By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Sep 27, 2026
Maryland legal limits (no permit needed at or under these)
- Width
- 8.5 ftThe maximum allowable vehicle width in Maryland is 102 inches (8 feet 6 inches), except where prohibited by posted signs. Width includes any load, exclusive of safety and energy conservation devices such as side mirrors, turn signal lamps, marker lamps, steps and handholds. The SHA page cites Title 24, Subsection 102 of the Maryland Vehicle Law; the section text of Transportation 24-102 was verified at mgaleg.maryland.gov (StatuteText article=gtr section=24-102, accessed 2026-09-26), which states a vehicle may not be driven on any highway if its width exceeds 102 inches, with permits issued under Transportation 24-112.
- Height
- 13.5 ftThe vehicle and load height limit in Maryland is 13 feet 6 inches. Heights of 14 feet 6 inches require a pole vehicle and route survey before a permit will be issued.
- Gross weight
- 80,000 lbAll weights must comply with the Federal Bridge Formula Charts in Title 24 of the Maryland Transportation Article unless authorized by an MDOT SHA Hauling Permit: single axle 20,000 pounds, tandem axle 34,000 pounds, tridem axle 42,500 pounds, 80,000 pounds maximum gross.
- Semitrailer 53ft rule
- Semi-trailers over 48 feet but not over 53 feet are allowed on interstates and the Maryland truck route system, with pickup or delivery on local roads by the closest practicable distance from an authorized route.
- Indivisible load rule
- Indivisible loads over 70 feet require a permit; indivisible loads up to 70 feet may move during daylight hours without a permit on a combination vehicle. Pilings, poles and mill logs exceeding 75 feet require a permit (loads up to 75 feet of those commodities are excepted by the statute).
- Heavy vehicle routing
- The Motor Carrier Handbook adds that any vehicle with a gross maximum weight over 73,000 pounds may travel only on State and federal numbered highways, except while making a pickup or delivery by the shortest available legal route, and in Baltimore City only on designated truck 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.
Permit fees
- Single trip
- $30 (The statutory floor is $30: Transportation 24-112(a)(2) requires a fee of not less than $30 for each oversize permit, and 24-112(b)(2) requires not less than $30 for an overweight permit at the first 45 tons (90,000 pounds) of gross weight plus $5 for each additional ton or part of a ton. The section text was verified at mgaleg.maryland.gov (StatuteText article=gtr section=24-112, accessed 2026-09-26). The published SHA fee table prices overweight permits from $30 at 90,000 pounds to $180 at 150,000 pounds. The Handbook adds that maximum weight registration and a minimum of five axles are required for overweight hauling permits, and that a violation of the permit requirement or conditions carries a $1,020 fine plus possible confiscation of the permit.)
- Annual eligibility
- Maryland issues no general annual oversize or overweight permit. The Motor Carrier Division's published permit types are blanket permits, containerized cargo permits, exceptional hauling permits for agricultural products, exceptional hauling permits for raw milk, seasonal exceptional hauling permits for poultry, special hauling permits, test permits and utility blanket permits. The containerized cargo permit is valid for 1 year. The exceptional agricultural permit is sold as an annual permit ($250) or a 30-day permit ($30). Fee amounts for the blanket, utility blanket, special and test permit types are not published on the checked sources, so no amounts are recorded for them.
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.
Scroll sideways to see every column.
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 Maryland 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.
- Conditions
- One escort is also required whenever weather or road conditions justify it. Police escort must be provided for any permit move 16 feet wide or more, 75 tons gross weight or more, or when road or weather conditions justify it; traveling against traffic may require two escort vehicles.
- Signing
- Wide Load or Oversize Load signs are required front and rear if the vehicle and load exceed 9 feet in width: black letters not less than 10 inches high with a brush stroke not less than 1 5/8 inches wide on a yellow background 18 inches high and 7 feet wide.
- Flags and lights
- Red or orange fluorescent flags at least 18 inches square are required during daylight hours at the widest extremities; two red lights must be displayed on a rear overhang exceeding 4 feet, indicating the widest part of the overhang and one on each side of the load.
- Escort vehicle equipment
- An escort vehicle must have two-way radio contact maintained with the permitted vehicle, at least one oscillating or rotating yellow roof light at least 3 inches in diameter visible from front and rear, headlights on, and front and rear signs in black letters not less than 10 inches high on a yellow background 18 inches high and 7 feet wide, or a roof sign at least 5 feet long and 12 inches high with 8-inch letters. The SHA page prints the brush-stroke spec for the escort sign as 15 feet 8 inches wide, which is a typographical error for the 1 5/8 inch figure given for the truck signs.
Escort rules beyond the thresholds
Knowing when you need an escort is half of it. These are the Maryland rules on who may run one, what the vehicle has to carry, and how the move is conducted.
- Conditions
- One escort is also required whenever weather or road conditions justify it. Police escort must be provided for any permit move 16 feet wide or more, 75 tons gross weight or more, or when road or weather conditions justify it; traveling against traffic may require two escort vehicles.
- Signing
- Wide Load or Oversize Load signs are required front and rear if the vehicle and load exceed 9 feet in width: black letters not less than 10 inches high with a brush stroke not less than 1 5/8 inches wide on a yellow background 18 inches high and 7 feet wide.
- Flags and lights
- Red or orange fluorescent flags at least 18 inches square are required during daylight hours at the widest extremities; two red lights must be displayed on a rear overhang exceeding 4 feet, indicating the widest part of the overhang and one on each side of the load.
- Escort vehicle equipment
- An escort vehicle must have two-way radio contact maintained with the permitted vehicle, at least one oscillating or rotating yellow roof light at least 3 inches in diameter visible from front and rear, headlights on, and front and rear signs in black letters not less than 10 inches high on a yellow background 18 inches high and 7 feet wide, or a roof sign at least 5 feet long and 12 inches high with 8-inch letters. The SHA page prints the brush-stroke spec for the escort sign as 15 feet 8 inches wide, which is a typographical error for the 1 5/8 inch figure given for the truck signs.
Conditions attached to every permit
The standing conditions Maryland writes into the permit itself, which apply whether or not they are printed on your copy.
- Summary
- The Maryland State Highway and Baltimore City General Conditions for Hauling Permits: the permit does not give the right to move over highways or bridges under the jurisdiction of any city, county or municipality except to cross at grade after arrangements with responsible authorities; the permit or approved substitute must be carried in the vehicle and be open for inspection; flag persons or police must be arranged in advance for narrow bridge crossings; no move that would disturb overhead wires, cables or structures may begin until the owner grants permission; no overweight permit may be issued to or used by a vehicle and load that can be dismantled to not be overweight, a vehicle that is neither special mobile equipment nor a 5-axle vehicle, or a Maryland-registered vehicle not registered for the maximum permissible gross weight; excess weight and size must be stripped or reduced as much as possible; false statements of material fact on the application may result in denial of future permits.
Travel restrictions
- Daylight only
- COMAR 11.04.02.06 sets the default window: an oversize or overweight vehicle may move during any daylight hours from 1/2 hour after sunrise to 1/2 hour before sunset, subject to the restrictions below. The current SHA permit page states that loads up to and including 200,000 GVW, 13 feet 11 inches wide, 14 feet 6 inches high and 120 feet long may move 24/7. (Two sources print different continuous-travel thresholds: the live Overdimensional Permit Limitations page says 200,000 GVW, 13'11" wide, 14'6" high, 120' long may move 24/7, while the Motor Carrier Handbook prints 150,000 pounds, 13 feet wide, 90 feet long or 14'6" high for continuous travel and describes it as an enhancement that removed the previous Saturday-afternoon and Sunday restriction for auto-issued loads. The live web page is treated as current; the handbook figure is recorded here because older permit documents still circulate.)
- Curfews
- Loads 14 feet wide or more may move only 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on any highway. Under COMAR 11.04.02.06, vehicles over 45 tons gross, 100 feet or more long, or 12 feet or more wide may use the Capital Beltway (I-495/I-95) and Baltimore Beltway (I-695) from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. only; self-propelled special mobile equipment unable to reach 40 mph is banned from both beltways 7 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m.; movement is barred any Saturday after 12 noon and any Sunday unless the permit authorizes other hours. Route-specific curfews are published in the Route Restrictions list (updated 9/15/2026), for example I-70 Eastbound between MD-63 and MD-632 limited to loads under 14 feet wide.
- Weekend / holiday
- Travel is prohibited on New Year's Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day; the Permit Office is also closed on Martin Luther King Day, Columbus Day, Election Day and the day after Thanksgiving, but travel is not restricted on those additional days. The 2026 holiday sheet adds the exact no-move windows: for example, no moves from noon Wednesday December 31, 2025 until 9:00 a.m. Friday January 2, 2026 for New Year's Day; noon Friday to 9:00 a.m. the following Tuesday around Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day and Thanksgiving; and containerized cargo permits carry their own longer windows (for example 9:00 p.m. Wednesday November 25, 2026 through 4:00 a.m. Monday November 30, 2026).
- Wind / weather
- No statewide wind restriction is published on the checked SHA sources; road and weather conditions are handled through the permit conditions and the escort-on-conditions rule.
- Mdta facilities
- No permit movements are allowed on Maryland Transportation Authority highways after 12 noon Friday until 9 a.m. Monday: the JFK Memorial Highway (I-95 north of I-695), Fort McHenry Tunnel (I-95), Francis Scott Key Bridge (I-695, closed after collapse), Baltimore Harbor Tunnel (I-895), Hatem Memorial Bridge (US 40), Chesapeake Bay Bridge (US 50/301) and Nice Memorial Bridge (US 301). Permit loads must call MDTA Police at least one hour before arrival at any bridge or tunnel, and the far right toll lane must be used at starred toll plazas.
- Daylight hours rule
- Two sources print different continuous-travel thresholds: the live Overdimensional Permit Limitations page says 200,000 GVW, 13'11" wide, 14'6" high, 120' long may move 24/7, while the Motor Carrier Handbook prints 150,000 pounds, 13 feet wide, 90 feet long or 14'6" high for continuous travel and describes it as an enhancement that removed the previous Saturday-afternoon and Sunday restriction for auto-issued loads. The live web page is treated as current; the handbook figure is recorded here because older permit documents still circulate.
- Mdta facilities
- No permit movements are allowed on Maryland Transportation Authority highways after 12 noon Friday until 9 a.m. Monday: the JFK Memorial Highway (I-95 north of I-695), Fort McHenry Tunnel (I-95), Francis Scott Key Bridge (I-695, closed after collapse), Baltimore Harbor Tunnel (I-895), Hatem Memorial Bridge (US 40), Chesapeake Bay Bridge (US 50/301) and Nice Memorial Bridge (US 301). Permit loads must call MDTA Police at least one hour before arrival at any bridge or tunnel, and the far right toll lane must be used at starred toll plazas.
Superload and beyond-permit review
Loads past the standard single-trip permit thresholds get individual state review rather than an off-the-shelf permit.
Superload permits are required over 150,000 pounds gross weight. The published envelope for superload moves: axle weights single 27,000, tandem 52,000, tridem 63,000; length 120 feet; width 16 feet; height 16 feet; pole car 14 feet 6 inches; police and private escorts required.
Superload applications require an engineering review. Once approved, the applicant must activate the permit by opening the seed application, entering the driver's name and phone number, and resubmitting for final approval. Day moves are permitted 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; night moves 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
More Maryland permit rules
- Single trip fee note
- The statutory floor is $30: Transportation 24-112(a)(2) requires a fee of not less than $30 for each oversize permit, and 24-112(b)(2) requires not less than $30 for an overweight permit at the first 45 tons (90,000 pounds) of gross weight plus $5 for each additional ton or part of a ton. The section text was verified at mgaleg.maryland.gov (StatuteText article=gtr section=24-112, accessed 2026-09-26). The published SHA fee table prices overweight permits from $30 at 90,000 pounds to $180 at 150,000 pounds. The Handbook adds that maximum weight registration and a minimum of five axles are required for overweight hauling permits, and that a violation of the permit requirement or conditions carries a $1,020 fine plus possible confiscation of the permit.
- Single trip fee schedule note
- The published table steps $5 per 2,000 pounds from 90,000 to 150,000 pounds; the intermediate 2,000-pound steps (102,000 through 148,000) follow the same $5-per-ton statutory increment and are on the same document. Only the milestone rows are transcribed above; the full table is at the source PDF.
- Annual permit eligibility
- Maryland issues no general annual oversize or overweight permit. The Motor Carrier Division's published permit types are blanket permits, containerized cargo permits, exceptional hauling permits for agricultural products, exceptional hauling permits for raw milk, seasonal exceptional hauling permits for poultry, special hauling permits, test permits and utility blanket permits. The containerized cargo permit is valid for 1 year. The exceptional agricultural permit is sold as an annual permit ($250) or a 30-day permit ($30). Fee amounts for the blanket, utility blanket, special and test permit types are not published on the checked sources, so no amounts are recorded for them.
- Annual permit details: exceptional agricultural: covers
- A combination of vehicles carrying farm products loaded in fields or other off-highway locations as the only load, with an axle configuration of not less than six axles and front-to-rear centerline axle spacing of not less than 50 feet
- Annual permit details: exceptional agricultural: axle limits
- 20,000 pounds on a single axle; the Transportation 24-109(c) maximums for consecutive axle groups; 87,000 pounds maximum gross combination weight; 1,000-pound gross combination tolerance and 15 percent axle tolerance
- Annual permit details: exceptional agricultural: validity
- 1 year from issuance for an annual permit, or 30 consecutive days for a 30-day permit
- Annual permit details: exceptional agricultural: restrictions
- Not valid on the interstate highway system (except vehicles carrying fluid milk products under the current section text); twice-yearly North American Standard Level 1 inspections with the report carried in the vehicle; issued at the State Highway Administrator's discretion.
- Annual permit details: containerized cargo: covers
- Overweight permits for vehicles carrying manifested international freight as the only load in a sealed seagoing container going to or from the Port of Baltimore, with 24-hour travel on designated routes
- Annual permit details: containerized cargo: axle limits
- Intermodal chassis: single axle 22,400 pounds; tandem axle 44,000 pounds
- Annual permit details: containerized cargo: weight by wheelbase
- Gross vehicle weight 80,000 pounds for wheelbase under 36 feet; 90,000 pounds for wheelbase of 36 feet or more (kingpin to center of rear tandem)
- Escort notes: conditions
- One escort is also required whenever weather or road conditions justify it. Police escort must be provided for any permit move 16 feet wide or more, 75 tons gross weight or more, or when road or weather conditions justify it; traveling against traffic may require two escort vehicles.
- Escort notes: signing
- Wide Load or Oversize Load signs are required front and rear if the vehicle and load exceed 9 feet in width: black letters not less than 10 inches high with a brush stroke not less than 1 5/8 inches wide on a yellow background 18 inches high and 7 feet wide.
- Escort notes: flags and lights
- Red or orange fluorescent flags at least 18 inches square are required during daylight hours at the widest extremities; two red lights must be displayed on a rear overhang exceeding 4 feet, indicating the widest part of the overhang and one on each side of the load.
- Escort notes: escort vehicle equipment
- An escort vehicle must have two-way radio contact maintained with the permitted vehicle, at least one oscillating or rotating yellow roof light at least 3 inches in diameter visible from front and rear, headlights on, and front and rear signs in black letters not less than 10 inches high on a yellow background 18 inches high and 7 feet wide, or a roof sign at least 5 feet long and 12 inches high with 8-inch letters. The SHA page prints the brush-stroke spec for the escort sign as 15 feet 8 inches wide, which is a typographical error for the 1 5/8 inch figure given for the truck signs.
- Statute note
- Core permit authority and fee floors sit in Md. Code, Transportation § 24-112 (oversize permit fee not less than $30; overweight permit fee not less than $30 for the first 45 tons plus $5 per additional ton or part; permits must specify maximum size or weight, route, and date and hour of the trip; fines up to $1,000 first offense, $2,000 second, $3,000 third or subsequent). Section text verified at mgaleg.maryland.gov (StatuteText article=gtr sections 24-112 and 24-113.2, accessed 2026-09-26). The MGA StatuteText pages print no section catchlines, so the statute field above is pinned to the SHA document that reprints the full text of § 24-113.2 under its own title; the § 24-112 citation is recorded here in the note with its verified text rather than as a heading-verified statute field.
- Permit conditions: summary
- The Maryland State Highway and Baltimore City General Conditions for Hauling Permits: the permit does not give the right to move over highways or bridges under the jurisdiction of any city, county or municipality except to cross at grade after arrangements with responsible authorities; the permit or approved substitute must be carried in the vehicle and be open for inspection; flag persons or police must be arranged in advance for narrow bridge crossings; no move that would disturb overhead wires, cables or structures may begin until the owner grants permission; no overweight permit may be issued to or used by a vehicle and load that can be dismantled to not be overweight, a vehicle that is neither special mobile equipment nor a 5-axle vehicle, or a Maryland-registered vehicle not registered for the maximum permissible gross weight; excess weight and size must be stripped or reduced as much as possible; false statements of material fact on the application may result in denial of future permits.
| Name | Detail |
|---|---|
| Exceptional Hauling Permit for Agricultural Products | Annual ($250) or 30-day ($30) permit for six-axle or larger farm-product combinations at up to 87,000 pounds gross, not valid on interstates except fluid milk. |
| Seasonal Exceptional Milk Hauling Permit | March 1 through June 30 each year, offered per House Bill 1035 for raw milk transporters: 88,000 pounds on 5 axles and 95,000 pounds on 6 axles. |
| Seasonal Exceptional Poultry Hauling Permit | November 1 through April 30 each year, offered per House Bill 768 for live poultry transporters: 88,000 pounds on combinations of 5 or 6 axles in certain counties. |
| Containerized Cargo Permit | One-year permit for sealed seagoing containers to and from the Port of Baltimore; intermodal chassis axle limits 22,400 single and 44,000 tandem, gross 80,000 or 90,000 pounds by wheelbase. |
| Blanket Permit, Utility Blanket Permit, Special Hauling Permit, Test Permit | Additional published permit types. No fee amounts for these types are published on the checked SHA sources, so none are recorded. |
The Maryland permit office
- Apply or log in (Maryland One online permitting)
- marylandone.gotpermits.com/marylandone
- Phone
- 410-582-5727, 410-582-5734, toll-free 1-800-543-4564; permit line 1-800-846-6435; permit questions 410-582-5723 and 410-582-5727; technical support 410-582-5724 and 410-582-5731
- [email protected] (also [email protected] and [email protected])
Legal limits before you need a permit
Maryland publishes no-permit limits for width, height, length by vehicle configuration, gross weight and axle groups, with overhang allowances front and rear. The height allowance is tighter than in some western states, and length depends on the configuration, from single vehicles through saddlemount combinations. Semitrailers past the standard length are allowed on interstates and the Maryland truck route system with local pickup and delivery by the shortest practicable distance.
Indivisible loads get their own rules: past a published length they need a permit even in daylight, and specific commodities such as poles and mill logs have their own lines. Any vehicle over a published gross weight may travel only on state and federal numbered highways except when making a pickup or delivery, with designated truck routes inside Baltimore City.
Single-trip permits and the fee table
A single-trip permit covers one move over the legal limits, and the pricing is statutory at the floor: the Transportation Article sets a minimum for each oversize permit and a minimum plus a per-ton increment for overweight permits, with the section text verified at the General Assembly's site during research. The published SHA table prices overweight permits across gross weight bands, stepping by the statutory increment up to the heaviest published row.
Conditions ride on the credential: overweight hauling requires maximum weight registration and a minimum axle count, and violating the permit requirement or its conditions carries a fine with possible confiscation of the permit. The fee table on this page lists each band with its amount, straight from the SHA document.
Exceptional and commodity permits
For repeated or specialized work, Maryland issues purpose-built credentials rather than a general annual permit. The exceptional hauling permit for agricultural products covers six-axle-and-longer farm combinations at an elevated gross weight, sold as an annual or a thirty-day credential, with reinstatement penalties after a violation and a twice-yearly inspection duty. The containerized cargo permit covers sealed international containers to and from the Port of Baltimore for a year, with its own axle limits and wheelbase-based gross weights.
Seasonal credentials appear and disappear with the calendar: a spring milk hauling permit and a winter poultry hauling permit, each tied to statutory bills and specific axle counts. Where the SHA publishes no fee for a permit type, this page records no amount.
Escort requirements
Escorts phase in by dimension. Crossing the first width, length, height or gross weight line takes one escort; crossing the higher lines takes two; and the widest and heaviest loads add a police escort. Height works differently: past the height line the front escort is a pole vehicle, and a route survey is required before the permit is even issued. Escorts can also be ordered whenever weather or road conditions justify it.
Equipment is specified: two-way radio contact with the permitted vehicle, a rotating or oscillating yellow roof light, headlights on, and signs of published dimensions front and rear. The truck itself carries flags by day, signs once past a published width, and rear lights on a long overhang. The escort table on this page carries each threshold and placement from the SHA limitations page.
When oversize loads can move
The default window is daylight, from after sunrise to before sunset, under the state regulation on hours of movement. The SHA's live page publishes a continuous-travel envelope for loads inside published maxima, and this page records both statements honestly because the Handbook prints an older, narrower envelope that still circulates in permit documents.
On top of the windows sit the curfews: weekday midday-only movement for the widest loads, beltway time restrictions for heavy or long loads, the toll-facility weekend closure, holiday moratoria with published no-move windows, and invalidation under a snow emergency plan. No statewide wind rule is published, so none is recorded here.
Superload moves
Past the published gross weight ceiling, a move becomes a superload with its own envelope for axles, length, width and height, plus police and private escorts. Applications go through engineering review, and once approved the applicant activates the permit by entering the driver's details and resubmitting for final approval. Movement windows are split between day and night bands.
The threshold, envelope and review process on this page carry the figures from the SHA limitations page and the state regulation on movement hours.
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 Maryland permit stack, see Maryland trucking permits.