Do You Need an Oversize Permit? The 4 Numbers That Decide

By Whitney S. Johnson, CEO of RouteAll 4 years running height pole, mostly east coast, escorting data center equipment Last verified September 8, 2026

Four numbers decide whether you need an oversize permit: width, height, length and weight. Wider than 8 feet 6 inches (8'6"), or taller than 13 feet 6 inches or 14 feet by state, needs a permit. So does a load longer than the state limit or heavier than 80,000 pounds gross. One number over is enough.

Each section below links the source for its number, then the curfews that ride with the permit, then the five states that surprise people.

Key takeaways

Width limit is 102 inches (8 feet 6 inches) on the National Network under 23 CFR 658.15.
Height limit is 13 feet 6 inches in Florida, New York and Louisiana; 14 feet in Texas, Utah and New Mexico.
Weight limit is 80,000 pounds gross, 20,000 per single axle, 34,000 per tandem, under 23 CFR 658.17.
New York's statute reads 96 inches wide plus safety devices, not 102, so check which highway you are on.
Utah's curfew bans loads over 10 feet wide from the Wasatch Front 6 to 9 a.m. and 3:30 to 6 p.m. on weekdays.
Five states surprise crews most in Whitney's experience: Florida, Utah, New York, Louisiana and New Mexico.

Four numbers decide whether you need an oversize permit. Width: anything over eight feet six inches needs a permit in every state in this guide, because the federal limit on the National Network is one hundred and two inches. Height is next. Florida, New York and Louisiana stop at thirteen feet six inches, while Texas, Utah and New Mexico allow fourteen feet. Length is state law and depends on the vehicle type. Weight: eighty thousand pounds gross, twenty thousand on a single axle, thirty-four thousand on a tandem. One number over is enough. The part people get wrong is not the numbers. It is the curfews that come with the permit. Utah's weekday curfew starts at six in the morning, and New York permits do not cover weekends or nights unless the permit says so. Read the hours on the permit before you read the roads.

When do you need an oversize permit?

Four numbers decide whether you need an oversize permit: width, height, length and weight. Wider than 8 feet 6 inches, or taller than 13 feet 6 inches or 14 feet by state, needs a permit. So does a load longer than the state limit or heavier than 80,000 pounds gross. One number over is enough.

Four independent tests, not a combined score. Exceed any one of them and the load needs a permit — the other three being legal does not help.

Measure the load, not the trailer, because the load is what hits the bridge.

Is it wider than 8 feet 6 inches?

Then you need a permit in every state in this guide. Federal rule 23 CFR 658.15 fixes the width limit on the National Network at 102 inches, which is 8 feet 6 inches. Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Utah and New Mexico use the same number in state law. Louisiana and New York exclude safety devices, and New Mexico excludes mirrors.

“No State shall impose a width limitation of more or less than 102 inches, or its approximate metric equivalent, 2.6 meters (102.36 inches) on a vehicle operating on the National Network.”
23 CFR 658.15(a). Verified September 2026.

Width is the classic trigger because it is the one number a federal rule fixes. The state statutes repeat it: Texas 621.201, Florida 316.515(1), Louisiana RS 32:380, Utah R909-2-4 and New Mexico 66-7-402 all say 102 inches or 8 feet 6 inches.

Warning. New York's own statute, Vehicle and Traffic Law 385(1), says a vehicle “shall be not more than ninety-six inches plus safety devices.” Do not assume 102 inches is legal on every New York road.

Is it taller than 13 feet 6 inches?

Then you need a permit in Florida, New York and Louisiana, which stop at 13 feet 6 inches. Texas, Utah and New Mexico allow 14 feet. Louisiana allows 14 feet only on the interstate. Height is set by each state, so a load legal in Texas can be oversize the moment it crosses into Louisiana.

Height is where a state line changes the answer, and the table below shows the split: three states at 13 feet 6 inches, three at 14 feet.

State	Legal height	Legal width	Source
Florida	13 feet 6 inches	102 inches	s. 316.515
New York	13 feet 6 inches	96 inches plus safety devices	VTL 385
Louisiana	13 feet 6 inches; 14 feet on the interstate only	102 inches	RS 32:381, RS 32:380
Texas	14 feet	102 inches	621.207, 621.201
Utah	14 feet	8 feet 6 inches	R909-2-4
New Mexico	14 feet 6 inches is the ceiling for a continuous-movement permit; legal height not verified here	8 feet 6 inches	18.19.8 NMAC, 66-7-402

Three facts to hold. Louisiana's 14 feet applies only when you stay on the interstate, and the same statute makes the owner liable for any structure the load touches. New York's 13 feet 6 inches is measured from the underside of the tire. New Mexico's legal height was not verified for this guide; the permit ceiling for continuous movement is 14 feet 6 inches.

Is it longer than your state's limit?

Length is state law and the limit depends on the vehicle type. New York allows 40 feet for a single vehicle and 48 feet for a semitrailer. Florida allows 48 feet for a semitrailer, or 57 feet under conditions. Utah allows 45 feet for a single motor vehicle; check your state's statute before you assume.

New York: a single vehicle, inclusive of load and bumpers, is limited to 40 feet; a semitrailer to 48 feet (VTL 385(3)).
Florida: a straight truck is limited to 40 feet; a semitrailer to 48 feet, or up to 57 feet with proper underride protection (s. 316.515(3)).
Utah: a single motor vehicle is limited to 45 feet; combinations run longer by type, up to 97 feet for a saddle mount (R909-2-4).

Overall combination length has more exceptions than any other number.

Measure bumper to bumper, including overhang, and compare it to the row for your vehicle type.

Is it heavier than 80,000 pounds?

Then you need an overweight permit. Federal rule 23 CFR 658.17 sets 80,000 pounds gross, 20,000 pounds on a single axle and 34,000 pounds on tandem axles on the Interstate System. The Bridge Formula can lower the gross figure. Overweight and oversize are different numbers; check whether your state issues one permit or two.

“The maximum gross vehicle weight shall be 80,000 pounds except where lower gross vehicle weight is dictated by the bridge formula.” “The maximum gross weight upon any one axle, including any one axle of a group of axles, or a vehicle is 20,000 pounds.” “The maximum gross weight on tandem axles is 34,000 pounds.”
23 CFR 658.17(b), (c), (d). Verified September 2026.

Weight is checked at the scale, not at the bridge.

A load under every size limit can still need a permit on weight alone. In Texas and New York, an overweight-only load has fewer time restrictions than an oversize one.

What do people get wrong?

The curfews, says Whitney S. Johnson, who runs height pole on the east coast. A permit tells you which roads; the curfew tells you which hours. Utah's weekday curfew starts at 6 a.m., and New York permits do not authorize weekends or nights unless the permit says so.

Five states write their curfews in five places, and the table links each one; Utah's is the earliest and New York's the broadest.

State	Curfew	Applies to	Source
Utah	Weekdays 6 to 9 a.m. and 3:30 to 6 p.m.	Loads over 10 feet wide, 105 feet long or 14 feet 6 inches high on the Wasatch Front	R909-2-12
New Mexico	Weekdays 7 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. in Albuquerque and Rio Rancho; 7 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. in Santa Fe and Las Cruces	Permitted loads inside those city limits; daylight runs 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset	18.19.8.26 NMAC
New York	No movement from one-half hour after sunset to one-half hour before sunrise; no Saturdays, Sundays or six listed holidays unless the permit says so	All special hauling permits; loads within 12 feet wide and 85 feet long may move until noon on Saturday	17 NYCRR 154-1.2(a)
Louisiana	New Orleans Mississippi River bridges closed 6:30 to 9 a.m. and 3:30 to 6 p.m.; most permitted loads cannot move at night or on designated holidays	Vehicles requiring oversize permits	LAC 73:I.309(D)
Texas	Daytime only, plus curfews the department publishes	Permitted vehicles, with exceptions for overweight-only loads and small interstate loads	43 TAC 219.11(l)

Utah's starts at 6 a.m., an hour before most. New York's permit covers weekday daylight and nothing else by default. Albuquerque's runs to 7 p.m., an hour later than New Mexico's other cities.

Where are Florida's curfews?

In Rule 14-26.012, Florida Administrative Code, and on the face of the permit. We could not fetch the rule text for this guide, so the hours are not printed here. Breaking an operational stipulation on a Florida permit costs up to $1,000 per violation under s. 316.550(10)(c), and the permit is declared null and void.

The rule is indexed at flrules.org, Rule 14-26.012, and the penalty at s. 316.550(10). Travel rules sit in the block of the permit that drivers misread most; see how to read a Texas TxDMV oversize permit for where to look.

Which states surprise people?

Florida, Utah, New York, Louisiana and New Mexico, in Whitney's experience. Florida voids the permit on any violated condition, and Utah's curfew starts at 6 a.m. New York's statute says 96 inches wide, and Louisiana allows 14 feet high only on the interstate. New Mexico voids the permit on any road not written on it.

Florida. Violate any condition and the permit is “null and void” under s. 316.550(10)(d); width and height overages then cost $250 per foot under s. 316.516.
Utah. The 14-foot height feels generous until a load over 10 feet wide meets the 6 a.m. Wasatch Front curfew.
New York. The statute reads 96 inches, permits are weekday-daylight by default, and holiday closures start at noon the day before.
Louisiana. 14 feet is interstate-only. Run without the escort the permit names and RS 32:388 impounds the load until one arrives. See pilot car requirements by state.
New Mexico. Use one road not on the permit and the permit is void. See what happens if you leave your permitted route.

RouteAll reads the permit you already hold, including its dimensions and travel restrictions, and turns the written roads into a route. It does not issue permits, and it does not guarantee compliance. Save this guide offline for your route.

Before you roll

One number over any of the four means a permit, and the height number changes at the state line. Measure the load, check the state you are entering, and read the curfew before you read the roads.