By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Sep 27, 2026
South Dakota sells oversize and overweight permits through the Highway Patrol Permit Center, online through the South Dakota Automated Permitting System, or from any Highway Patrol district office, trooper, or motor carrier inspector, and permits must be secured before the move or before entering the state. A single-trip oversize or overweight permit costs 25 dollars (sold in self-issuing books of ten for 250 dollars), overweight loads pay an extra two cents per ton-mile for weight above axle-count thresholds, and most extended period permits cost 60 dollars. Legal limits are 8 feet 6 inches wide, 14 feet high including load, and 80,000 pounds gross on the interstate, with weight off the interstate governed by the 20,000 pound single axle, 34,000 pound tandem, and bridge formula limits of SDCL 32-22-16.
South Dakota legal limits (no permit needed at or under these)
- Width
- 8.5 ft102 inches at the widest points of vehicle or load, excluding required safety equipment. Self-propelled or towed farm machinery operated by a farmer has no width limit in daylight hours except on the interstate system, and a recreation vehicle exception also applies.
- Height
- 14 ft14 feet including load. Exceptions: trailers carrying baled feed are limited to 15 feet, and farm machinery and fire department equipment have no maximum height limit. Nothing requires authorities to provide sufficient vertical clearance.
- Gross weight
- 80,000 lbThe 80,000 pound gross cap applies on the interstate highway system only (SDCL 32-22-16). Axle limits (20,000 single, 34,000 tandem), tire limits, and the bridge formula apply everywhere and are enforced with tolerances. Two consecutive tandem sets may carry 34,000 pounds each when the overall first-to-last axle distance is at least 36 feet. Permits (including the annual over 80,000 pounds on interstate permit) can raise gross weight while axle, tire, and bridge formula limits still bind.
- Length: stinger_steered_auto_transporter
- No overall length limit is fixed by SDCL 32-22-8.4, which caps only overhang at 4 feet front and 6 feet rear; the handbook's Table 7 diagram shows an 80 foot maximum overall length
- Off interstate limits
- On highways other than the interstate there is no flat gross weight cap: weight is governed by 20,000 pounds per single axle, 34,000 pounds per tandem, 500 pounds per inch of tire width (600 on steering axles, dual-tire axles, and listed wide-base tires, and on trailers towed by vehicles with a GVWR of 11,000 pounds or less), and the bridge formula W = 500[(LN/(N-1)) + 12N + 36] rounded to the nearest 500 pounds.
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.
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Permit fees
- Single trip
- $25 (An individual single-trip oversize or overweight permit costs 25 dollars; books of 10 self-issuing single-trip permits cost 250 dollars (25 dollars per permit) and must be validated by the permit center before use. Overweight loads add two cents for each ton or fraction of a ton of gross weight above the axle-count thresholds, for each mile traveled on state trunk highways, with a one dollar minimum. A single-trip commercial vehicle permit for unladen operation costs 15 dollars through Motor Carrier Services, and a single-trip fuel permit for unlicensed interstate fuel users costs 20 dollars.)
- Annual eligibility
- Unless otherwise specified, an extended period (annual) permit costs 60 dollars and is valid for one year from issuance. The extended period family includes the over 80,000 pounds on interstate permit, slow movement on interstate, baled feed, custom harvest fleet, stack mover, farm implement dealer, electric utility, oversize non-divisible, oversize trailer, self-propelled equipment, booster axle, lift axle, manufactured home, and overlength semitrailer permits. Harvest permits cost 75 dollars. Longer combination vehicle permits sell in books of ten for 100 dollars. Multiple-trip construction equipment permits cost 5 dollars per county per month, never more than 20 dollars per month, with a 25 dollar minimum total.
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.
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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 South Dakota 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.
- Minimum requirements
- Escort vehicles must be licensed motor vehicles (motorcycles may not serve), display a revolving amber light or two two-way flashing amber lights at least four inches in diameter, and carry signs reading WIDE LOAD AHEAD (front escort, mounted on the rear) or WIDE LONG LOAD (rear escort, mounted on the front) in letters at least 12 inches high.
Liability cover the permit itself requires
Distinct from your operating-authority minimums: this is the cover South Dakota attaches to the permit, banded by the dimension you are permitted for. Each one is sourced.
Escort rules beyond the thresholds
Knowing when you need an escort is half of it. These are the South Dakota rules on who may run one, what the vehicle has to carry, and how the move is conducted.
- Minimum requirements
- Escort vehicles must be licensed motor vehicles (motorcycles may not serve), display a revolving amber light or two two-way flashing amber lights at least four inches in diameter, and carry signs reading WIDE LOAD AHEAD (front escort, mounted on the rear) or WIDE LONG LOAD (rear escort, mounted on the front) in letters at least 12 inches high.
Conditions attached to every permit
The standing conditions South Dakota writes into the permit itself, which apply whether or not they are printed on your copy.
- Insurance
- Permit applicants must carry public liability insurance of at least 100,000 dollars per person, 300,000 dollars per accident, and 100,000 dollars property damage, or qualify as a self-insurer under SDCL 32-35-90.
- Carried in vehicle
- A written or validated telephonic permit must be carried in the vehicle and shown to any peace officer or authorized agent on demand; a photocopy or electronic copy is acceptable. Violating permit terms can get the permit revoked, and operating after revocation is treated as operating without a permit.
- Non divisible
- Permits are not issued when the load can be reduced to legal size or weight; overwidth loads may not exceed three times the width of the narrowest trailer axle.
- Liability
- Issuance of a permit does not diminish the permit holder's liability for damage to persons or property, and all vertical clearances are the responsibility of the permit holder.
- Spring load restrictions
- Maximum axle and axle group loadings are reduced each year from February 15 through April 30 on restricted highways, with the period extendable by the maintaining authority; the Transportation Commission may still issue overweight permits on highways that can carry heavier loads.
Travel restrictions
- Daylight only
- Movement is restricted to daylight hours when an escort is required, when the vehicle cannot attain and maintain posted speed, when it is wider than 10 feet, higher than 14 feet 6 inches, a single unit over 45 feet, a combination over 110 feet, a two-unit combination with a unit over 60 feet, a three-or-more-unit combination with a unit over 48 feet, or when traveling non-interstate state highways beyond a two-mile radius of an interstate interchange. Otherwise night movement on the interstate is allowed; on other highways oversize night movement is barred except for permitted overlength LCVs, emergencies, and national defense moves.
- Daylight hours rule
- Movement is restricted to daylight hours when an escort is required, when the vehicle cannot attain and maintain posted speed, when it is wider than 10 feet, higher than 14 feet 6 inches, a single unit over 45 feet, a combination over 110 feet, a two-unit combination with a unit over 60 feet, a three-or-more-unit combination with a unit over 48 feet, or when traveling non-interstate state highways beyond a two-mile radius of an interstate interchange. Otherwise night movement on the interstate is allowed; on other highways oversize night movement is barred except for permitted overlength LCVs, emergencies, and national defense moves.
Superload and beyond-permit review
Loads past the standard single-trip permit thresholds get individual state review rather than an off-the-shelf permit.
South Dakota has no separate superheavy permit class. Single-trip permits cover non-divisible loads of any size and weight the Permit Center will route, with the two cents per ton-mile excess charge above the axle-count thresholds (40,000 lb at 2 axles up to 95,000 lb at 7 or more axles) and a minimum charge of one dollar. Loads that cannot be reduced, and 2, 3, and 4 axle vehicles hauling non-divisible loads, may not exceed 10 percent overweight except self-propelled or towaway equipment.
Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol review typically takes up to two working days; loads over 200,000 pounds, overweight loads wider than 12 feet, or loads over 16 feet high may take longer. Route approval is required before issuance of overweight permits.
More South Dakota permit rules
- Single trip fee note
- An individual single-trip oversize or overweight permit costs 25 dollars; books of 10 self-issuing single-trip permits cost 250 dollars (25 dollars per permit) and must be validated by the permit center before use. Overweight loads add two cents for each ton or fraction of a ton of gross weight above the axle-count thresholds, for each mile traveled on state trunk highways, with a one dollar minimum. A single-trip commercial vehicle permit for unladen operation costs 15 dollars through Motor Carrier Services, and a single-trip fuel permit for unlicensed interstate fuel users costs 20 dollars.
- Annual permit eligibility
- Unless otherwise specified, an extended period (annual) permit costs 60 dollars and is valid for one year from issuance. The extended period family includes the over 80,000 pounds on interstate permit, slow movement on interstate, baled feed, custom harvest fleet, stack mover, farm implement dealer, electric utility, oversize non-divisible, oversize trailer, self-propelled equipment, booster axle, lift axle, manufactured home, and overlength semitrailer permits. Harvest permits cost 75 dollars. Longer combination vehicle permits sell in books of ten for 100 dollars. Multiple-trip construction equipment permits cost 5 dollars per county per month, never more than 20 dollars per month, with a 25 dollar minimum total.
- Escort notes: minimum requirements
- Escort vehicles must be licensed motor vehicles (motorcycles may not serve), display a revolving amber light or two two-way flashing amber lights at least four inches in diameter, and carry signs reading WIDE LOAD AHEAD (front escort, mounted on the rear) or WIDE LONG LOAD (rear escort, mounted on the front) in letters at least 12 inches high.
- Escort notes: additional
- The handbook adds that multiple escorts or flagpersons are required when a load extends more than 2 feet into an adjacent lane, and earthmoving convoys need a front escort with 500 to 3,000 feet spacing.
- Permit conditions: insurance
- Permit applicants must carry public liability insurance of at least 100,000 dollars per person, 300,000 dollars per accident, and 100,000 dollars property damage, or qualify as a self-insurer under SDCL 32-35-90.
- Permit conditions: carried in vehicle
- A written or validated telephonic permit must be carried in the vehicle and shown to any peace officer or authorized agent on demand; a photocopy or electronic copy is acceptable. Violating permit terms can get the permit revoked, and operating after revocation is treated as operating without a permit.
- Permit conditions: non divisible
- Permits are not issued when the load can be reduced to legal size or weight; overwidth loads may not exceed three times the width of the narrowest trailer axle.
- Permit conditions: liability
- Issuance of a permit does not diminish the permit holder's liability for damage to persons or property, and all vertical clearances are the responsibility of the permit holder.
- Permit conditions: spring load restrictions
- Maximum axle and axle group loadings are reduced each year from February 15 through April 30 on restricted highways, with the period extendable by the maintaining authority; the Transportation Commission may still issue overweight permits on highways that can carry heavier loads.
- Permit conditions: commercial license
- For permits over 80,000 pounds, commercial license fees under SDCL 32-9-15 must be paid to the permitted maximum gross weight before the permit is used.
- Permit insurance groups
- All oversize and overweight permit applicants: 100,000 dollars per person, 300,000 dollars per accident, and 100,000 dollars property damage, or self-insurer qualification under SDCL 32-35-90 (ARSD 70:03:01:11).
- Penalties: overweight fine schedule
- Operating above legal weight draws a civil fine at a single rate for the highest bracket of excess, in addition to a Class 2 misdemeanor: 5 cents per pound for 1,001 to 3,000 pounds over, 15 cents for 3,001 to 4,000, 22.5 cents for 4,001 to 5,000, 37.5 cents for 5,001 to 10,000, and 75 cents per pound beyond 10,000 pounds over (SDCL 32-22-55).
| Name |
|---|
| Extended period (annual) permits at 60 dollars each: over 80,000 lb on interstate, slow movement on interstate, baled feed, custom harvest fleet, stack mover, farm implement dealer, electric utility, oversize non-divisible, oversize trailer, self-propelled equipment, booster axle, lift axle, manufactured home, overlength semitrailer |
| Harvest Permit (75 dollars, also from county treasurers and ports of entry) |
| Longer Combination Vehicle permits, books of ten for 100 dollars |
| Multiple-trip construction equipment permit (5 dollars per county per month, 20 dollars per month maximum, 25 dollars minimum) |
| Annual oversize permit for non-divisible loads (width to 14 ft 6 in, overhang and length caps by rule) |
| Extended period emergency declaration permit and fleet permit (no charge) |
The South Dakota permit office
- Apply or log in (South Dakota Automated Permitting System (SDAPS), reached through sdtruckinfo.sd.gov)
- sdtruckinfo.sd.gov
Legal limits before you need a permit
Legal width covers the widest points of vehicle or load with required safety equipment excluded, and farm machinery operated by a farmer runs wider in daylight off the interstate. Legal height includes the load, with a taller allowance for trailers carrying baled feed and no height cap at all for farm machinery and fire department equipment.
Length depends on configuration, from a single motor vehicle through semitrailer combinations, saddlemounts, and special combinations, with separate front and rear overhang allowances. On the interstate a gross weight cap applies; off it there is no flat cap, and weight is governed by axle limits, tire-width limits, and the bridge formula. Axle groups above tandems follow the formula rather than a fixed number.
Single-trip permits and the per ton-mile charge
A single-trip permit covers one non-divisible load over the legal limits on a designated route, and repeat operators buy self-issuing books of ten that the permit center validates before each use. The base fee is flat. On top of it, overweight loads pay a per-ton, per-mile charge for gross weight above thresholds that step up with axle count, with a small minimum per move.
Two neighbors in the fee schedule: a single-trip commercial vehicle permit for unladen operation sells through Motor Carrier Services at its own price, and a permit to move a vehicle to a weigh scale covers that movement only.
Extended period permits
The extended period family is the annual option, one fee buying a year from issuance. The member that matters most to heavy carriers is the over-eighty-thousand-pounds-on-interstate permit: it raises gross weight on the interstate while axle, tire, and bridge formula limits still bind, and commercial license fees must be paid up to the permitted maximum gross weight before it is used.
The family also covers slow movement on the interstate, baled feed, custom harvest fleets, stack movers, farm implement dealers, electric utilities, oversize non-divisible loads, booster and lift axles, manufactured homes, and overlength semitrailers. Harvest permits and longer combination vehicle permits carry their own pricing.
Escort requirements
Escort thresholds run higher than in most states. On the interstate system, one escort applies past the first width line; on the rest of the state trunk system the trigger sits wider still. A set of listed Black Hills and Badlands highways requires a front escort at a narrower width because of the terrain. Where the geometry allows, a local trooper may waive the front escort.
Escort vehicles have their own equipment rules: licensed motor vehicles only, motorcycles excluded, revolving or flashing amber lights, and signs with set letter heights reading ahead or behind the load. The handbook adds escort or flagperson duties when a load reaches into an adjacent lane, and spacing rules for earthmoving convoys.
When oversize loads can move
Movement is restricted to daylight hours when an escort is required, when the vehicle cannot hold posted speed, or when the load passes the width, height, or length lines the rule lists, and on non-interstate state highways beyond a short radius of an interchange. Otherwise night movement on the interstate is allowed, and oversize night movement elsewhere is barred except for permitted overlength combinations, emergencies, and national defense.
Weather stops permitted moves too: a permit is invalid when visibility falls below the stated distance or the surface is slippery, officers may restrict operation further, and manufactured home permits carry their own wind limit. No city or county curfew list and no weekend or holiday moratorium is published on the state pages read, so none is recorded here.
The heaviest loads
South Dakota keeps no separate superheavy class. Single-trip permits cover non-divisible loads of any size and weight the Permit Center will route, with the per ton-mile excess charge doing the pricing, and route approval is required before any overweight permit issues.
Review typically takes up to two working days, with added time past the gross weight, width, or height lines the state publishes. Non-divisible loads on two through four axles may not exceed a stated overweight percentage, except self-propelled or towaway equipment.
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 South Dakota permit stack, see South Dakota trucking permits.