Wisconsin oversize permit requirements
Wisconsin issues a fourteen-day permit — the longest in the Midwest — and then spends its rulebook on the summer weekend. From the fourth Sunday in May through Labor Day, movement is barred between four and eleven in the evening, and Sunday evenings carry that curfew all year round. An oversize load loses more than that: no night operation at all, and nothing from Saturday noon until Monday sunrise.
The dividing line is worth memorising because it decides which of those two regimes applies. Within twelve feet wide, thirteen feet six high and a hundred feet long, a load counts as standard and runs around the clock, subject only to the Sunday and summer evening curfews. Cross any of those three and the weekend closes. Overweight-only loads sidestep the whole thing and run seven days a week, holidays included.
The routine permit is generous where it matters for heavy freight — tandems to sixty-five thousand pounds and tridems to eighty-one thousand, well above the regional norm — with width capped at sixteen feet and length unpublished. Wisconsin exempts farm equipment bound for Wisconsin destinations from permits altogether, provided it stays off the Interstate and moves Monday to Thursday or before two on Friday. Overweight restrictions apply on Class 2 roads from about early March to mid-May.
Legal dimensions
At or under these figures, no oversize permit is required in Wisconsin.
- Width
- 8′6″
- Height
- 13′6″
- Gross weight
- 80,000 lb
- Single axle
- 20,000 lb
- Tandem
- 34,000 lb
- Tridem
- 42,000 lb, or 43,000 lb at 9′ spacing
Routine permit limits
Above legal dimensions and up to these figures, Wisconsin issues a permit as routine business. Beyond them the load becomes a superload, reviewed case by case.
- Length
- No published maximum
- Width
- 16′
- Height
- Set by the route rather than a single published figure
- Single axle
- 30,000 lb on four tires
- Tandem
- 65,000 lb
- Tridem
- 81,000 lb
Escort requirements
A load reaching any of these figures needs an escort in Wisconsin — the figure is the first size that requires one, so a load measuring exactly this much already needs it.
- Width
- 15′1″
- Height
- 15′0″
- Length
- 140′1″
When the load may move
Permit validity. Permits are valid for fourteen consecutive days and must be obtained before entering the state.
Operating time. A load within 12′ wide, 13′6″ high and 100′ long may travel around the clock. A load exceeding any of those may not run at night, nor from Saturday noon until Monday sunrise. Overweight-only loads travel seven days a week, holidays included, unless the permit says otherwise.
Restricted travel. No movement between 4 PM and 11 PM on Sundays year-round, nor between 4 PM and 11 PM from the fourth Sunday in May through Labor Day. Major holidays and holiday weekends carry restrictions that vary with the size of the load. Overweight restrictions apply on Class 2 roads from roughly early March to mid-May.
Worth knowing
- The tandem and tridem allowances — 65,000 lb and 81,000 lb — are well above the regional norm.
- Farm equipment bound for a Wisconsin destination needs no permit, provided it stays off the Interstate and moves Monday to Thursday or before 2 PM on Friday.
- Legal length is 53′ for the semitrailer on designated highways, with kingpin to rear axle centre within 43′, and 48′ semitrailer with 75′ overall elsewhere.
- A load over 16′ wide or over 150,000 lb is a superload.
- Oversize Load signs are required above 10′ of width or when overlength, and must be illuminated at night.
Wisconsin permits, answered
How long is a Wisconsin oversize permit valid?
Fourteen consecutive days — the longest in the Midwest. It must be obtained before entering the state.
What is the Wisconsin summer evening curfew?
No movement between 4 PM and 11 PM from the fourth Sunday in May through Labor Day, and on Sunday evenings all year round.
When does a Wisconsin load lose the weekend?
When it exceeds 12′ wide, 13′6″ high or 100′ long. Below all three it runs around the clock; above any one of them it cannot move from Saturday noon until Monday sunrise.
Does farm equipment need a Wisconsin permit?
Not if it is bound for a Wisconsin destination, stays off the Interstate, and moves Monday to Thursday or before 2 PM on Friday.
How heavy can a tridem be on a Wisconsin permit?
81,000 lb, with tandems to 65,000 lb — well above what the neighbouring states allow, so a heavy load may be cheaper to route through Wisconsin than around it.
Crossing more than Wisconsin?
A permit is per state. If the route leaves Wisconsin, these are the states it most likely enters.
Get a permit quote for Wisconsin
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 Wisconsin →Compiled from published state DOT sources. Regulations change — confirm the current rules before dispatch. Last reviewed 2026-07-30.