Arkansas Oversize Load Permits: Fees, Escorts, Hours

What Are Arkansas’s Legal Size Limits?

The table at the start of ARDOT’s permit rules sets the limits a load can reach without a permit:

Length is set by trailer length in state law rather than one overall number. Anything past these limits needs a permit before it moves (Rule 3.D.6 of the over-dimensional rules says permits must be obtained in advance).

How Do You Get An Arkansas Oversize Permit?

Rule 2.B.1 lets you apply in writing, in person, by phone, by fax or through ARPARS, the Arkansas Routing and Permitting System. The Permit Section is staffed from 6:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and is closed weekends and major holidays.

“the fee for a permit to move an over dimensional vehicle or load is seventeen dollars ($17).”

No bond is required for an over-dimensional permit (Rule 3.C.1). The permit itself names the route, the travel times and the type and number of escorts (Rule 3.D.2), so read those lines before you roll. Overweight loads pay the separate overweight charges listed in the rules’ fee chart.

When Does Arkansas Require An Escort?

Rule 3.E sets the width escorts and Rule 3.F the height escort:

• 12 to 14 feet wide on roads that are not controlled-access or four-lane divided: one escort in front (Rule 3.E.5).
• Over 14 feet wide on those roads: one escort in front and one behind (Rule 3.E.6).
• Over 14 feet wide on a controlled-access, four-lane divided highway: one escort behind, about 200 feet back (Rule 3.E.4).
• Over 15 feet high: a front escort with a clearance bar set 6 inches above the permitted height (Rule 3.F.2).
• 100 feet long or more: one escort, following on Interstates and four-lane divided highways and leading on other roads (Rule 6.E.1.a).
• Over 115 feet long on highways with fewer than four lanes: two escorts, one leading and one following (Rule 6.E.1.b).

The maximum permitted width is 18 feet on Interstates and 20 feet on other highways (Rules 3.E.3 and 3.E.1). A Highway Police officer of command rank can add escorts (Rule 3.E.7). Over 17 feet high you also need written agreements from the owners of overhead lines and signals along the route (Rule 3.F.3).

When Can An Oversize Load Move In Arkansas?

Permits are issued for daylight movement only, as defined by the National Weather Service (Rule 2.E.2). A permit is not valid when visibility is under 500 feet or in hard rain, freezing rain, sleet or snow (Rule 2.E.3), and movement may be restricted in winds or gusts over 20 knots (Rule 2.E.4).

In Little Rock, Rule 2.E.1 bars oversize movement from 7 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. on I-30 (mile markers 138 to 143), I-40 (151 to 155) and all of I-630. The rule does not limit this to weekdays.

Saturday and Sunday moves are allowed unless a restricted holiday applies (Rule 3.D.7). No permits are issued for movement on New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day (Rule 2.E.6). When one of those is observed on a Friday, the weekend after it is closed too; when observed on a Monday, the weekend before it (Rule 2.E.7). Christmas 2026 and New Year’s Day 2027 both fall on Fridays, so each closes Friday through Sunday.

What Signs And Flags Does Arkansas Require?

A load over legal width, height or length carries an OVERSIZE LOAD sign on the front and back, with black letters at least 10 inches high on a yellow background, and 18-inch red or fluorescent orange flags on all four corners of the load (Rules 3.D.3 and 3.D.4). Keep at least 1,000 feet between two permitted loads (Rule 3.D.1). See the Arkansas signs, flags and lights guide for escort vehicle equipment.

What Is A Superload In Arkansas?

Rule 2.I.1 treats as a superload any load of 180,000 pounds or more, more than 16 feet 6 inches wide, 100 feet or longer overall, or 15 feet 6 inches high or more. Those permits are discretionary, may require an engineering review, and the application has to arrive early enough for it (Rule 2.I.2).

Where Does RouteAll Fit?

RouteAll does not issue or approve permits. Once Arkansas issues yours, upload the PDF and RouteAll lists every road it read, so you can check them against the permit, then warns you if you leave them. One free trip every month covers up to six state permits.

Before You Roll

• Check the permit’s route, travel times and escort lines against the load you measured.
• Plan the Little Rock stretches outside 7 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m.
• Count back from the holiday calendar: a Friday holiday closes the weekend after it.
• Over 15 feet high, line up a front escort with a clearance bar before pickup.

Common Questions

How much is an oversize permit in Arkansas?

Seventeen dollars for an over-dimensional load, under Rule 3.C.2 of ARDOT’s 2023 Permit Rules, with no bond required. Overweight moves pay the extra charges in the rules’ overweight fee chart. Checked November 12, 2026.

Can oversize loads travel at night in Arkansas?

No. Rule 2.E.2 says permits are issued for movement during daylight hours only, as established by the National Weather Service. Weekend daylight moves are allowed unless a restricted holiday applies.

When do you need a pilot car in Arkansas?

From 12 to 14 feet wide on roads that are not four-lane divided, one escort in front. Over 14 feet, one in front and one behind on those roads, or one behind on a four-lane divided highway. Over 15 feet high, a front escort with a clearance bar. At 100 feet long or more, one escort, and over 115 feet on roads with fewer than four lanes, two.