the Patrol escorts, it sets the travel dates and times, may run a Level I inspection first and must be reimbursed, and neither MoDOT nor the Patrol publishes a booking contact, lead time or hourly rate.

Travel times, curfews and holidays

MoDOT's default is daylight, one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset by National Weather Service times, with no movement on snow- or ice-covered roads, in hazardous crosswinds or with visibility under 500 ft (7 CSR 10-25.020(9)(B)).

  • Night: allowed for over-width loads up to 12 ft 6 in wide at legal height and no more than 110 ft long, with lighted or reflective signs, clearance lights at the extremities and radio contact with escorts; overweight-only loads within the routine axle limits run day and night and skip the metro curfews.
  • Weekends: since the March 2025 amendment, loads up to 16 ft wide may travel on Saturdays and Sundays; the rule gives no weekend allowance for wider loads.
  • Tourist weekends: no Saturday or Sunday movement at Lake of the Ozarks on Routes 5, 42 and Business 54 from May 25 through Labor Day, or around Branson on Routes 76 and 13 from May 1 through November 30.
  • St. Louis: no oversize movement 6:30–9:00 AM or 3:30–6:30 PM on weekdays on every route in St. Louis City and County except Route 370, with matching hours on named stretches of I-70, I-64, Route 94 and I-55 in St. Charles and Jefferson counties.
  • Kansas City and Springfield: 7:00–9:00 AM and 4:00–6:00 PM on weekdays inside the area bounded by Routes 150, 291, I-470, 152 and I-435 to the Kansas line, and on state routes in Springfield, where I-44 and US 60 close only 4–6 PM and US 65 closes 7–9 AM and 3:30–6 PM.
  • Wide loads statewide: over 12 ft 6 in wide, no movement 6:30–9:00 AM or 3:30–6:00 PM on weekdays on state routes other than Interstates and divided highways.
  • Short urban moves: equipment moves with both ends inside a major urban area may be permitted 1:00–6:00 AM Monday–Friday and 1:00 AM–noon on Sunday, never during or right after a holiday period.
  • Seasonal limits: no spring-thaw program. The Highways and Transportation Commission may cut weights when roads are soft from thawing frost, rain or construction once notices are posted (RSMo 304.210), and county engineers may post county roads with MoDOT district approval (304.220).
MoDOT holiday restriction periods, 2026 and New Year's 2027
HolidayPermit moves stopPermit moves resume
Memorial Day Noon, Fri May 221/2 hour before sunrise, Tue May 26
Independence Day, observed Friday Noon, Thu Jul 21/2 hour before sunrise, Mon Jul 6
Labor Day Noon, Fri Sep 41/2 hour before sunrise, Tue Sep 8
Thanksgiving Noon, Wed Nov 251/2 hour before sunrise, Fri Nov 27
Christmas Noon, Thu Dec 241/2 hour before sunrise, Mon Dec 28
New Year's 2027 Noon, Thu Dec 311/2 hour before sunrise, Mon Jan 4, 2027

The rule runs from noon on the last business day before the holiday to one-half hour before sunrise on the first business day after the observed holiday, and it binds every permit, overweight-only and blanket permits included; only initial emergency responses and utility emergency repairs are waived.

What catches carriers in Missouri

Leaving the route voids the permit

A permitted load may go 1 mile onto a contiguous state highway for food, fuel, repairs or rest if no structure is crossed; beyond that, leaving the prescribed route without MCS approval voids the permit.

7 CSR 10-25.020(1)(J), (3)(A)6

Fines are measured against the permit

Overweight fines run 2 cents a pound for the first 500 lb, 5 cents from 501 to 1,000 lb and 10 cents above 1,000 lb, measured against the permitted weight rather than the legal one.

RSMo 304.240

Fixed details cannot change

A single-trip permit can be amended only within 2 business days of its start date, and the permittee, origin, destination and commodity cannot change once it is in effect.

7 CSR 10-25.020(4)(B)

Unpaid escorts end permitting

Flagrant or repeated violations bring a 2-week suspension or a 1-year revocation of permit privileges, and a carrier that does not reimburse a law enforcement escort risks losing all future permitting authority.

7 CSR 10-25.020(3)(B)2, (15)(H)

Two-lane bridges and shoulders

Over 12 ft 6 in wide, traffic may have to be stopped at two-lane bridges narrower than 28 ft (32 ft for loads over 14 ft), oversize vehicles keep 1,000 ft apart, and over 14 ft the route needs pavement at least 24 ft wide with 4 ft shoulders except for the shortest practical distance.

7 CSR 10-25.020(13)-(14)

Missouri river crossings, superloads and toll status

MoDOT's restriction data behind its Motor Carriers Map (retrieved Oct 17, 2026) lists closures at several Mississippi and Missouri River crossings, MoDOT routes each permit around them, and the neighboring state's permit is still needed beyond the line.

St. Louis and the Mississippi

The Missouri approach to the Poplar Street Bridge (I-55 and I-64 at the downtown riverfront) and the Martin Luther King Bridge are closed to permitted loads, I-270 at the Illinois line is held to 12 ft wide and needs the Illinois permit number, and MO 74 at Cape Girardeau has a 12 ft, 24-hour lane restriction through Dec 31, 2026.

Chester

MoDOT and IDOT opened the Don Welge Memorial Bridge on Route 51, a three-tower cable-stayed span of about $307.1 million, after a July 11, 2026 ribbon cutting. The restriction feed still carries an 80,000 lb entry from 2019 and an 11 ft lane limit through Dec 1, 2026, so limits on the new bridge are confirmed with MCS before a load is routed over it.

Missouri River and the Kansas line

The I-70 Blanchette Bridge between St. Louis and St. Charles counties is closed to OS/OW loads, I-70 at the Kansas line in Kansas City is closed under a permanent Kansas restriction, I-670 is closed per KDOT, I-635 is held to 120,000 lb, I-229 in St. Joseph is closed to all permits, and US 59 toward Atchison allows at most 25 ft high, 25 ft wide and 150,000 lb with no superloads.

Superloads

Over 16 ft wide, 16 ft high, 150 ft long or 160,000 lb, or beyond the routine axle limits, a load is a superload: MCS may require $425 or more in escrow, asks for at least 2 weeks for route evaluation, and wants a Superload Route Survey and Emergency Plan completed no more than 14 days before the start date ([email protected]). Over 17 ft high written utility approval is required, over 350,000 lb an extra power unit, and a MoDOT-approved contractor adjusts state signals at the applicant's expense.

Toll roads

We found no toll road or toll bridge in MoDOT's materials. MoDOT removed the toll booths from the Lake of the Ozarks Community Bridge on Camden County Route MM between February and May 2025.

Crossing into a neighboring state

  • East into Illinois: loads entering on I-270 carry the Illinois permit number and stay within 12 ft wide, and IDOT then sets hours by size tier, down to 9 AM–3 PM on weekdays past 16 ft wide; see the IDOT permit rules for Illinois.
  • South into Arkansas: the Arkansas Highway Police Permit Section issues every state-highway permit at a $17 base fee, and holiday weekends close whenever a holiday is observed on a Friday or Monday; details are on our Arkansas oversize and overweight permits page.
  • Into Kentucky: MoDOT's restriction data closes US 60/62, MO 77 and MO 80 in Mississippi County to permitted loads bound for or coming from Kentucky, so those crossings are planned on other routes; the Kentucky side is on our Kentucky oversize permit rules page.

Missouri oversize permit questions

How much is a MoDOT oversize permit?

A routine oversize single trip is $15, and loads over 16 ft wide, 16 ft high or 150 ft long add a $250 movement feasibility fee. Overweight trips add $20 for each 10,000 lb over legal gross, and above 160,000 lb a bridge and roadway analysis of $425, $625 or $925 by distance. Card payments add 2% plus $0.25, and fees are not refunded.

What is the MoDOT Carrier Express login?

Missouri permits are applied for only online, in MoDOT Carrier Express at mcs.modot.mo.gov, which runs 24 hours a day. Phone help is at 1-866-831-6277 (option 4 reaches an oversize/overweight agent) or 573-751-7100, 7:30 AM to 4 PM Central on weekdays, and the after-hours line (573) 291-4517 handles emergency moves only.

Is weekend travel allowed for Missouri oversize loads?

Yes, up to 16 ft wide, since MoDOT's March 2025 rule change; the rule gives no weekend allowance for wider loads. Two tourist areas are closed on Saturdays and Sundays: Lake of the Ozarks on Routes 5, 42 and Business 54 from May 25 to Labor Day, and Branson on Routes 76 and 13 from May 1 to November 30.

Which Missouri loads need escort vehicles?

One escort over 12 ft 6 in wide (front on two-lane roads, rear on divided and multilane ones), two over 14 ft (one rear on divided highways), and two plus an extra front escort on two-lane roads over 16 ft. Length adds a rear escort over 110 ft (over 125 ft on divided highways), and height a front detection vehicle over 15 ft 6 in. Drivers must be 18 and licensed; no certification is required.

When does Missouri require a Highway Patrol escort?

Under MoDOT's 2026 pilot, over 18 ft wide, over 200 ft long or over 18 ft high, raised from the rule's 16 ft (two-lane highways), 150 ft and 17 ft. MoDOT says it is monitoring the pilot through 2026 and can end it without notice. The Patrol sets the travel time and may inspect first, and the carrier reimburses its cost.

Which loads are superloads in Missouri?

Generally a load over 16 ft wide, 16 ft high, 150 ft long or 160,000 lb, or one over the routine axle limits or outside a routine configuration. MCS asks for at least two weeks for the structure and feasibility study, may hold $425 or more in escrow, and requires a route survey done within 14 days of the start, plus $2,000,000 of insurance.

When are Missouri's oversize curfews?

On weekdays, St. Louis City and County close 6:30 to 9 AM and 3:30 to 6:30 PM on every route except Route 370, while Kansas City and Springfield close 7 to 9 AM and 4 to 6 PM, with route exceptions in Springfield. Statewide, loads over 12 ft 6 in wide also stay off two-lane and undivided state routes 6:30 to 9 AM and 3:30 to 6 PM. Overweight-only loads are exempt.

Sources

Facts on this page were checked in October 2026 against the sources below. Rules and rates change; we confirm current requirements on every move.

  1. eCFR 23 CFR Part 658: Truck Size and Weight (federal baseline)
  2. MoDOT Oversize/Overweight permits page
  3. MoDOT Motor Carrier Services home (payment options and fees)
  4. MoDOT Contact Motor Carriers (phone hours)
  5. MoDOT Important Notices for Motor Carriers (2026 superload law enforcement escort pilot)
  6. 7 CSR 10-25 Motor Carrier Operations incl. 7 CSR 10-25.020 (Missouri SOS, current)
  7. MoDOT Missouri OSOW Permit Regulations Book (rule eff. March 30, 2025)
  8. MoDOT OSOW Fees (7 CSR 10-25.020(4)-(5))
  9. MoDOT Escort Requirements Table (rev. 01/20/2026)
  10. MoDOT Superloads (7 CSR 10-25.020(15)-(16))
  11. MoDOT Superload Route Survey and Emergency Plan form (rev. 6/16/26)
  12. MoDOT Route Surveys for Superload Moves in Missouri (Q&A)
  13. MoDOT Legal Size and Weight Chart 2025
  14. MoDOT MCS Frequently Asked Questions (rev. 5/28/2026)
  15. MoDOT OSOW insurance requirements
  16. MoDOT Engineering Policy Guide 945 Overdimension/Overweight Permits (processing times)
  17. MoDOT Oversize Overweight Restriction & Commercial Zone Map
  18. MoDOT Motor Carriers Map restriction data: closed segments (retrieved Oct 17, 2026)
  19. MoDOT Motor Carriers Map restriction data: restricted segments (retrieved Oct 17, 2026)
  20. MoDOT Carrier Express login
  21. MoDOT Don Welge Memorial Bridge (formerly Chester Bridge)
  22. MoDOT news release: Lake of the Ozarks Community Bridge toll booth removal (Feb. 6, 2025)
  23. RSMo 304.170 Width, height and length
  24. RSMo 304.180 Weight
  25. RSMo 304.190 Cities of 75,000 or more and commercial zones
  26. RSMo 304.200 Special permits
  27. RSMo 304.210 Commission weight reductions (thawing frost, rain, construction)
  28. RSMo 304.220 County road and bridge weight limits
  29. RSMo 304.240 Load law penalties
  30. City of St. Louis Street Department overdimensional vehicle permits

Crossing Missouri with a superload or a wide machine?

St. Louis curfews, closed river approaches and the Patrol's 2026 escort triggers decide a Missouri route. Send the size, weight and both ends of the trip, and we will price the Carrier Express permit and the carrier together.

  • FMCSA-licensed property broker, MC# 1178470
  • Permits, escorts and route surveys arranged for each move
  • Carriers checked for authority, insurance and safety record
  • Commercial shippers, dealers, contractors and auction buyers

Prefer to talk? Call (631) 683-8275.

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