By Haul Handbook editorial team· Updated Oct 5, 2026
Delaware sells oversize and overweight hauling permits through DelDOT's online OSOW Permit System. A standard single-trip permit costs $30 and runs five days, sunrise to sunset; overweight moves add $10 for every 8,000 pounds over legal weight, and a superload (15 feet wide, 15 feet high, 120 feet long, or over 120,000 pounds) starts at $60. Delaware has no general annual or blanket permit for oversize freight: state law limits multi-trip permits to a short list of named uses.
Delaware legal limits (no permit needed at or under these)
- Width
- 8.5 ft8 feet 6 inches (102 inches). On interstates and US routes the limit excludes safety equipment, which may extend up to 3 inches more on each side; on all other highways it includes safety devices.
- Gross weight
- 80,000 lbOff the interstate: 2 axles 40,000 lb, 3 axles 65,000 lb (70,000 lb to and from construction sites or with agricultural products after a $100 per-vehicle registration fee), 4 axles 73,280 lb, 3-axle tractor-semitrailer 60,000 lb, 4-axle tractor-semitrailer 70,000 lb, 5 or more axles 80,000 lb, each capped at the manufacturer rating. On the interstate: 2 axles 40,000 lb, 3 axles 54,000 lb, 4 axles 74,000 lb, 5 axles 80,000 lb, with the federal bridge formula. Live-haul poultry and in-state farm produce trucks may reach 90,000 lb off the interstate under conditions in 4502(c)(6).
- Off interstate limits
- Delaware sets two weight regimes. Off the interstate (4502), axle limits are 22,400 lb single and 40,000 lb on two axles 40 to 96 inches apart for single-unit trucks (36,000 lb for combinations). On the interstate (4503), 20,000 lb single and 34,000 lb tandem with the bridge formula. Size limits in 4503 apply on interstates, federal-aid primary highways and US numbered routes.
Axle weight limits
Gross weight is one ceiling; each axle group carries its own limit, and a load can be legal on gross weight yet overweight on an axle. Exceeding any of these needs an overweight permit.
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Permit fees
- Single trip
- $30 (Minimum permit cost is $30 ($60 for a superload). Overweight loads add $10 for every 8,000 pounds, or portion of 8,000 pounds, over the legal weight. Permits run five days from the effective date, with moves authorized sunrise to sunset Monday through Sunday unless the permit says otherwise; a validated permit can be extended up to 3 days for an equipment breakdown, and an amendment may cost $10.)
- Annual eligibility
- Delaware has no general annual or blanket oversize/overweight permit for freight. 21 Del. C. 4504(c)(2)f bars multi-trip permits for any purpose other than those named in the statute (utility pole and piling trailers, utility aerial vehicles, pole and piling haulers, and route-specific double-bottom permits), and 4504(d) adds a one-year blanket permit for self-propelled cranes only. The policy manual prices those named permits: Ship permit $900 (5 days, Port of Wilmington area), Pole and Piling $30 (30 days), Annual Weight Registration $100 (1 year, 3-axle trucks to 70,000 lb), Multi-trip Interstate $60 (60 trips in 1 year), Twin Trailer route permit $300 (30 days), and the Blanket Crane permit at $1,500 (cranes up to 24,000 lb) or $2,500 (over 24,000 lb) plus a weight fee.
Single-trip permit fee schedule
A single-trip permit stacks a base fee with a weight-tiered maintenance fee, and the heaviest loads add a supervision fee.
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To price a specific load, try the oversize permit cost estimator, or compare every state on the national oversize permit table.
To see how these fees combine on real loads, walk through Delaware oversize permit cost worked examples.
Escort thresholds
What the escort itself has to be
Hitting the threshold is only half of it. The escort vehicle, its equipment, its driver's certification and where it rides are all regulated, and the carrier is the one holding the permit when they are not met.
- What counts as an escort vehicle
- An escort vehicle must be a single-unit, non-permitted vehicle no smaller than a compact car, not attached to any other vehicle, escorting only one oversize load, with visual contact and two-way radio communication with the permitted driver.
- Loads oversize in more than one dimension
- When separate conditions each require one front and one rear escort, two escorts satisfy both. One Delaware State Police escort can cover up to two loads moving together.
Escort rules beyond the thresholds
Knowing when you need an escort is half of it. These are the Delaware rules on who may run one, what the vehicle has to carry, and how the move is conducted.
- Vehicle
- An escort vehicle must be a single-unit, non-permitted vehicle no smaller than a compact car, not attached to any other vehicle, escorting only one oversize load, with visual contact and two-way radio communication with the permitted driver.
- Multiple dimensions
- When separate conditions each require one front and one rear escort, two escorts satisfy both. One Delaware State Police escort can cover up to two loads moving together.
Conditions attached to every permit
The standing conditions Delaware writes into the permit itself, which apply whether or not they are printed on your copy.
- Summary
- Permits are single-trip from origin to destination with no intermediate stops or round trips, on state-maintained roads only, by the most direct route; the permit and supporting papers ride in the vehicle. Reducible loads are not permitted except the 3- and 4-axle interstate and ship permits. Vehicles must be registered before a permit is sought.
Travel restrictions
- Daylight only
- Yes (Standard oversize, overweight and manufactured housing permits move sunrise to sunset, Monday through Sunday. Loads up to 75 ft long, 12 ft wide, 14 ft 6 in high and 120,000 lb may move 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Friday with prior approval noted on the permit. Sealed container, ship, pole and piling, interstate and twin-trailer permits allow 24-hour movement.)
- Curfews
- DelDOT publishes permanently and temporarily restricted routes that permitted loads may not use, and may restrict moves case by case.
- Weekend / holiday
- Holiday blackouts on the 2026 DelDOT schedule run from noon the day before to 9 a.m. the day after: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day (observed July 3), Labor Day, Thanksgiving with the day after, and Christmas. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Good Friday, Juneteenth, Election Day and Veterans Day carry no hauling restriction.
- Daylight hours rule
- Standard oversize, overweight and manufactured housing permits move sunrise to sunset, Monday through Sunday. Loads up to 75 ft long, 12 ft wide, 14 ft 6 in high and 120,000 lb may move 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Friday with prior approval noted on the permit. Sealed container, ship, pole and piling, interstate and twin-trailer permits allow 24-hour movement.
Superload and beyond-permit review
Loads past the standard single-trip permit thresholds get individual state review rather than an off-the-shelf permit.
A superload is any vehicle or load 15 feet or more wide, 15 feet or more high, 120 feet or more long, or over 120,000 pounds gross.
Superload permits start at $60 plus the overweight fee, run 1 to 5 business days (Monday to Saturday), and may be limited to the actual move window. DelDOT Bridge Management reviews individual axle weights (the FAQ gives 28,000 pounds; the policy manual and contact page give 25,000 pounds), loads 15 feet or higher go to the county signal supervisor, and superload reviews can take up to 14 days.
More Delaware permit rules
- Single trip fee note
- Minimum permit cost is $30 ($60 for a superload). Overweight loads add $10 for every 8,000 pounds, or portion of 8,000 pounds, over the legal weight. Permits run five days from the effective date, with moves authorized sunrise to sunset Monday through Sunday unless the permit says otherwise; a validated permit can be extended up to 3 days for an equipment breakdown, and an amendment may cost $10.
- Annual permit eligibility
- Delaware has no general annual or blanket oversize/overweight permit for freight. 21 Del. C. 4504(c)(2)f bars multi-trip permits for any purpose other than those named in the statute (utility pole and piling trailers, utility aerial vehicles, pole and piling haulers, and route-specific double-bottom permits), and 4504(d) adds a one-year blanket permit for self-propelled cranes only. The policy manual prices those named permits: Ship permit $900 (5 days, Port of Wilmington area), Pole and Piling $30 (30 days), Annual Weight Registration $100 (1 year, 3-axle trucks to 70,000 lb), Multi-trip Interstate $60 (60 trips in 1 year), Twin Trailer route permit $300 (30 days), and the Blanket Crane permit at $1,500 (cranes up to 24,000 lb) or $2,500 (over 24,000 lb) plus a weight fee.
- Escort notes: vehicle
- An escort vehicle must be a single-unit, non-permitted vehicle no smaller than a compact car, not attached to any other vehicle, escorting only one oversize load, with visual contact and two-way radio communication with the permitted driver.
- Escort notes: multiple dimensions
- When separate conditions each require one front and one rear escort, two escorts satisfy both. One Delaware State Police escort can cover up to two loads moving together.
- Escort notes: discretion
- Loads only overweight, or 12 feet wide or less, that cannot keep up with traffic may be given escort requirements, and DelDOT may add flaggers, signs, lighting, escorts or State Police escorts on any permit.
- Escort notes: equipment
- Load-hauling and escort vehicles travel with low-beam headlights on; amber beacons and escort light bars are described in the manual as not required in Delaware.
- Permit conditions: summary
- Permits are single-trip from origin to destination with no intermediate stops or round trips, on state-maintained roads only, by the most direct route; the permit and supporting papers ride in the vehicle. Reducible loads are not permitted except the 3- and 4-axle interstate and ship permits. Vehicles must be registered before a permit is sought.
| Name | Detail |
|---|---|
| Ship permit (Load Code 6) | Multi-trip, $900, 5 days: loads under 85 ft long, 12 ft wide and up to 120,000 lb on 5 or more axles, on state roads within 2 miles of the Port of Wilmington (excluding I-495). |
| Pole and Piling permit (Load Code 7) | Multi-trip, $30, 30 days, for one tractor moving poles, piling and mill stock. |
| Annual Weight Registration (Load Code 8) | $100 for 1 year: lets a 3-axle single vehicle registered at 65,000 lb operate at 70,000 lb on construction or agricultural hauls. A weight increase only, not a movement permit. |
| Multi-trip Interstate (Load Code 10) | $60 for 60 single trips in 1 year for 3- and 4-axle single vehicles exceeding the bridge formula on the interstate; exempt from holiday restrictions. |
| Blanket Crane permit (Load Code 11) | One year for a self-propelled crane up to 70 ft long, 12 ft wide, 13 ft 6 in high and 120,000 lb; $1,500 up to 24,000 lb or $2,500 over, plus a weight fee of $10 per 8,000 lb over legal weight multiplied by 52. No interstate travel and no superloads under the blanket. |
| Twin Trailer route permit (Load Code 12) | Multi-trip, $300, 30 days, for a legal-weight tractor and twin trailers up to 102 inches wide on a named route off the STAA network. |
The Delaware permit office
- Apply or log in (DelDOT Oversize/Overweight (OSOW) Permit System (online account required))
- deldot.gov/osow/application/login
Legal size and weight
Width and height limits apply on every road class, with tighter length rules off the STAA network. Weight is where Delaware stands apart: off the interstate, the single-axle limit and the three- and four-axle truck limits are higher than on the interstate, where the federal bridge formula applies. Live-haul poultry and in-state farm produce trucks get a higher gross limit off the interstate under set conditions.
What permits cost
Every single-trip permit starts at a flat minimum. Overweight loads add a fixed charge for each weight block, or part of a block, over legal weight, and a superload starts at a higher minimum before that overweight charge. An amendment to a validated permit carries its own fee. The fee table renders each line from the DelDOT manual and FAQ.
Escort requirements
Escorts step up in tiers. A wide load first needs one escort, at the rear on multi-lane roads and in front on two-lane roads, then two, then front and rear escorts plus a Delaware State Police escort at the top tier. Length, height, superload weight and long rear overhang follow their own ladders.
An escort must be a single, unattached vehicle no smaller than a compact car, with radio contact to the hauler, and one State Police escort can cover two loads moving together.
When loads can move
Standard permits allow travel sunrise to sunset, any day of the week. Smaller oversize loads can get approval for weeknight moves, and several permit types allow round-the-clock travel. Holiday blackouts start at noon the day before each listed holiday and run to the morning after, and loads must leave the road when weather makes travel hazardous.
Superloads
A load past the superload width, height, length or gross weight line is a superload. DelDOT Bridge Management reviews axle weights, tall loads go to the county signal supervisor, and the review can take weeks, so apply early. The FAQ and the policy manual give different axle review triggers, and both are recorded.
How to read this page
A value reading "Not confirmed" means we could not verify the figure on an official agency page at review time, so it stays open rather than guessed. Superload moves above the standard permit thresholds get individual review by the state; contact the permit office named on this page. For the rest of the Delaware permit stack, see Delaware trucking permits.