2007 Minnesota Statutes

169.86 SPECIAL PERMIT TO EXCEED HEIGHT, WIDTH, OR LOAD; FEES.
    Subdivision 1. Permit authorities; restrictions. (a) The commissioner, with respect to
highways under the commissioner's jurisdiction, and local authorities, with respect to highways
under their jurisdiction, may, in their discretion, upon application in writing and good cause
being shown therefor, issue a special permit, in writing, authorizing the applicant to move a
vehicle or combination of vehicles of a size or weight of vehicle or load exceeding the maximum
specified in this chapter, or otherwise not in conformity with the provisions of this chapter, upon
any highway under the jurisdiction of the party granting such permit and for the maintenance
of which such party is responsible.
(b) Permits relating to over-width, over-length manufactured homes shall not be issued to
persons other than manufactured home dealers or manufacturers for movement of new units
owned by the manufactured home dealer or manufacturer, until the person has presented a
statement from the county auditor and treasurer where the unit is presently located, stating that all
personal and real property taxes have been paid. Upon payment of the most recent single year
delinquent personal property or current year taxes only, the county auditor or treasurer must issue
a taxes paid statement to a manufactured home dealer or a financial institution desiring to relocate
a manufactured home that has been repossessed. This statement must be dated within 30 days of
the contemplated move. The statement from the county auditor and treasurer where the unit is
presently located, stating that all personal and real property taxes have been paid, may be made by
telephone. If the statement is obtained by telephone, the permit shall contain the date and time of
the telephone call and the names of the persons in the auditor's office and treasurer's office who
verified that all personal and real property taxes had been paid.
(c) The commissioner may not grant a permit authorizing the movement, in a three-vehicle
combination, of a semitrailer or trailer that exceeds 28-1/2 feet, except that the commissioner (1)
may renew a permit that was granted before April 16, 1984, for the movement of a semitrailer
or trailer that exceeds the length limitation in section 169.81, subdivision 2, or (2) may grant a
permit authorizing the transportation of empty trailers that exceed 28-1/2 feet when using a
B-train hitching mechanism as defined in Code of Federal Regulations, title 23, section 658.5,
paragraph (o), from a point of manufacture in the state to the state border.
(d) The state as to state trunk highways, a statutory or home rule charter city as to streets
in the city, or a town as to roads in the town, may issue permits authorizing the transportation
of combinations of vehicles exceeding the limitations in section 169.81, subdivisions 2a and 3,
over highways, streets, or roads within its boundaries. Combinations of vehicles authorized by
this paragraph may be restricted as to the use of state trunk highways by the commissioner, to
the use of streets by the city road authority, and to the use of roads by the town road authority.
Nothing in this paragraph or section 169.81, subdivisions 2a and 3, alters or changes the authority
vested in local authorities under section 169.04.
    Subd. 1a. Seasonal permits for certain haulers. The commissioner of transportation, upon
application in writing therefor, may issue special permits annually to any hauler authorizing the
hauler to move vehicles or combinations of vehicles with weights exceeding by not more than ten
percent the weight limitations contained in sections 169.822 to 169.829, on interstate highways
during the times and within the zones specified in sections 169.822 to 169.829.
    Subd. 1b. Permit for snowplowing vehicle. The commissioner or a local authority may
issue an annual permit to a person that authorizes the person to operate on any highway under
the jurisdiction of the grantor of the permit, a motor vehicle bearing a snowplow blade that
when deployed does not exceed ten feet in width. The permit authorizes operation of the vehicle
between October 1 and April 1.
    Subd. 2. Required information. The application for a permit shall specifically describe in
writing the vehicle or vehicles and loads to be moved and the particular highways and period of
time for which a permit is requested.
    Subd. 3. Authority to issue permit; conditions, financial responsibility. The commissioner
or local authority may issue or withhold such permit; or, if such permit is issued, limit or prescribe
conditions of operation of such vehicle or vehicles, when necessary to assure against undue
damage to the road foundations, surfaces or structures, and may require such undertaking or other
security as may be deemed necessary to compensate for any injury or damage to any roadway or
road structure, and in addition may require that the operator or owner of such vehicle or vehicles
have in effect with respect to the operation of such vehicle or vehicles a policy of liability
insurance or bond affording substantially the same coverage with respect to injury to persons
and damage to property as is required for proof of financial responsibility under the No-Fault
Automobile Insurance Act, sections 65B.14 and 65B.41 to 65B.71.
    Subd. 3a. Denial of permit; manufactured home frames. The commissioner or local
authority may not deny a permit for the transport to a manufacturing plant of manufactured
home frames not more than 15-1/2 feet in width during periods of seasonal weight restrictions
unless the load exceeds the weight restrictions.
    Subd. 4. Display and inspection of permit. Every such permit shall be carried in the vehicle
or combination of vehicles to which it refers and shall be open to inspection by any police officer
or authorized agent of any authority granting such permit, and no person shall violate any of the
terms or conditions of such special permit.
    Subd. 5. Fee; proceeds deposited; appropriation. The commissioner, with respect to
highways under the commissioner's jurisdiction, may charge a fee for each permit issued. All
such fees for permits issued by the commissioner of transportation shall be deposited in the state
treasury and credited to the trunk highway fund. Except for those annual permits for which the
permit fees are specified elsewhere in this chapter, the fees shall be:
(a) $15 for each single trip permit.
(b) $36 for each job permit. A job permit may be issued for like loads carried on a specific
route for a period not to exceed two months. "Like loads" means loads of the same product,
weight, and dimension.
(c) $60 for an annual permit to be issued for a period not to exceed 12 consecutive months.
Annual permits may be issued for:
(1) motor vehicles used to alleviate a temporary crisis adversely affecting the safety or
well-being of the public;
(2) motor vehicles which travel on interstate highways and carry loads authorized under
subdivision 1a;
(3) motor vehicles operating with gross weights authorized under section 169.826,
subdivision 1a ;
(4) special pulpwood vehicles described in section 169.863;
(5) motor vehicles bearing snowplow blades not exceeding ten feet in width; and
(6) noncommercial transportation of a boat by the owner or user of the boat.
(d) $120 for an oversize annual permit to be issued for a period not to exceed 12 consecutive
months. Annual permits may be issued for:
(1) mobile cranes;
(2) construction equipment, machinery, and supplies;
(3) manufactured homes and manufactured storage buildings;
(4) implements of husbandry when the movement is not made according to the provisions
of paragraph (i);
(5) double-deck buses;
(6) commercial boat hauling; and
(7) three-vehicle combinations consisting of two empty, newly manufactured trailers for
cargo, horses, or livestock, not to exceed 28-1/2 feet per trailer; provided, however, the permit
allows the vehicles to be moved from a trailer manufacturer to a trailer dealer only while operating
on twin-trailer routes designated under section 169.81, subdivision 3, paragraph (c).
(e) For vehicles which have axle weights exceeding the weight limitations of sections
169.822 to 169.829, an additional cost added to the fees listed above. However, this paragraph
applies to any vehicle described in section 168.013, subdivision 3, paragraph (b), but only when
the vehicle exceeds its gross weight allowance set forth in that paragraph, and then the additional
cost is for all weight, including the allowance weight, in excess of the permitted maximum axle
weight. The additional cost is equal to the product of the distance traveled times the sum of the
overweight axle group cost factors shown in the following chart:

Overweight Axle Group Cost Factors

Weight (pounds)		Cost Per Mile For Each Group Of:
exceeding weight limitations on axles		Two consecutive axles spaced within 8 feet or less		Three consecutive axles spaced within 9 feet or less		Four consecutive axles spaced within 14 feet or less
0-2,000		.12		.05		.04
2,001-4,000		.14		.06		.05
4,001-6,000		.18		.07		.06
6,001-8,000		.21		.09		.07
8,001-10,000		.26		.10		.08
10,001-12,000		.30		.12		.09
12,001-14,000		Not permitted		.14		.11
14,001-16,000		Not permitted		.17		.12
16,001-18,000		Not permitted		.19		.15
18,001-20,000		Not permitted		Not permitted		.16
20,001-22,000		Not permitted		Not permitted		.20

The amounts added are rounded to the nearest cent for each axle or axle group. The additional
cost does not apply to paragraph (c), clauses (1) and (3).
For a vehicle found to exceed the appropriate maximum permitted weight, a cost-per-mile fee of
22 cents per ton, or fraction of a ton, over the permitted maximum weight is imposed in addition
to the normal permit fee. Miles must be calculated based on the distance already traveled in the
state plus the distance from the point of detection to a transportation loading site or unloading site
within the state or to the point of exit from the state.
(f) As an alternative to paragraph (e), an annual permit may be issued for overweight, or
oversize and overweight, construction equipment, machinery, and supplies. The fees for the
permit are as follows:

Gross Weight (pounds) of Vehicle		Annual Permit Fee
90,000	or less	$200
90,001	- 100,000	$300
100,001	- 110,000	$400
110,001	- 120,000	$500
120,001	- 130,000	$600
130,001	- 140,000	$700
140,001	- 145,000	$800

If the gross weight of the vehicle is more than 145,000 pounds the permit fee is determined
under paragraph (e).
(g) For vehicles which exceed the width limitations set forth in section 169.80 by more than
72 inches, an additional cost equal to $120 added to the amount in paragraph (a) when the permit
is issued while seasonal load restrictions pursuant to section 169.87 are in effect.
(h) $85 for an annual permit to be issued for a period not to exceed 12 months, for
refuse-compactor vehicles that carry a gross weight of not more than: 22,000 pounds on a single
rear axle; 38,000 pounds on a tandem rear axle; or, subject to section 169.828, subdivision 2,
46,000 pounds on a tridem rear axle. A permit issued for up to 46,000 pounds on a tridem rear
axle must limit the gross vehicle weight to not more than 62,000 pounds.
(i) For vehicles exclusively transporting implements of husbandry, an annual permit fee
of $24. A vehicle operated under a permit authorized by this paragraph may be moved at the
discretion of the permit holder without prior route approval by the commissioner if:
(1) the total width of the transporting vehicle, including load, does not exceed 14 feet;
(2) the vehicle is operated only between sunrise and 30 minutes after sunset, and is not
operated at any time after 12:00 noon on Sundays or holidays;
(3) the vehicle is not operated when visibility is impaired by weather, fog, or other conditions
that render persons and other vehicles not clearly visible at 500 feet;
(4) the vehicle displays at the front and rear of the load or vehicle a pair of flashing amber
lights, as provided in section 169.59, subdivision 4, whenever the overall width of the vehicle
exceeds 126 inches; and
(5) the vehicle is not operated on a trunk highway with a surfaced roadway width of less
than 24 feet unless such operation is authorized by the permit.
A permit under this paragraph authorizes movements of the permitted vehicle on an interstate
highway, and movements of 75 miles or more on other highways.
(j) $300 for a motor vehicle described in section 169.8261. The fee under this paragraph
must be deposited as follows:
(1) in fiscal years 2005 through 2010:
(i) the first $50,000 in each fiscal year must be deposited in the trunk highway fund for costs
related to administering the permit program and inspecting and posting bridges;
(ii) all remaining money in each fiscal year must be deposited in a bridge inspection
and signing account in the special revenue fund. Money in the account is appropriated to the
commissioner for:
(A) inspection of local bridges and identification of local bridges to be posted, including
contracting with a consultant for some or all of these functions; and
(B) erection of weight-posting signs on local bridges; and
(2) in fiscal year 2011 and subsequent years must be deposited in the trunk highway fund.
(k) Beginning August 1, 2006, $200 for an annual permit for a vehicle operating under
authority of section 169.824, subdivision 2, paragraph (a), clause (2).
    Subd. 6. Articulated bus. Articulated buses operated by public transit operators may exceed
the length and weight limitations of this chapter, subject only to an annual permit from the
commissioner for such operation, and shall not be subject to any city ordinance or to any permit
from any local road authority. The application for a permit shall contain such information as may
be required by the commissioner.
    Subd. 7. Agreement with other state. (a) On behalf of the state of Minnesota, the
commissioner may enter into agreements with authorized representatives of other states for the
reciprocal administration and granting of permits to allow the movement of vehicles of sizes and
weights that do not conform to Minnesota law. The agreement may authorize representatives
of other states to issue permits to allow vehicles that do not conform to the size and weight
provisions of this chapter to travel on highways under the jurisdiction of the commissioner.
(b) An agreement entered into under paragraph (a), and all amendments to it, must be
in writing and may provide for exchanging information for audit and enforcement activities,
collecting fees established under this chapter, and distributing fees collected under the agreement.
It must state that no permit issued under the agreement excuses a vehicle operator from
compliance with a law of this state other than the laws governing size and weight of vehicles.
(c) For purposes of paragraphs (a) and (b), "state" means a state, territory, or possession
of the United States, the District of Columbia, a foreign country, and a state or province of a
foreign country.
(d) Fees collected under authority of the agreement must be deposited in the Minnesota state
treasury and credited to the trunk highway fund.
History: (2720-278) 1937 c 464 s 128; 1943 c 226 s 4; 1953 c 307 s 1; 1967 c 262 s 1; 1973
c 549 s 3; 1974 c 110 s 1; 1974 c 408 s 32 subd 4; 1976 c 166 s 7; 1976 c 343 s 1; 1977 c 248 s
10; 1977 c 454 s 17; 1981 c 321 s 8; 1981 c 348 s 2; 1981 c 365 s 9; 1982 c 617 s 14; 1983 c 198
s 6; 1983 c 293 s 67; 1984 c 523 s 1; 1985 c 132 s 1; 1986 c 398 art 13 s 11,12; 1986 c 444;
1988 c 544 s 3; 1989 c 250 s 3; 1989 c 299 s 1; 1990 c 604 art 3 s 6; 1991 c 333 s 20; 1992 c
578 s 11; 1993 c 182 s 2; 1993 c 187 s 19; 1996 c 289 s 7; 1997 c 114 s 1,2; 1998 c 254 art 1 s
61; 2002 c 364 s 17; 2002 c 371 art 3 s 8; 1Sp2003 c 19 art 2 s 37; 2004 c 225 s 1; 2004 c 295
art 1 s 12; 1Sp2005 c 6 art 3 s 52