Connecticut Oversize/Overweight Permit Cost: Worked Examples
How CTDOT prices a Connecticut oversize or overweight permit, worked through a wide load, a tall load, a superload and an annual bulk permit.
By Haul Handbook editorial team· Updated Sep 28, 2026 · 10 min read
Connecticut charges almost the same for every single-trip oversize or overweight permit. A 12 foot wide excavator and a 15 foot 6 inch wide load pay one flat base fee plus one flat electronic transmittal fee, and only a move over 200,000 pounds adds anything to that. What changes from load to load is the escort bill, the travel window and, on a superload, the survey and inspection work. Every fee this guide uses renders with its source on the Connecticut oversize and overweight permits page. To compare the same load across states, run it through the oversize permit cost estimator.
How CTDOT prices a single-trip permit
The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) OS/OW Permit Office issues permits through the Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO) WebPortal, which the DMV runs, and takes only Visa, MasterCard and Discover credit or debit cards online. C.G.S. 14-270(d) and the CTDOT permit page set three single-trip charges:
- Base permit fee: $30.00 per permit, good for one trip and return over three days.
- Electronic transmittal fee: $12.00 on each permit transmitted electronically.
- Engineering analysis fee: $2.00 for each 1,000 pounds, or fraction, of permit weight over 200,000 pounds.
That is the whole schedule. Connecticut has no per-foot charge for width or length and no per-axle or per-mile weight charge below 200,000 pounds. New Jersey, by contrast, adds a charge for every foot over 14 feet wide and every 2,000 pounds over the limit, as the New Jersey worked examples show.
You need a permit once a load breaks a legal limit. Here is where those sit:
| Dimension | Legal limit without a permit | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Width | 8 ft 6 in (102 inches) | C.G.S. 14-262(a)(1) |
| Height | 13 ft 6 in | C.G.S. 14-264 |
| Single unit length | 45 ft | C.G.S. 14-262(c) |
| Semitrailer length | 48 ft, or 53 ft on designated routes with a 43 ft kingpin | C.G.S. 14-262(c) |
| Gross weight | 80,000 lb on a vehicle meeting the federal bridge formula | C.G.S. 14-267a(b) |
| Single axle | 22,400 lb | C.G.S. 14-267a(b)(1) |
Scroll sideways to see every column.
One conflict to know about: the CTDOT FAQ table prints 24,400 pounds for a single axle, while C.G.S. 14-267a(b)(1) says 22,400. The statute controls, so plan axle weights against 22,400.
Worked example 1: a 12 foot 6 inch wide excavator, legal weight
An excavator on a lowboy measures 12 feet 6 inches wide, at legal height, legal length and 80,000 pounds gross. Width is the only limit it breaks.
The permit is
$30.00plus $12.00, and that is the full fee. A load at 9 feet wide would pay exactly the same.
The escort rule costs more than the permit. CTDOT's table for manufactured goods and equipment puts a load over 12 feet and under 13 feet 6 inches wide in the one-escort row:
- On a divided highway, one civilian escort follows the load.
- On an undivided highway, one civilian escort leads it.
- CTDOT decides at issuance whether a State Police escort is needed.
The extra 6 inches also rules out the weekend permit. CTDOT issues Saturday and Sunday permits, daylight to noon only, for loads up to 12 feet wide, 13 feet 6 inches high, 80 feet long and 160,000 pounds. At 12 feet 6 inches this load moves on weekdays.
Worked example 2: 15 feet 6 inches wide and 14 feet 8 inches high
Now a bigger piece of equipment, 15 feet 6 inches wide and 14 feet 8 inches high, still under 80,000 pounds. It sits below every superload line, so the fee does not move: the same
$30.00base fee plus
$12.00for transmittal.
The escort count is where this move gets expensive:
- Width of 15 feet or more. Three civilian escorts, one in front and two behind, on divided and undivided highways alike.
- Height over 14 feet. A front escort, and at 14 feet 6 inches or more a front pole car. The pole car can count as a civilian escort if it meets the escort vehicle rules.
- State Police. At this size CTDOT decides at issuance. Raise the load to 15 feet 1 inch high and the table adds Connecticut State Police escorts front and rear. Over 13 feet 5 inches wide and over 15 feet high triggers the same State Police pair.
Each escort vehicle has to meet Regs., Conn. State Agencies 14-270-21 as CTDOT summarizes it:
- At least 60 inches wide and no more than 1.5 tons capacity.
- Amber flashing or rotating lights on top, on at all times.
- A two-way radio to the permitted load.
- An OVERSIZE LOAD sign at least 5 feet long and 12 inches high, with 8-inch black letters on yellow.
These thresholds assume ideal traffic and road conditions. CTDOT can add civilian or State Police escorts once it sees the route, so read the issued permit before you book pilot cars.
Worked example 3: a 240,000 pound transformer
A transformer on a multi-axle trailer grosses 240,000 pounds. That is over 200,000 pounds, so it is a superload by weight, and it is the one case where Connecticut's fee grows.
Here is the math. The permit weight is 40,000 pounds over 200,000. That is 40 blocks of 1,000 pounds, and the engineering analysis fee attaches once for each block at
$2.00each. Because the fee counts each 1,000 pounds or fraction, a 240,400 pound permit would attach 41. The base fee of
$30.00and the transmittal fee of
$12.00still apply on top.
The paperwork outweighs the fee. According to the CTDOT FAQ, a superload:
- Moves at night only and typically needs State Police escorts.
- Needs a certified Connecticut route survey by a Connecticut-based surveyor, filed within one week before the move.
- Needs encroachment permits and any town or private permissions for work along the route.
- Passes an enforcement inspection one to two days before the move and a Level 7 inspection the same day.
- Applies at least five business days ahead.
The same superload rules apply to a light load that tops 150 feet long, 16 feet wide or 16 feet high. Under 200,000 pounds, though, no engineering analysis fee attaches.
Worked example 4: a dump truck on the annual divisible permit
Bulk haulers face a different question. A dump truck carrying approved bulk materials can run on an annual or monthly divisible load permit instead of buying trips. The annual permit charges by permitted weight:
$9.00for each 1,000 pounds or fraction, plus a
$12.00transmittal fee.
So a truck permitted at 73,000 pounds pays 73 increments plus transmittal, and the permit runs one year from its effective date. It is not prorated and not refundable. Under C.G.S. 14-270(b), the permitted weight can never exceed the gross weight on the truck's commercial or apportioned registration, so fix the registration before you apply. The apportioned side is on the Connecticut IRP registration page.
A seasonal hauler can buy months instead, at
$100.00per calendar month plus transmittal. CTDOT sells calendar months, not 30-day blocks, and charges a part of a month as a full month.
Two other annual permits price the same way, per 1,000 pounds of permitted weight, for a May 1 to April 30 season prorated by the months left:
- Annual indivisible permit. Construction equipment moved by Connecticut-based carriers only, with a no-fee route authorization needed for each trip.
- Annual milk permit. Bulk milk up to 100,000 pounds on five or more axles.
C.G.S. 14-270(d)(4) also sets a floor of
$650.00per vehicle on an annual permit for an oversize indivisible load.
Calendar and penalties
CTDOT's 2026 holiday restrictions still ahead this year:
- Thanksgiving: no permit travel from noon Wednesday, November 25, until daylight Monday, November 30.
- Christmas: no permit travel from noon Thursday, December 24, until daylight Saturday, December 26.
Travel times and routes are written into each permit under C.G.S. 14-270(a), and CTDOT publishes no single statewide daylight-only rule. Keep the permit, a legible copy or the electronic confirmation with the operator.
The fines in C.G.S. 14-270 dwarf the permit fee:
- Running over the permitted weight is fined $15 per 100 pounds over.
- Exceeding a permitted length or width carries a $300 minimum fine, and height a $1,000 minimum.
- Leaving the permitted route is fined $1,500 for each limit violated.
What to check before quoting
Next steps, in order:
- Measure the load against the legal limits table above and decide whether it needs a permit.
- Check weight against 200,000 pounds. Over it, count the engineering analysis increments.
- Read the escort table for width, height and length, then confirm the escort conditions written on the issued permit.
- Check whether the load qualifies for a weekend permit (12 feet wide, 13 feet 6 inches high, 80 feet long, 160,000 pounds).
- Check the move date against the holiday restrictions.
- For bulk work, compare the annual divisible permit against the months you will run.
Questions go to the OS/OW Permit Office at dot.osowpermits@ct.gov; CTDOT publishes no permit office phone line. Compare your quote against the same move in other states on the oversize permit costs by state table, see how Massachusetts prices the next leg north, and find the rest of the credential stack at Connecticut trucking permits.
FAQ
How much does a Connecticut oversize permit cost?
A single-trip oversize or overweight permit is one flat base fee plus a flat electronic transmittal fee, both set in C.G.S. 14-270(d). Width, height and length add nothing to the fee. The only charge that scales is the engineering analysis fee, which applies to each 1,000 pounds or fraction over 200,000 pounds of permit weight. The current figures render with their source on the Connecticut oversize and overweight permits page.
When does a Connecticut oversize load need a State Police escort?
The CTDOT escort table calls for Connecticut State Police escorts front and rear on a load over 13 feet 5 inches wide and over 15 feet high, on a load 15 feet 1 inch high or more and 13 feet 6 inches wide or wider, on a load 15 feet 4 inches high or more, and on a load over 119 feet 11 inches long. For other loads CTDOT decides at issuance whether State Police are needed, and a State Police escort may replace one civilian escort.
What counts as a superload in Connecticut?
CTDOT generally treats a move as a superload when it tops 150 feet long, 16 feet wide, 16 feet high or 200,000 pounds. Superloads move at night only, need a certified Connecticut route survey filed within one week before the move, pass an enforcement inspection one to two days ahead plus a same-day Level 7 inspection, and apply at least five business days ahead.