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Illinois · Oversize & Overweight

Illinois Oversize & Overweight Permits filed with IDOT for you, 24/7

In Illinois, a load over 8 ft 6 in wide, 13 ft 6 in high, a 53 ft trailer or the axle limits needs an IDOT permit through ITAP, and most are issued right away. A move into the Chicago area can need three permits: IDOT, the Illinois Tollway and the City of Chicago. Send us the load and route: our permit desk quotes the price and files with each of them.

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What will an oversize permit in Illinois cost?

Enter your pickup and delivery locations, choose your permit type, and compare estimated permit costs across route options.

  1. Oversize and overweight permits across the lower 48 and DC
  2. State-by-state fee breakdown for each route option
  3. Order your permit or talk to a specialist
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Illinois rules

Illinois legal limits and permit rules

The size and weight Illinois allows without a permit, how many escorts a load needs and the hours each size may run.

Legal limits without a permit

Width
8 ft 6 in
Height
13 ft 6 in
Semitrailer
53 ft
Kingpin, Class I and II
45 ft 6 in
Overall, Class II and local
65 ft
Single axle
20,000 lbs
Tandem axle
34,000 lbs

Escorts

Over 14 ft 6 in wide or high, or over 110 ft long
One civilian escort
Two of those at once
Two civilian escorts
Over 16 ft wide, 145 ft long or 18 ft high
Three civilian escorts
Over 18 ft wide or high, or over 200 ft long
Illinois State Police escort, booked 24 hours ahead
Up to 12 ft wide at night
One extra civilian escort
Escort drivers
18 or older, licensed; escort vehicle up to 26,000 lbs

When you can move

Overweight only, legal size
24 hours, 7 days
Up to 12 ft wide, 13 ft 6 in high, 200 ft long
24/7, with an extra escort at night
Up to 14 ft 6 in wide, 15 ft high
Daylight, 7 days
Up to 16 ft wide, 17 ft high
Daylight weekdays, Saturday until noon
Over 16 ft wide or 17 ft high
9 a.m.–3 p.m., Monday to Friday
Chicago-area counties, 14 ft 6 in–16 ft wide
9 a.m.–3 p.m., Monday to Friday
Holidays
New Year's, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas: noon before to sunrise after

Source: IDOT oversize and overweight permits — Policy Book on permit movements (2025, 92 IAC 554), permit provisions OPER 753 and OPER 993, holiday travel restrictions, state-line bridge list; Illinois Tollway overweight and overdimension permits. Your permit's own conditions always apply.

Which permit you need

Illinois permits for oversize and overweight loads

  1. One move, or there and back

    Single-trip and round-trip permits

    A single trip is valid 5 working days; a round trip 10 working days. Most are issued immediately in ITAP.

  2. The same kind of load, again

    Repeated-move permit

    At least five trips with like objects, all completed within 30 days.

  3. Three months or a year

    Limited continuous operation permit

    For construction equipment, trusses, manufactured housing and storage buildings, home frames, derailment and disablement moves. Not for hazmat.

  4. Over 14 ft 6 in wide

    Superload permit

    Needs extra time and analysis. IDOT's practical limits are 14 ft 6 in wide, 15 ft high and 145 ft long; bigger moves are reviewed one by one.

Routes and road rules

Where Illinois routes add their own rules

Around Chicago, three authorities can be involved in one move, and the state-line bridges follow the neighbor's limits.

  1. Illinois Tollway

    A separate Tollway permit is needed over its size and weight limits, and it requires the IDOT permit number first. Permits are no longer sold at the plazas.

    Hours:Sunrise to sunset Monday to Saturday, Sunday until noon; superloads need three business days' notice.

  2. Chicago city streets

    Permitted loads on any Chicago street other than the expressways need the city's approval too, with a Central Business District bounded by Cermak, Division, Halsted and Lake Michigan.

    Ask us:We check whether pickup or delivery is inside city limits.

  3. Cook County expressways

    Loads over 12 ft wide, 13 ft 6 in high or 120,000 lbs are barred from Cook County expressways except listed segments of I-80, I-55, I-57 and I-290.

    Also:Cook County runs its own permit office for its roads.

  4. State-line bridges

    On bridges shared with Iowa, Missouri, Indiana and Kentucky, a permitted load cannot exceed the bordering state's limits, such as on the Poplar Street and Stan Musial bridges and I-74 at Moline.

    Route:We check the neighbor's limits for every border crossing.

Illinois loads

Illinois permits for the loads Illinois hauls

Illinois permits follow its grain belt, construction work and manufactured buildings.

  1. Grain and farm

    Agricultural commodity permits

    Permits for up to 40 days on moves of up to 50 miles, plus a 40-day grain permit for harvest hauling.

  2. Farm equipment

    Implements of husbandry

    Towed or self-propelled farm implements need no oversize or overweight permit but may not use the interstates.

  3. Construction

    Equipment and trusses

    Limited continuous operation permits for construction equipment and trusses, plus rules for equipment moving within a construction zone.

  4. Housing

    Manufactured housing and buildings

    Permits for manufactured homes, storage buildings and home frames, with their own sections in IDOT's rules.

How it works

Your Illinois permit in three steps

  1. Send the load and route

    Truck, trailer, dimensions, weight, origin and destination. Your fleet details are saved for next time.

  2. We check and file

    Our permit desk checks the Illinois rules for your load and files with IDOT.

  3. Get your permit

    You get the permit PDF, a written route and an interactive route map to share with the driver.

From our permit desk

What we check before filing in Illinois

  1. Count the permit offices

    A move to Chicago can need IDOT, the Tollway and the city. We file all three in order, since the Tollway needs the IDOT number first.

  2. Night moves up to 12 ft

    Loads up to 12 ft wide, 13 ft 6 in high and 200 ft long can run around the clock with one extra escort after dark. We use it to save a day.

  3. Chicago's 9-to-3 window

    In Cook, DuPage, Lake, Kane, McHenry, Will and three Metro East counties, loads 14 ft 6 in to 16 ft wide move only 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays.

FAQ

Illinois oversize permit questions

Which permits do I need to haul an oversize load into Chicago?

An IDOT permit for state highways, an Illinois Tollway permit if the route uses a tollway, and the City of Chicago's approval for city streets other than expressways. Cook County expressways have their own size limits.

How much does an Illinois oversize permit cost?

It depends on the permit type, size, weight and route; superloads cost more and take analysis. Put your route into our permit cost calculator for an estimate, or send us the load and our permit desk quotes the exact price before filing.

How many escorts does an Illinois oversize load need?

One over 14 ft 6 in wide or high or 110 ft long, two when two of those apply, and three over 16 ft wide, 145 ft long or 18 ft high. Over 18 ft wide or high, or 200 ft long, the Illinois State Police escort the load.

Can an oversize load run at night in Illinois?

Yes, up to 12 ft wide, 13 ft 6 in high and 200 ft long, with one extra civilian escort after dark. Legal-size overweight loads may run around the clock.

Does an IDOT permit cover the Illinois Tollway?

No. Loads over the Tollway's limits need a Tollway permit, applied for with the IDOT permit number. The Tollway allows travel from sunrise to sunset Monday to Saturday and until noon on Sunday.

What makes a load a superload in Illinois?

A width over 14 ft 6 in. Superloads need extra time and fees for analysis, and moves beyond 14 ft 6 in wide, 15 ft high or 145 ft long are reviewed individually.

How does Route One GO get my Illinois permit?

Send us the truck, trailer, load dimensions, axle weights and route. Our permit desk checks the Illinois rules, files with IDOT, the Tollway and the city when needed, and sends you the permits with a route map. Requests are taken 24/7.

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Need a permit in Illinois for this load?

Send the details once. We file with IDOT, plus every other state on your route.

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