Maine oversize permit requirements
Maine is a summer state and its permit rules say so. Daylight movement runs seven days a week for most of the year — but through July and August there is no weekend travel at all. The two months when the state fills with holiday traffic are the two months an oversize load is parked from Friday evening.
The Maine Turnpike is stricter still, and separately so. Daylight only, Monday to Friday, and only until noon; Friday afternoons, Saturdays and Sundays are closed outright. There is a ten-dollar toll for an overwidth load or anything over seventy feet, and the Turnpike caps height at thirteen feet six even though the state will allow fourteen feet for a non-reducible load elsewhere.
Lewiston and Augusta apply the usual morning and evening peaks, and add a rule almost no other state writes down: no travel during inclement weather. Augusta also requires its own local permit. The permit runs seven days. The routine allowances are startlingly generous for a small state — seventy-five thousand pounds on a tridem and a hundred thousand on a quad, both among the highest anywhere — with a hundred and twenty-five feet of length and sixteen feet of width and height.
Legal dimensions
At or under these figures, no oversize permit is required in Maine.
- Width
- 8′6″
- Height
- 13′6″
- Gross weight
- 80,000 lb
- Overhang
- Governed by the 74′ overall limit rather than published separately
- Single axle
- 20,000 lb
- Tandem
- 34,000 lb
- Tridem
- 42,000 lb
Routine permit limits
Above legal dimensions and up to these figures, Maine issues a permit as routine business. Beyond them the load becomes a superload, reviewed case by case.
- Length
- 125′
- Width
- 16′
- Height
- 16′
- Single axle
- 20,000 lb
- Tandem
- 52,000 lb
- Tridem
- 75,000 lb
- Quad
- 100,000 lb
Escort requirements
A load reaching any of these figures needs an escort in Maine — the figure is the first size that requires one, so a load measuring exactly this much already needs it.
- Width
- 12′1″
- Height
- 14′6″
- Length
- 80′1″
When the load may move
Permit validity. Permits are valid for seven days.
Operating time. Daylight — half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset — seven days a week, except that there is no weekend travel during July and August. The Maine Turnpike allows daylight movement Monday to Friday until noon only.
Restricted travel. No travel on major holidays or some holiday weekends. No weekend travel at all in July and August. In Lewiston and Augusta, no movement 7–9 AM or 4–6 PM, and none during inclement weather; Augusta also requires its own local permit. The Maine Turnpike is closed to oversize movement on Friday afternoons, Saturdays and Sundays.
Worth knowing
- There is no weekend travel during July and August.
- The Maine Turnpike runs its own regime: daylight Monday to Friday until noon, a $10 toll for overwidth loads or anything over 70′, and a 13′6″ height cap.
- Lewiston and Augusta bar movement during inclement weather, which few states write down.
- Legal height rises to 14′ for a loaded non-reducible load off the Turnpike.
- Legal length is 53′ for the semitrailer with 74′ overall on the Interstate, and 48′ with 69′ overall elsewhere.
- Construction equipment may keep a blade or bucket attached; detached, it needs its own trailer.
- The routine tridem and quad allowances — 75,000 lb and 100,000 lb — are among the highest in the country.
Maine permits, answered
Can an oversize load travel at the weekend in Maine?
Most of the year, yes. In July and August, no — there is no weekend travel at all during the two busiest tourist months.
What are the Maine Turnpike rules for oversize loads?
Daylight Monday to Friday until noon only, with Friday afternoons, Saturdays and Sundays closed. There is a $10 toll for an overwidth load or anything over 70′, and height is capped at 13′6″.
Does weather stop oversize movement in Maine?
In Lewiston and Augusta, yes — there is an explicit ban on travel during inclement weather, on top of the usual peak-hour restrictions.
How heavy can a tridem be on a Maine permit?
75,000 lb, with 100,000 lb on a quad. Both are among the most generous routine allowances anywhere, which is unexpected for a state this size.
Do I need a separate permit for Augusta?
Yes, Augusta requires its own local permit in addition to the state one.
Crossing more than Maine?
A permit is per state. If the route leaves Maine, these are the states it most likely enters.
Get a permit quote for Maine
Enter the load once and the estimator prices every state on the route, flags where an escort is required, and turns the quote into an order.
Price a permit for Maine →Compiled from published state DOT sources. Regulations change — confirm the current rules before dispatch. Last reviewed 2026-07-30.