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Arizona trucking rules

Fees, CDL costs, weight and size limits, chain laws and new bills for truckers and trucking companies in Arizona. Updated 2026-10-24.

Must-know rules · Weight, oversize & chains · Fees · Bills

Must-know rules

Arizona caps trucks over 26,000 lb at 65 mph, and it runs mandatory ADOT ports of entry that check registration, fuel-tax credentials, weight and permits. It also has a hazmat-restricted I-10 Deck Tunnel in Phoenix with I-17 as the posted alternate. I could not confirm official Arizona rules on winter chain/traction devices or idling limits, so they are left out.

Researched by our AI agent from the linked sources on 2026-10-21. Always confirm with the source.

• Must knowTruck speed limit

  Unless a lower limit is posted, a vehicle or combination with declared gross weight over 26,000 lb may not exceed 65 mph. Buses carrying 16 or more people are excluded. ADOT may set a higher limit on a highway after an engineering study, with signs posted.

  ARS 28-709 - Maximum speed limit for large vehicles and vehicles with trailers
• Must knowOversize/overweight Class A permit

  Class A covers non-reducible, specifically described loads up to 14 ft wide, 16 ft high, 120 ft long and 250,000 lb combined weight. The vehicle must be currently registered for 80,000 lb. It is valid only on state routes. ADOT's two pages differ on validity. One page says single trip, 30 days or annual. The general page says single trip or 30 days.

  ADOT Oversize/Overweight Permits

Weight limits, oversize permits and chain laws

Arizona uses the standard 8.5 ft width, 13.5 ft height and 80,000 lb gross limits, with a 57 ft 6 in semitrailer cap. A Class A single-trip oversize permit is only $15 through ADOT. I found no mandatory truck chain-carry season or chain-control law. Chains are only permitted when needed for safety. I did not find any frost-law or seasonal weight-restriction rules in the sources I searched.

Weight limits

80,000 lb gross, 20,000 lb single axle, 34,000 lb tandem
ARS 28-1100 sets 20,000 lb on any one axle and 34,000 lb on a tandem axle, both including enforcement tolerances. It also sets 80,000 lb for a vehicle combination of five or more axles. Axle groups of two or more consecutive axles are limited by a bridge formula, W = 500(LN/(N-1) + 12N + 36). Two consecutive tandem sets may carry 34,000 lb each if the first-to-last axle distance is 36 ft or more a
ADOT issues Class A oversize/overweight permits for loads within set size and weight limits. The load must be nonreducible. Permits are single-trip, 30-day or annual, and cover state routes only. Fees: oversize/overweight single-trip $75, 30-day $75, annual $600. Beyond Class A, ADOT issues Class C special permits for specific nonreducible vehicles or loads over the Class A limits. ADOT requires a Source

Legal size without a permit

8 ft 6 in wide, 13 ft 6 in high, 57 ft 6 in semitrailer
Single-trip oversize permit: $15 from ADOT Motor Vehicle Division, Enforcement and Compliance Division, Commercial Vehicle Permits (Arizona Central Commercial Permits Office), applied for online thr
ADOT's rule table sets the no-permit limits at 8 ft 6 in wide (8 ft on routes with a further width restriction) and 14 ft high (13 ft 6 in on routes with a further height restriction). The statute sets 13 ft 6 in as the height limit without a permit. A semitrailer in a tractor-semitrailer combination may not exceed 57 ft 6 in. If the semitrailer is longer than 53 ft, the whole combination is cappe Source

Chain law

No chain law for trucks
Arizona's tire statute only permits tire chains of reasonable proportions when needed for safety because of snow, ice or other skid-causing conditions. I found no truck-specific chain-carry season, designated chain-control roads, or fine. One secondary source says ADOT tells drivers to use snow tires, chains or studded tires when recommended or required on snowy roads. I could not verify that on A Source

• Must knowBridge formula / consecutive axles

  Weight on any group of two or more consecutive axles is limited by W = 500(LN/(N-1) + 12N + 36). The statute carves out an exception for two consecutive tandem sets spaced 36 ft or more apart, within 80,000 lb. For these limits, tandem axles are consecutive axles more than 40 inches but not more than 96 inches apart.

  ARS 28-1100

Fees and DOT requirements

Arizona's state CDL fees are low. Truck registration is set by declared gross weight, and an 80,000 lb tractor-trailer also faces a large separate highway use fee. I could not find an official fee or certificate for intrastate-only for-hire carriers. ADOT only says to confirm your operating authority with it, so call ADOT before you haul.

Class B CDL

$25 for 8 years (about $3.12 a year)
$25 for a new or transferred Class A or B CDL, a $25 Class A/B learner permit and a $25 road/skills test. Renewal is $15 ($25 for a Travel ID). Endorsement knowledge tests are about $10 each, with $5 for a passenger endorsement added to an existing CDL, per a third-party summary and the ADOT FAQ. I Source

Class A CDL

$25 for 8 years (about $3.12 a year)
ADOT charges the same fees for Class A and Class B. New or transfer is $25, the learner permit is $25 and the skills test is $25. Renewal is $15 ($25 for Travel ID). Arizona CDLs are valid for up to 8 years. Endorsement test fees are about $10 each, per third-party sources. The ADOT FAQ confirms onl Source

Registration, 26,001 lb straight truck

$292 a year Source

Registration, 80,000 lb combination

$922 a year Source

How registration is figured

The owner declares the maximum gross weight at which the vehicle will operate and pays the matching weight fee from a table. The statute (A.R.S. 28-5433) adds a $4 commercial registration fee to the weight fee. The table gives a 26,001-28,000 lb weight fee of $288 (ADOT table), so 288 + 4 = $292 bef
These are NOT total registration costs. ADOT lists the Arizona fees as the registration fee, vehicle license tax, commercial registration fee, weight fee, motor carrier fee, use fee and air quality diesel fee. I could not confirm dollar amounts for the registration fee, vehicle license tax, motor carrier fee or diesel fee, or how they apply to each truck. A.R.S. 28-5471 sets a highway use fee that Source

Intrastate operating authority

Not clearly defined in official sources I could retrieve. ADOT refers only to confirming the correct 'operating authorit. unclear, depends on the type of operation; see source.
ADOT says carriers operating only in Arizona are intrastate carriers with no safety audit, but should call ADOT at 602.712.4388 to make sure the correct operating authority is on their company profile. I found no official state fee schedule, certificate or permit for intrastate-only for-hire carriers, so the fee and renewal period are unknown. I also could not confirm whether a separate state cert Source

State DOT requirements

• Must knowUSDOT number for intrastate carriers

  ADOT says you need a USDOT number if you haul for revenue, or for your own business, with a vehicle over 26,000 lb GVWR in intrastate commerce (over 10,000 lb in interstate commerce). Arizona DPS rule R17-5-203 (effective 2007) requires certain CMVs to get a USDOT number for intrastate travel.

  Commercial Vehicle Registration - ADOT MVD

See all 7 DOT requirements with full access

Fees change; confirm with the linked state source. Compare all states.

New Arizona trucking bills

Enacted signed into law · Pending still moving through the legislature · Did not pass

• Pending AZ HB2443: Commercial driver license; English proficiency Senate read second time · 2026-03-10

Bill data from LegiScan (CC BY 4.0).