11/02/2026
A permit fee that jumps 900% isn't a rounding error. It's a new line in your 2027 budget.
North Dakota is proposing to overhaul its LoadPass permit formula: instead of charging by gross weight, fees would be calculated from individual axle weights and estimated road damage. For some specialized heavy equipment hauls, like workover rigs, the proposed increases run past 900%. A tentative start date of January 1, 2027, with an industry open house scheduled for Oct. 29.
Whether or not you ever haul through North Dakota, watch what happens here. When one state rebuilds its fee formula around actual road damage, others take notice, and permit costs become a moving number instead of a fixed one.
What that means for contractors: the transport quote you got in October may not be the quote you get in February. If a project plan hinges on moving oversized or overweight equipment in 2027, get the haul scoped and permitted before the fee structure shifts underneath it.
At Ox Heavy Haul, we track the permitting landscape as closely as the routes, and we scope, permit and plan every load before dispatch, not after the truck is loaded. Fully insured, established 2020.
Serving Conroe, Montgomery, Willis, Huntsville, Pasadena, La Porte, Baytown, Katy, Brookshire, Cypress, Sugar Land, Richmond, Crosby, Liberty, Dayton, New Waverly, Cut and Shoot, Navasota, Hockley, Hempstead, Tomball, Magnolia, Spring, Oak Ridge, Humble, Kingwood, Splendora, Patton Village, Livingston, Anderson, Richards, Plantersville and Houston.
Planning a permitted move? Call 281-796-3324 or visit oxheavyhaul.com.