Ohio drivers hauling freight down the state's highways can now legally fill up with diesel that was never meant to leave the farm. Gov. Mike DeWine signed Executive Order 2026-05D on Wednesday, opening public roadways to dyed diesel, a fuel normally restricted to off-road equipment like tractors, construction machinery and other farm vehicles.
The order arrived as diesel prices in Ohio sat well above $6 per gallon, according to Cleveland.com, which reported the state's diesel price at $6.18 a gallon as of October 19 while the national average stood at $6.28 that same day. DeWine's office announced that he signed the order Wednesday, and according to wsaz.com, the order states that maintaining a reliable and affordable freight transportation network is essential to Ohio's economic success, agricultural productivity and manufacturing capabilities.
Dyed diesel gets its red tint specifically so law enforcement can identify fuel that has skipped the tax meant for highway use, per Cleveland.com's reporting on the underlying rules. Chemically, though, there's barely a difference between what comes out of the dyed pump and what fills up at a regular gas station, as NPR notes in its own coverage of the fuel.
A Federal Order Opened the Door First
Ohio's move follows an October 5 executive order from President Donald Trump that allowed red-dyed diesel to be used in highway vehicles nationwide and deferred the federal excise tax on diesel through the end of 2026, according to Cleveland.com. The White House fact sheet describes the order as directing federal agencies to temporarily allow off-road dyed diesel for highway use while deferring the applicable federal excise tax. The IRS followed on October 14, saying it would not penalize dyed diesel sold for or used on highways nationwide from October 1 through December 31, though as Transport Topics reported, the federal tax itself was not waived.
Crucially, the federal order did not supersede state tax laws and rules governing dyed diesel's use on public roads, per Cleveland.com. That left the actual legality of highway dyed-diesel use up to individual states, and Transport Topics likewise reports that the federal order does not override state laws prohibiting highway use. Cleveland.com reports that more than a dozen states have since relaxed their own restrictions.
Ohio Already Slashed Its Fuel Taxes
DeWine's order isn't Ohio's only recent move to ease pump pain. The state suspended its normal diesel and gasoline taxes for 90 days starting in October, according to Cleveland.com's reporting. The Ohio Department of Taxation says the reduced rate runs from 12:01 a.m. on October 4 through 11:59 p.m. on January 2, 2027, dropping the per-gallon tax from the standard 47 cents for diesel and 38.5 cents for gasoline down to one-hundredth of one cent. Overdrive reports those same dates and figures, and notes that Ohio IFTA taxpayers must still report all miles traveled and fuel purchased during the reduced-tax window.
Cleveland.com reports that DeWine's new order remains in effect until the end of 2026, aligning its timeline with the federal relief period. The governor's office did not release a separate public statement elaborating on the order beyond the executive order's own language, per Cleveland.com's account.
Why Prices Climbed So High
The backdrop to all this is a diesel market that's been under real strain. Cleveland.com notes that wars in Iran and Ukraine have been blamed for pushing fuel prices higher, and diesel hit a record $6.52 per gallon nationally around September 22, according to the same report. NPR offers more detail on the supply squeeze, pointing to disruptions tied to the Strait of Hormuz, attacks on Russian refineries, and reduced diesel exports from Russia and China as factors that have added up to limited supply. Transport Topics separately reports that diesel prices remain more than 70% above year-ago levels.
Letting dyed diesel onto highways could meaningfully soften that blow for drivers. NPR reports the combined federal and state tax savings could add up to roughly 60 cents a gallon. The federal tax itself is pegged at 24.4 cents per gallon by Overdrive, though TIME separately reports the federal highway tax on dyed diesel at 24.3 cents per gallon — a discrepancy in the two outlets' figures that hasn't been reconciled.
Ohio Joins a Growing List of States
Ohio is far from alone in loosening the rules. TIME reports that ten states — Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Texas — had already temporarily permitted dyed diesel for some on-road use before Ohio's order. Missouri went further, authorizing all motor vehicles to use dyed diesel on state highways for any purpose through December 31, according to Transport Topics. Georgia, meanwhile, suspended diesel and motor-fuel tax collection entirely and waived penalties for highway use of dyed fuel through November 5, per the same outlet.
Not every state's approach has been as clean. In South Dakota, Gov. Larry Rhoden directed the Department of Public Safety not to enforce rules against dyed diesel being driven on highways, but SDPB reports that guidance there limited on-road use to agricultural producers holding valid exemption certificates — a narrower carve-out than some truckers may have expected. South Dakota's standard undyed diesel tax sits at 28 cents a gallon, according to the same report.
Dyed diesel is typically used in off-road equipment such as farm machinery and construction vehicles, as well as other off-road trucks, per Cleveland.com. Whether Ohio's new rules will cause the same kind of confusion seen elsewhere remains to be seen, but for now, truckers and other highway drivers across the state have a legal path to cheaper fuel through the end of the year.
