An IDOT permit covers Illinois’s state highways, and it stops at the Tollway. The Illinois Tollway runs its own toll roads and issues its own oversize and overweight permits. Its limits are tighter than IDOT’s. A 13-foot-wide load that IDOT handles on a routine permit is a superload on the Tollway, and an oversize load has to be off the Tollway half an hour after sunset.
The short version
IDOT’s own rule says IDOT doesn’t issue permits for the toll highways. The Illinois Tollway does, and it asks for the IDOT permit number first. The Tollway charges $15 for an over-width, over-length or over-height permit and $35 or $150 for an overweight one, billed to the carrier once a month. Oversize loads move in daylight, and on Sunday until noon; on a weekend the conditions printed on the permit decide. Permigo files the Tollway permit with the IDOT permit, for $20 per permit. Permigo read the Tollway’s pages on October 9, 2026.
IDOT’s own rules are on the Illinois page. The calculator prices a whole Illinois route. It doesn’t add the Tollway permit.
What the Tollway permit is
A Tollway permit covers one oversize or overweight vehicle on one date, from the entry to the exit printed on it. The Illinois Tollway, formally the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, runs the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90), the Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88), the Veterans Memorial Tollway (I-355), the Tri-State Tollway (I-94, I-294 and I-80) and the Illinois Route 390 Tollway. Only those tolled corridors are the Tollway’s: other stretches of I-80, I-88, I-90 and I-94 are IDOT highways.
IDOT’s rule, Section 554.312, says permits for moves over the toll highway system “are not issued by the Department.” Its permit compliance page tells haulers to get the Tollway’s permission before they move on a toll road. So a route on both needs two permits, IDOT’s and the Tollway’s. The Tollway’s overweight permit form adds that the driver carries the IDOT permit with the Tollway permit number written on top.
When you need a Tollway permit
You need one when the load is over the legal limits and the truck drives on the Tollway. The legal limits are IDOT’s: 8 feet 6 inches wide, 13 feet 6 inches high, 80,000 lb gross, 20,000 lb on a single axle and 34,000 lb on a tandem. Length is the exception: the Tollway wants a permit once the vehicle is over 100 feet or the load is over 80 feet. The weight limits guide sets Illinois’s weights beside the other states’.
Crossing is different. When an IDOT route crosses the Tollway, the Tollway says IDOT’s permit is valid and authorized by it, under a permitting process the two share. The Tollway’s own permit is for driving on the toll road.
| Limit | Tollway permit over | Tollway superload over | IDOT superload over |
|---|---|---|---|
| Width | 8 ft 6 in | 12 ft | 14 ft 6 in |
| Height | 13 ft 6 in | 14 ft 6 in | 15 ft |
| Length | 100 ft vehicle, or 80 ft load | 145 ft | 145 ft |
| Gross weight | 80,000 lb | 120,000 lb | 120,000 lb |
| Axles | 20,000 lb single, 34,000 lb tandem | 25,000 lb on any axle, 48,000 lb on a tractor tandem, 60,000 lb on a trailer tandem, or two tandems on one trailer | — |
Width is where loads get caught. Between 12 feet and 14 feet 6 inches wide, IDOT issues a routine permit, while the Tollway treats the load as a superload, reviewed case by case with three business days’ notice. Height has a hard ceiling. The Tollway’s page lists a height over 14 feet 6 inches among its usual superload triggers, and its 2010 rule, Appendix A to Part 2520, calls 14 feet 6 inches the absolute height for every vehicle. IDOT’s rule agrees that most toll roads take nothing over 12 feet wide or 14 feet 6 inches high. Plan a taller load off the Tollway.
Work zones cut the width to 10 feet: the Tollway issues no over-width permit over 10 feet wide through a construction zone, and its projects page lists where the work is. A vehicle over 110 feet overall needs escorts, under the Tollway’s rule; IDOT’s escort rules are on the pilot car guide.
When a load can move on the Tollway
Oversize loads run in daylight: from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset, Monday to Saturday, and until noon on Sunday. No oversize load moves on six holidays. An overweight load of legal size can run any hour of any day, holidays included.
| Load | Illinois Tollway | IDOT, state highways |
|---|---|---|
| Overweight, legal size | Any hour, every day, holidays included | 24 hours, 7 days |
| Oversize | Half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset, Monday to Saturday; Sunday until noon | Up to 12 ft wide, 13 ft 6 in high and 200 ft long: any hour, with a civilian escort after dark. Up to 14 ft 6 in wide, 15 ft high and 200 ft long: half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset, 7 days |
| Holidays | No oversize load on these six days: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day | Six holidays: no oversize load from noon the day before to half an hour before sunrise the day after |
Weekends have one catch. The Tollway’s page and rule allow Saturday daylight and Sunday morning, but its overweight permit form, revised in 2020, says that permit isn’t valid on weekends, or from sunset to sunrise, when the load is also oversize. The conditions printed on the permit decide, and Permigo reads them before a weekend move.
What a Tollway permit costs
The Tollway charges by the kind of permit, for one date. Its rule sets the overweight split: $35 up to 30% over the legal limit, $150 above that.
| Permit | Fee | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Over-width, over 8 ft 6 in up to 12 ft | $15 | None over 10 ft wide through a construction zone. |
| Over-length, vehicle over 100 ft or load over 80 ft | $15 | Over 110 ft overall needs escorts, under the Tollway’s rule. |
| Over-height, over 13 ft 6 in up to 14 ft 6 in | $15 | The most the Tollway takes: its rule calls 14 ft 6 in the absolute height. |
| Overweight, up to 30% over the legal limit | $35 | For example 80,001 to 104,000 lb gross on five or more axles. Each tandem group is banded the same way. |
| Overweight, more than 30% over the legal limit | $150 | For example 104,001 to 120,000 lb gross on five or more axles. |
| Superload | $150 | Reviewed case by case; three business days’ notice. |
The Tollway doesn’t take payment with the request. It bills the carrier’s account once a month, around the 15th, its permit site says. Tolls are separate. Permigo charges $20 for each permit it files.
| Load | What each charges | Tollway permit total |
|---|---|---|
| 11 ft wide, legal weight | Tollway $15; Permigo $20 | $35 |
| 100,000 lb gross on six axles, legal size, every axle group in the $35 band | Tollway $35; Permigo $20 | $55 |
| 115,000 lb gross on six axles, legal size | Tollway $150; Permigo $20 | $170 |
If one tandem group falls in a higher band than the gross, that band sets the fee. The IDOT permit is extra, with its own fee and Permigo’s $20: the cost guide lists it with the other 47 states.
What the Tollway asks of you
The IDOT permit comes first, since the Tollway asks for its number. Only carriers can hold an account in the Tollway’s online system, and its permit desk answers on weekdays, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. An overweight request goes in a day ahead, and a superload needs three business days; cranes, drill rigs and concrete pumps each get an engineering review. The permit is good only for the date on it, so another day means going back to the Tollway.
Permigo handles that part. Permigo works the Tollway’s permit desk for you and files the Tollway permit together with the IDOT permit, for $20 per permit. The Tollway account stays in your company’s name. Send the load’s dimensions, axle weights, route and date.
Get an Illinois permit quote →
Who runs what
Two agencies issue permits for Illinois’s state highways and the Tollway; cities, counties and the Chicago Skyway issue their own. Permigo checked the Tollway’s contact details below on October 9, 2026.
| Question | Who answers it |
|---|---|
| The Tollway’s fees, limits and hours | Illinois Tollway permit desk: ILTollwayPermits@getipass.com, (630) 241-6800, ext. 4847, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday; Tollway headquarters, 2700 Ogden Avenue, Downers Grove, IL 60515 |
| A permit for Illinois’s state highways | IDOT’s permit office; the Illinois page has its rules and escorts |
| Filing both | Permigo: +1 (786) 494-6912, 7am–7pm CT, seven days a week, or send a message |
Common questions
Does an IDOT permit cover the Illinois Tollway?
No. IDOT’s own rule (92 Ill. Adm. Code 554.312) says IDOT doesn’t issue permits for oversize and overweight moves on the toll highways. The Illinois Tollway issues its own, and it asks for the IDOT permit number first. A route that uses state highways and a Tollway road such as the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) or the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) needs both permits. Permigo files both, for $20 per permit.
Do I need a Tollway permit to cross the Tollway?
No. The Illinois Tollway says it and IDOT share a permitting process for IDOT routes that cross the Tollway, and that IDOT’s permit for an oversize, overweight or superload move that crosses it is valid and authorized by the Tollway. The Tollway’s own permit is for driving on the toll road.
How much does an Illinois Tollway oversize permit cost?
The Tollway charges $15 for an over-width, over-length or over-height permit. Overweight is $35 up to 30% over the legal limit and $150 above that, and a superload is $150 (the Tollway’s rule and permit page, read October 9, 2026). The Tollway bills the carrier’s account around the 15th of each month. Tolls and the IDOT permit are separate. Permigo’s fee is $20 per permit, on top.
When does an overweight load need a Tollway permit?
When it’s over IDOT’s legal weights on a Tollway road: 80,000 lb gross, 20,000 lb on a single axle or 34,000 lb on a tandem. The Tollway wants the IDOT overweight permit number first and the request a day ahead, three days if the load is outside its routine limits. A legal-size overweight load may run any hour of any day, holidays included, under the Tollway’s rule.
Can an oversize load use the Illinois Tollway on a weekend?
Yes, within limits: Saturday from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset, and Sunday until noon, under the Tollway’s rule and permit page. One caveat: the Tollway’s overweight permit form, revised in 2020, says that permit isn’t valid on weekends when the load is also oversize. The conditions printed on the permit decide.
What’s the widest load the Illinois Tollway allows?
A routine Tollway permit covers loads up to 12 feet wide. Wider loads are superloads: the Tollway reviews them case by case and wants three business days’ notice, and it publishes no maximum width. IDOT’s rule notes that most toll roads top out at 12 feet. In a construction zone the Tollway issues no over-width permit over 10 feet. IDOT’s own superload line is 14 feet 6 inches.
How does Permigo get an Illinois Tollway permit?
Permigo works the Tollway’s permit desk for the carrier and files the Tollway permit together with the IDOT permit, for $20 per permit. The Tollway account stays in the carrier’s company name, since only carriers can hold one, and the Tollway bills its fee to that account.
Who do I contact about an Illinois Tollway permit?
For questions about the Tollway’s rules, the Illinois Tollway permit desk: (630) 241-6800, ext. 4847 or ILTollwayPermits@getipass.com, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday, as the Tollway lists them (checked October 9, 2026). IDOT’s rules for the state highways are on Permigo’s Illinois page. Permigo answers at +1 (786) 494-6912 or through the contact page.