The South Dakota answer
Legal limits
First escort trigger
- Width
- over 10'rev. · read
- Height
- No trigger published
- Length
- No trigger published
- Rear overhang
- No trigger published
- Gross weight
- No trigger published
What the paper costs
- Single-trip base
- $25 · caveat ↓rev. · read
- Transaction / card
- None published · caveat ↓rev. · read
- How overweight is priced
- Priced by the mile · caveat ↓rev. · read
- Superload above
- The state publishes none
The short version: a South Dakota single-trip permit starts at $25 before bands, overweight and the transaction charge; an escort is first required at over 10' wide; and the load becomes a superload at a gross weight the state does not publish. Everything below carries the South Dakota document it came from, that document's own revision date, and the date we read it.
1. Where the load goes next
The jurisdictions this one borders, each chip carrying the fact that decides whether that crossing is the expensive one — so the row is itself a small comparison. A multi-state lane is the actual job, and from here it is one click per state rather than a return to an alphabetical index.
2. South Dakota legal limits
Anything over one of these needs a permit. Every value links to the document that sets it.
| Measure | Legal limit |
|---|---|
| Width | 8'6"rev. · read SDCL 32-22-3: "no motor vehicle may operate upon a public highway if the width, measured at the widest points, either of the vehicle or the load, exceeds one hundred two inches, excluding any required safety equipment." EXCLUSIVE. Note the measurement is taken "at the widest points" of the vehicle OR the load, whichever is wider, with required safety equipment excluded. Farm machinery under § 32-22-3.2 and recreation vehicles are carved out and are not freight. |
| Height | 14'rev. · read SDCL 32-22-14: "no motor vehicle may operate upon a public highway if the maximum height of the vehicle, including the load on the vehicle, exceeds fourteen feet." EXCLUSIVE, and 14 ft rather than 13 ft 6 in. Trailers carrying baled feed get 15 ft, and farm machinery and fire equipment have no height limit at all — none is general freight. |
| Semitrailer length | 53'rev. · read SDCL 32-22-8.1(1): "Fifty-three feet on the length of the semitrailer unit operating in a truck tractor-semitrailer combination". INCLUSIVE at 53 ft — the statute grants the length rather than prohibiting excess, so 53 ft exactly is permitted. Applies on the National Network and the interstate and state trunk highway systems. SDCL 32-22-5 separately caps a SINGLE vehicle at 45 ft "inclusive of front and rear bumpers", which is a straight truck and not this combination. |
| Overall length | None published |
| Kingpin to rear axle | None published |
| Front overhang | None published |
| Rear overhang | None published |
| Gross weight | 80,000 lbrev. · read The ordinary federal gross for the interstate and state trunk systems, subject to the bridge formula. DO NOT CONFUSE THIS WITH THE FEE THRESHOLDS: ARSD 70:03:01:02 sets separate, purely fiscal weight limits per axle count — 40,000 lb at two axles rising to 95,000 lb at seven or more — and those decide where the ton-mile meter starts, not whether the load is legal. A five-axle combination at 84,000 lb is overweight against this limit and accrues NO ton-mile fee, because it is under the 85,000 lb fee threshold for its axle count. |
| Single axle | 20,000 lbrev. · read The ordinary federal single-axle limit. South Dakota publishes no departure from it. |
| Tandem axle | 34,000 lbrev. · read The ordinary federal tandem limit. |
3. The South Dakota escort ladder
Not one number per dimension — the whole staircase. Each row is a condition the state actually publishes, what it requires when that condition holds, and the clause it comes from. Where a rule requires escorts and the source states no number, the row says that in the source's own words rather than reporting no requirement.
| When | What is required | Source |
|---|---|---|
| width over 10' and the move runs on one of 13 named segments (SD:us14a-spearfish-to-us85-south, SD:us85-wy-line-to-us14a, SD:us385-us16-to-us85, SD:us385-hotsprings-to-sd89-pringle, SD:sd44-us385-to-us16b, SD:sd231, SD:us16a, SD:sd244, SD:sd87, SD:sd89-custer-to-sd87, SD:sd36, SD:sd40-us16a-to-sd79, SD:sd473) | 1 certified escort1 in front |
Four limbs, two of which enumerate named high…rev. · read |
| width over 16' and the road is “interstate” | 1 certified escort1 behind |
Four limbs, two of which enumerate named high…rev. · read |
| width over 16' and the move runs on one of 7 named segments (SD:us16-keystone-wye-to-wy, SD:us14a-us85-to-i90-exit30, SD:us385-sd89-to-us16, SD:sd89-us18-to-us385-pringle, SD:sd85-deadwood-to-i90-exit17, SD:sd71-hotsprings-to-ne, SD:sd471-sd71-to-us18-edgemont) | 1 certified escort1 in front |
Four limbs, two of which enumerate named high…rev. · read |
| width over 20' | 1 certified escort |
Four limbs, two of which enumerate named high…rev. · read |
The first trigger in each dimension
| Measurement | First escort trigger | First police escort trigger |
|---|---|---|
| Width | over 10'rev. · read | None published |
| Height | None published | None published |
| Length | None published | None published |
| Rear overhang | None published | None published |
| Gross weight | None published | None published |
The same rules restated in plain sentences5 rules
- Over 16 ft wide on the interstate system — one escort, riding in the rear because the interstate is divided — Four limbs, two of which enumerate named highway segments by endpoint. The freshest South Dakota document on file. rev. · read
- Over 10 ft wide on any of the twelve named Black Hills segments — one FRONT escort, whatever the road type — Four limbs, two of which enumerate named highway segments by endpoint. The freshest South Dakota document on file. rev. · read
- Over 16 ft wide on any of the seven named regional segments — one FRONT escort, whatever the road type — Four limbs, two of which enumerate named highway segments by endpoint. The freshest South Dakota document on file. rev. · read
- Over 20 ft wide on all other state trunk highways — one escort, in front on two-lane roads and in the rear on divided roads — Four limbs, two of which enumerate named highway segments by endpoint. The freshest South Dakota document on file. rev. · read
- A load that encroaches more than 2 ft into an adjacent lane, or that leaves less than a 10 ft passing lane, requires special traffic handling — The lane-encroachment rule. Thirty-five years old and still the operative text; an old rule in force is not a stale document. rev. · read
4. South Dakota single-trip permit fees
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Single-trip base | $25rev. · read ARSD 70:03:01:02: "The permit fee for an individual single-trip permit is $25." One flat charge covering oversize, overweight or both — South Dakota uses no dimension bands. A book of ten self-issuing single-trip permits is $250, which is the same $25 apiece and must be validated with the permit centre before travel, so it is a convenience rather than a discount. State agencies, local subdivisions of this or a foreign state, and federal agencies are exempt from both the permit fee and the ton-mile fee; that exemption is recorded and not applied, because a quote does not state whether the shipper is a public body. |
| Transaction / card | None publishedrev. · read AN AFFIRMATIVE ABSENCE. No separate state processing fee, percentage surcharge or portal convenience fee is codified in ARSD 70:03:01 or in statute. The Motor Carrier Handbook describes the portal taking "credit card or escrow account" and names no surcharge either way. |
| Route analysis review | Not yet covered |
| Route with no bridges | Not yet covered |
5. How South Dakota prices overweight
Priced by the mile. ARSD 70:03:01:02: "An overweight vehicle shall be charged an additional fee of two cents for each ton or fraction of a ton that its gross weight exceeds the following weight limits, for each mile traveled on state trunk highways. This additional fee may not be less than one dollar." A per-mile mechanism, not a band and not a flat charge — and the six thresholds it then lists are selected by AXLE COUNT rather than by weight, which is why the rate rows carry an axle band.
ARSD 70:03:01:02 charges the overweight fee "for each mile traveled on state trunk highways", so the mechanism is per-mile rather than a band or a flat charge. The rate and its six axle-count thresholds are in `overweightPerMile`.The distance charge, with its rounding
Rounding is not a detail here: the same rate over the same miles can differ by a whole increment depending on which pounds are rounded and in which direction, so the rule is printed with the source's own words rather than applied silently.
| Gross weight | Axles | Rate and rounding | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40,001 lb and up | 2 | $0.02 per mile for each 2,000 lb above 40,000 lba part increment is charged in full ("or fraction thereof")minimum $1 |
The whole fee model: the $25 flat permit, the…rev. · read |
| 60,001 lb and up | 3 | $0.02 per mile for each 2,000 lb above 60,000 lba part increment is charged in full ("or fraction thereof")minimum $1 |
The whole fee model: the $25 flat permit, the…rev. · read |
| 80,001 lb and up | 4 | $0.02 per mile for each 2,000 lb above 80,000 lba part increment is charged in full ("or fraction thereof")minimum $1 |
The whole fee model: the $25 flat permit, the…rev. · read |
| 85,001 lb and up | 5 | $0.02 per mile for each 2,000 lb above 85,000 lba part increment is charged in full ("or fraction thereof")minimum $1 |
The whole fee model: the $25 flat permit, the…rev. · read |
| 90,001 lb and up | 6 | $0.02 per mile for each 2,000 lb above 90,000 lba part increment is charged in full ("or fraction thereof")minimum $1 |
The whole fee model: the $25 flat permit, the…rev. · read |
| 95,001 lb and up | 7 or more | $0.02 per mile for each 2,000 lb above 95,000 lba part increment is charged in full ("or fraction thereof")minimum $1 |
The whole fee model: the $25 flat permit, the…rev. · read |
6. South Dakota seasonal posting windows
A permit priced against an unposted-road assumption in March is simply wrong, and wrong in the expensive direction. This is the window we watch, the basis for that window in the state's own orders or statute, and the authority that posts it.
Seasonal posting
- Programme
- A statewide seasonal programmeSDDOT sets and lifts restrictions from accumulated freeze/thaw indices and field observation, and announces each change by press release and on this page.
- Posting window we watch
- 02-15 → 04-30SDCL 32-22-24 authorises a highway maintaining authority to restrict loads at any time BETWEEN FEBRUARY 15 AND APRIL 30. This is the only state in the registry whose season is fixed by statute rather than by observation, so the window is the statute verbatim.
- Issuing authority
- South Dakota Truck Info — Spring Load RestrictionsSouth Dakota Department of Transportation
The live South Dakota restriction picture, with the date we last read the bulletin →
7. South Dakota's superload threshold
Above one of these, the state stops issuing over the counter and prices the move after an engineering review.
| Trigger | Threshold |
|---|---|
| Gross weight | None published |
| Width | None published |
| Height | None published |
| Length | None published |
| Short axle spacing | Not yet covered |
8. Route survey and bridge review
The dimensions at which South Dakota triggers a physical route inspection or an engineering review, and what the agency charges to review it.
| Measurement | Inspection / review trigger |
|---|---|
| Width | Not yet covered |
| Height | Not yet covered |
| Length | Not yet covered |
9. Police escorts
Charges exist and no schedule is published. Neither the South Dakota Highway Patrol nor the Department of Public Safety publishes an escort fee schedule, hourly rate, mileage rate, administrative fee, minimum hours or cancellation charge for commercial motor carrier escorts. The Motor Carrier Handbook says only that "some permit applications require review by the Department of Transportation or the Highway Patrol" — a review of the APPLICATION, not an escort of the load, and ARSD 70:03:01:20 requires no law-enforcement escort at any width, length, height or weight. The escorts South Dakota does require are civilian pilot cars.
This is a positive finding: we searched and there is nothing to quote. It is not the same as "no police escort is ever required here".
10. When you can move it
Holiday, curfew and night-travel windows are not yet encoded for South Dakota. The seasonal picture — which is a different question — is in section 6 above.
Why those windows are absent rather than estimated
They are not guessed at here. What we do publish is the seasonal weight-restriction picture, with the date we last read each state's own bulletin — a curfew invented from a plausible pattern is worth less than an honest gap, because a reader cannot tell the two apart on the page.
11. Permit office
The agency behind each figure above is linked from that figure. We publish no per-state permit-office phone number.
Why there is no phone number here
We are not publishing per-state permit-office phone numbers yet, and the reason is worth stating: the two seed lists available for them are both demonstrably stale — the federal one gives two different states the same phone number — and a wrong number on a page like this costs somebody a morning. The agency behind each figure above is linked from that figure, which is the part we can stand behind today.
12. What this does not include
Named rather than gestured at, because each of these can exceed the permit itself. Every item is listed; open one for why it is excluded.
Line haul, fuel and driver time
This is a permit fee, not a freight rate.
Civilian pilot car rates
We hold no rate data, and the two commercial sites that publish market rates disagree by nearly a factor of two on the same service.
Route-survey engineering
The agency's review fee is shown where the state publishes one; the engineer's own fee is a private cost with no schedule.
Bonds and escrow
Set per move by the agency, and in at least one state the escort is billed at actual cost against it.
Utility coordination and line lifts
Arranged with each utility, priced by each utility.
Second-issuer permits
A toll, bridge or city authority inside the same state issues its own permit, and a state total that omits it is missing a whole permit.
Need a pilot car for this lane? Browse the pilot car & escort directory.
13. Every source behind this page (8)
Every document behind South Dakota8 sources
- ARSD 70:03:01:01 — Definitions, including the highway systems — South Dakota Administrative Rules — Defines the interstate, state highway and state trunk highway systems. The escort rules add "two-lane"/"undivided" against "divided" without defining either.
rev. · read - ARSD 70:03:01:02 — Permit fees; overweight ton-mile charge — South Dakota Administrative Rules — The whole fee model: the $25 flat permit, the $0.02 ton-mile charge, the axle-count fee thresholds, the "fraction of a ton" rounding, the $1.00 floor and the public-agency exemption.
rev. · read - ARSD 70:03:01:20 — Escort vehicles required — South Dakota Administrative Rules — Four limbs, two of which enumerate named highway segments by endpoint. The freshest South Dakota document on file.
rev. · read - ARSD 70:03:01:20.01 — Special traffic handling — South Dakota Administrative Rules — The lane-encroachment rule. Thirty-five years old and still the operative text; an old rule in force is not a stale document.
rev. · read - SDCL 32-22-14 — Maximum height of vehicles — South Dakota Legislature — The freshest of the three legal-limit statutes.
rev. · read - SDCL 32-22-3 — Maximum width of vehicles — South Dakota Legislature — The state's own statute host. Corroborated by the SD Motor Carrier Handbook chapter 5.
rev. · read - SDCL 32-22-8.1 — Semitrailer length; no other length limitation — South Dakota Legislature — Carries the express negative that makes `overallLengthIn` absent: "No other length limitation may be imposed on the vehicles described in this section."
rev. · read - South Dakota Motor Carrier Handbook, chapter 6 — Permits — South Dakota Department of Transportation — The operational document. Source of the processing-queue thresholds, the 10% overweight cap and the triple-axle-width rule.
rev. · read
Questions
How much is an oversize permit in South Dakota?
The single-trip base is $25, before the dimension bands, the overweight component and the transaction charge. The base alone is rarely what is paid.
When does South Dakota require a pilot car?
The first width trigger is over 10'.
What is a superload in South Dakota?
South Dakota publishes no gross-weight superload threshold in the documents on file — see the superload section, which shows the dimensional triggers it does publish.