Minnesota Oversize & Overweight Permit Rules

Permit required over 8'6" wide. Minn. Stat. 169.812 subd. 2(a): "Except as provided in paragraphs (d) and (e), no escort vehicle is required if the width of an overdimensional load is 15 feet or less as measured at the bottom of the load or is 16 feet or less as measured at the top of the load." CONDITIONAL POLICE ESCORT AT ANY WIDTH: subd. 2(d) requires "One lead escort vehicle, one rear escort vehicle, and one lead licensed peace officer ... when any part of an overdimensional load or a vehicle transporting an overdimensional load extends beyond the left of the centerline on an undivided roadway." That paragraph is not width-gated, so a load narrower than 15 feet that still crosses the centerline needs 3 escorts including law enforcement. MnDOT publishes the same rule as "a certified licensed lead Peace Officer plus certified front and rear escorts." The scraped 12'7" and 14'6" escort tiers have no basis in MN law. roadClass approximation: MN splits on multilane divided vs undivided roadway; this non-interstate row is mapped to the stricter UNDIVIDED column, so a divided multilane US or MN state highway is actually governed by the interstate row. Subd. 2(e): the commissioner may require additional escorts.

Permit required over 13'6" high. Minn. Stat. 169.812 assigns escorts by width (subd. 2) and length (subd. 3) ONLY — the statute has no height subdivision, and MnDOT's escort requirements page publishes no height row, so Minnesota has no height-based escort tier below 16'0". The scraped 15'7" route-survey tier is replaced by the cited MnDOT trigger at 16'0" in the band above. Subd. 2(e)/3(c): the commissioner may require additional escorts when deemed necessary to protect public safety or to ensure against undue damage to the road foundations, surfaces, or structures. Note that a wide load on an undivided roadway can still pull a mandatory lead licensed peace officer under subd. 2(d) — see the width bands.

Over 16 ft high: no escort and no pole vehicle for height alone; Minnesota does not recognize pole vehicles. Instead the carrier must complete a MnDOT-approved physical route survey (by the load's driver or a Minnesota-certified pilot/escort operator, measuring with a height pole set at least 6 in above the load) within 14 days before the move; MnDOT issues the permit only after it. The permit may still order a height pole on the front pilot car (Minn. R. 7455.1000 A(10)) or extra escorts (Minn. Stat. 169.812 subd. 2(e), 3(c)), and the width and length escort rules still apply. Source: MnDOT Route Survey page; MnDOT Commercial Vehicle Resource Book 2026; Minn. Stat. 169.812; Minn. R. 7455.1000.

Permit required over 75'0" combination length. Minn. Stat. 169.812 subd. 3(b): "One lead escort vehicle and one rear escort vehicle is required on any undivided roadway if the overall length of the overdimensional load exceeds 110 feet" — so no escort is required at or below 110'0". The scraped 95'1" 1-rear tier has no basis in Minnesota law: 95'0" is the OVERSIZE LOAD sign threshold, not an escort threshold (MnDOT General Provisions §5: "Oversize Load signs required on front and rear of vehicle when width exceeds 12 feet 6 inches and/or length exceeds 95 feet"). roadClass approximation: MN splits on multilane divided vs undivided roadway; this non-interstate row is mapped to the stricter UNDIVIDED column. Subd. 3(c): the commissioner may require additional escorts when deemed necessary to protect public safety or to ensure against undue damage to the road foundations, surfaces, or structures.

Permit required above Minnesota's 80,000 lb legal gross. Minn. Stat. 169.812 assigns escorts by width (subd. 2) and length (subd. 3) ONLY — the statute has no weight subdivision, and MnDOT's escort requirements page publishes no weight row, so Minnesota has no weight-triggered escort tier. Subd. 2(e)/3(c) nevertheless provide: "The commissioner may require additional escorts when deemed necessary to protect public safety or to ensure against undue damage to the road foundations, surfaces, or structures. The commissioner must specify in the permit (1) the number of additional escorts required; and (2) whether the operators of the escort vehicles must be licensed peace officers or may be escort drivers." Heavy moves needing bridge analysis are the usual case for that discretion, so read the issued permit. Minnesota permits are not valid on county, township or municipal roads; the permittee must obtain approval from each local road authority (Trucking Regulations Section 05, p.35; General Provisions §3). MnDOT's Guide to Transporting Superloads in Minnesota (May 2025) defines a superload as "a vehicle or load that exceeds any one of the following: Height: 16 feet Width: 16 feet Length: 150 feet Weight: 250,000 GVW" — a superload is permitted through MnDOT's separate SUPERLOAD Permit System with manual MnDOT Bridge Office analysis, and processing "can range from 5 business days to months." That guide adds no weight-triggered escort of its own: it points back to Minn. Stat. 169.812 and repeats only that "MnDOT may require additional escorts when deemed necessary to protect public safety or to ensure against undue damage to the road foundations, surfaces, or structures. The permit will specify (1) the number of additional escorts required; and (2) whether the operators of the escort vehicles must be licensed peace officers or may be escort drivers."

Permit required over 8'6" wide. Minn. Stat. 169.812 subd. 2(a): "Except as provided in paragraphs (d) and (e), no escort vehicle is required if the width of an overdimensional load is 15 feet or less as measured at the bottom of the load or is 16 feet or less as measured at the top of the load." This ladder uses the conservative 15'0" bottom-of-load trigger because the schema carries one width; a load that is 15'0"-16'0" wide only at the TOP is still escort-free under the statute. The scraped 12'7" 1-escort and 14'6" 2-escort tiers have no basis in Minnesota law — subd. 2(a) is categorical from 8'7" to 15'0" and MnDOT's escort requirements page publishes no row below 15 feet. roadClass approximation: MN splits on multilane divided vs undivided roadway, not interstate vs non-interstate; this interstate row is MN's multilane divided column, and every MN interstate is multilane divided. Subd. 2(e): the commissioner may require additional escorts when deemed necessary to protect public safety or to ensure against undue damage to the road foundations, surfaces, or structures.

Permit required over 13'6" high. Minn. Stat. 169.812 assigns escorts by width (subd. 2) and length (subd. 3) ONLY — the statute has no height subdivision (its full text is subd. 1 definitions, subd. 2 width, subd. 3 length; History: 2020 c 100 s 11; 1Sp2021 c 5 art 4 s 65), and MnDOT's escort requirements page publishes no height row. Minnesota therefore has no height-based escort tier below 16'0". The scraped 15'7" route-survey tier is replaced by the cited MnDOT trigger at 16'0" in the band above. Subd. 2(e)/3(c): the commissioner may require additional escorts when deemed necessary to protect public safety or to ensure against undue damage to the road foundations, surfaces, or structures, and MnDOT requires route approval on oversize/overweight permits.

Over 16 ft high: no escort and no pole vehicle for height alone; Minnesota does not recognize pole vehicles. Instead the carrier must complete a MnDOT-approved physical route survey (by the load's driver or a Minnesota-certified pilot/escort operator, measuring with a height pole set at least 6 in above the load) within 14 days before the move; MnDOT issues the permit only after it. The permit may still order a height pole on the front pilot car (Minn. R. 7455.1000 A(10)) or extra escorts (Minn. Stat. 169.812 subd. 2(e), 3(c)), and the width and length escort rules still apply. Source: MnDOT Route Survey page; MnDOT Commercial Vehicle Resource Book 2026; Minn. Stat. 169.812; Minn. R. 7455.1000.

Permit required over 75'0" combination length. Minn. Stat. 169.812 subd. 3(a)(1): on a multilane divided roadway "only one rear escort vehicle is required if the overdimensional load has an overall length exceeding 110 feet" — so no escort is required at or below 110'0". The scraped 95'1" 1-rear tier has no basis in Minnesota law: 95'0" is the OVERSIZE LOAD sign threshold, not an escort threshold (MnDOT General Provisions §5: "Signs: Oversize Load signs required on front and rear of vehicle when width exceeds 12 feet 6 inches and/or length exceeds 95 feet"; Trucking Regulations Section 05, p.36 repeats it). roadClass approximation: this interstate row is MN's multilane divided column. Subd. 3(c): the commissioner may require additional escorts when deemed necessary to protect public safety or to ensure against undue damage to the road foundations, surfaces, or structures.

Permit required above Minnesota's 80,000 lb legal gross. Minn. Stat. 169.812 assigns escorts by width (subd. 2) and length (subd. 3) ONLY — the statute has no weight subdivision, and MnDOT's escort requirements page publishes no weight row, so Minnesota has no weight-triggered escort tier. Subd. 2(e)/3(c) nevertheless provide: "The commissioner may require additional escorts when deemed necessary to protect public safety or to ensure against undue damage to the road foundations, surfaces, or structures. The commissioner must specify in the permit (1) the number of additional escorts required; and (2) whether the operators of the escort vehicles must be licensed peace officers or may be escort drivers." Heavy moves needing bridge analysis are the usual case for that discretion, so read the issued permit. MnDOT route approval is required for oversize/overweight permits, and Minnesota permits are not valid on county, township or municipal roads — the local road authority must be contacted separately (Trucking Regulations Section 05, p.35). MnDOT's Guide to Transporting Superloads in Minnesota (May 2025) defines a superload as "a vehicle or load that exceeds any one of the following: Height: 16 feet Width: 16 feet Length: 150 feet Weight: 250,000 GVW" — a superload is permitted through MnDOT's separate SUPERLOAD Permit System with manual MnDOT Bridge Office analysis, and processing "can range from 5 business days to months." That guide adds no weight-triggered escort of its own: it points back to Minn. Stat. 169.812 and repeats only that "MnDOT may require additional escorts when deemed necessary to protect public safety or to ensure against undue damage to the road foundations, surfaces, or structures. The permit will specify (1) the number of additional escorts required; and (2) whether the operators of the escort vehicles must be licensed peace officers or may be escort drivers."