By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Jul 19, 2026
New York legal limits (no permit needed at or under these)
- Width
- 8.5 ftMaximum width is 8 feet on state highways and 8 feet 6 inches (102 inches, plus safety devices) on qualifying and access highways and on highways with a minimum pavement width of 10 feet, except in New York City where the Commissioner may restrict certain highways.
- Gross weight
- 80,000 lbMaximum gross weight on all axles of a single vehicle or combination with three or more axles is 80,000 pounds under the federal bridge formula (82,000 pounds for qualifying natural-gas-fueled vehicles).
- Length: note
- The 53-foot semitrailer applies on qualifying and access highways only, except in New York City, and the king-pin-to-center-of-rear-axle distance is limited to 43 feet. Combinations hauling poles, girders, columns, or similar objects of great length do not need a permit if only the legal length is exceeded (width, height, and weight must remain legal).
- Off interstate limits
- New York publishes limits for state highways versus qualifying/access highways rather than a separate off-interstate table; the qualifying-highway limits are the more permissive figures shown here. Movement on the Thruway, parkways, New York City streets, or local roads requires separate authorization.
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
- $40 (A Type 1 single-trip (general moves) permit is $40.00 when issued by the Central Permit Office and $60.00 when issued by a Regional Office; an amendment is $10.00. It is valid for 5 permissible hauling days and covers loads up to 16 feet 0 inches wide, 160 feet 0 inches long, 15 feet 11 inches high, and 199,999 pounds. Movements exceeding those figures require a Type 1S superload permit.)
- Annual eligibility
- Annual/blanket permits run for a minimum of one month up to a maximum of one year. The standard statewide blanket (Type 4) permit is $360.00 per year (or $60.00 per month) and covers loads up to 10 feet wide, 79 feet 11 inches long, 13 feet 6 inches high, 125 percent of legal weight (including axle and grouping weights), and 100,000 pounds maximum gross, on state highways with 20 feet or more of pavement width. Higher-limit blanket variants (Types 24B and 24C) cost $750.00 and $900.00 per year.
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 New York oversize permit cost worked examples.
Escort thresholds
Travel restrictions
- Daylight only
- Yes (A permissible hauling day is a normal working day, Monday through Friday, during daylight hours from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset, when weather conditions are favorable. No travel is allowed at night (between one-half hour after sunset and one-half hour before sunrise) unless otherwise specified on the permit. Overweight-only moves that are not over-dimensional and can maintain traffic-flow speed are not restricted as to time or day of travel.)
- Curfews
- Over-dimensional or overweight moves within 12 feet of width, 85 feet of length, and legal height that can maintain normal highway speed may be authorized to move from one-half hour before sunrise until 12 noon on Saturdays, unless that Saturday falls on a listed holiday.
- Daylight hours rule
- A permissible hauling day is a normal working day, Monday through Friday, during daylight hours from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset, when weather conditions are favorable. No travel is allowed at night (between one-half hour after sunset and one-half hour before sunrise) unless otherwise specified on the permit. Overweight-only moves that are not over-dimensional and can maintain traffic-flow speed are not restricted as to time or day of travel.
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 Type 1S superload permit is required for a move whose dimensions or weight exceed 16 feet 0 inches in width, 15 feet 11 inches in height, 160 feet 0 inches in length, or 200,000 pounds in gross weight, or any combination of the above.
All superload applications go to the Central Permit Office in Albany and require a manufacturer/designer certification that the load or vehicle cannot feasibly be broken down, a letter of responsibility for damage, and permission letters from each municipality whose highways are on the route. Height of 15 feet or greater near overhead traffic signals, or 14 feet or greater near overhead wires, requires utility/signal contractor arrangements documented in the route survey. Applications of 200,000 pounds or more require an axle-configuration schematic and tire ratings, and NYSDOT may require a licensed engineering firm to perform a bridge analysis and accompany the move. Police escorts are required for all superloads.
| Condition | Bond USD |
|---|---|
| Height at least 16 feet but less than 17 feet | 10,000 |
| Height 17 feet or greater | 30,000 |
| Width over 16 feet | 10,000 |
| Length over 160 feet | 10,000 |
| Weight at least 200,000 but less than 300,000 pounds | 10,000 |
| Weight at least 300,000 but less than 400,000 pounds | 20,000 |
| Weight over 400,000 pounds | 50,000 |
More New York permit rules
- Single trip fee note
- A Type 1 single-trip (general moves) permit is $40.00 when issued by the Central Permit Office and $60.00 when issued by a Regional Office; an amendment is $10.00. It is valid for 5 permissible hauling days and covers loads up to 16 feet 0 inches wide, 160 feet 0 inches long, 15 feet 11 inches high, and 199,999 pounds. Movements exceeding those figures require a Type 1S superload permit.
- Annual permit eligibility
- Annual/blanket permits run for a minimum of one month up to a maximum of one year. The standard statewide blanket (Type 4) permit is $360.00 per year (or $60.00 per month) and covers loads up to 10 feet wide, 79 feet 11 inches long, 13 feet 6 inches high, 125 percent of legal weight (including axle and grouping weights), and 100,000 pounds maximum gross, on state highways with 20 feet or more of pavement width. Higher-limit blanket variants (Types 24B and 24C) cost $750.00 and $900.00 per year.
| Component | Applies to | Fee USD |
|---|---|---|
| Statewide blanket permit (Type 4, 24A, 24E), monthly | 10 ft wide, 79 ft 11 in long, 13 ft 6 in high, 125% of legal weight, 100,000 lb max gross | 60 |
| Statewide blanket permit (Type 4, 24A, 24E), annual | Same limits, one year | 360 |
| Statewide blanket permit (Type 24B), annual | Higher-limit blanket | 750 |
| Statewide blanket permit (Type 24C), annual | Higher-limit blanket | 900 |
| 25 mile / 100 mile air radius permit, annual | 12 ft wide, 79 ft 11 in long, 13 ft 6 in high; weight by axle configuration up to 116,000 lb | 360 |
| Steel haulers / special vehicle combination, annual | Annual permit | 500 |
| Emergency blanket permit (Type 6), annual | 13 ft wide, 79 ft 11 in long, 13 ft 6 in high; emergency movements | 360 |
| Amendment to a monthly or annual permit | One-time amendment | 15 |
| Name | Detail |
|---|---|
| Bulk milk permit (monthly $60 / annual $360) | |
| 25 mile air radius permit (Type 2) | 12 ft wide, 79 ft 11 in long, 13 ft 6 in high; weight by axle configuration (for example, 5 or more axles with a 36 ft wheelbase up to 116,000 lb; tandem 56,000 lb, tridem 60,000 lb). |
| 100 mile air radius permit | |
| Oversize farm equipment permit for dealers (Type 7) | 15 ft wide, 79 ft 11 in long, 13 ft 6 in high, 125% of legal weight, 100,000 lb max gross, within a 25 air-mile radius. |
| Steel haulers / special vehicle combination permit | |
| Snow plow 25 mile radius permit | |
| Sealed shipping container permit | |
| Divisible load overweight permit | For divisible loads on Infrastructure Friendly Vehicles (IFVs); lift axles must be steerable/trackable, all non-steerable axles must have two tires per side, and axle groupings must satisfy the 80 percent rule (no axle carries less than 80 percent of any other axle in the group). Fee amounts are not published on the divisible-load web page. |
The New York permit office
- System
- Highway Oversize Overweight Credentialing System (HOOCS), accessed through the OSCAR portal or a NY.GOV ID
- Note
- Special hauling permits are required to move vehicles or loads on New York State highways that exceed the legal dimensions or weights in Section 385 of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law. NYSDOT permits are valid only on highways under NYSDOT jurisdiction; the New York State Thruway, parkways, New York City, and county/town/city/village roads require separate permission from the relevant authority.
Legal limits before you need a permit
New York publishes its no-permit limits for width, height, length by configuration, gross weight, and axle groups under Section 385 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law. Width depends on the road, length depends on whether you run a single vehicle, a semitrailer, or a combination, and the qualifying-highway limits are more generous than the plain state-highway ones. Gross weight follows the federal bridge formula.
Loads within these published limits move without a permit. The sourced figures come from Section 385 and the Central Permit Office guidance.
Single-trip permits
A single-trip permit covers one move over the legal limits, valid for a set number of hauling days. The Central Permit Office issues it at one rate; a regional office issues it at a higher one, and an amendment carries a small added fee. The permit covers loads up to published width, length, height, and weight ceilings, and anything past those ceilings becomes a superload.
Manufactured and modular housing, emergency moves, and sealed shipping containers each have their own trip permit. Each amount is a sourced figure in the fee schedule here.
Monthly and annual blanket permits
For repeated oversize work, New York sells monthly and annual blanket permits that cover a year, or a shorter run of months, inside a published width, height, length, and weight envelope on qualifying state highways. Higher-limit variants cost more and carry larger envelopes. Radius permits, farm equipment permits for dealers, steel-hauler permits, and bulk milk permits round out the annual options.
The sourced annual fees come from the Central Permit Office fee list.
Escort and flag requirements
New York phases in safety equipment and escorts by dimension. A load over the standard width carries red flags front and rear, and escort vehicles may be required at the Department's discretion. New York does not publish a fixed width-to-escort-count table; instead, escorts are set in the conditions of each permit, and certified escort drivers must hold a valid New York escort license.
Superloads are the exception with a hard rule: every superload requires a police escort, arranged in advance. The sourced escort thresholds come from the Central Permit Office guidance.
When oversize loads can move
Oversize moves run on permissible hauling days only: weekdays during daylight, from before sunrise to after sunset, in favorable weather. No night travel unless the permit says so, no weekend movement, and no movement on the six listed holidays, with an early cutoff on the working day before one. A narrow Saturday-morning window exists for loads within a set width and length that can keep normal highway speed.
One honest gap: New York conditions travel on favorable weather but does not publish a specific numeric high-wind threshold, so this page records none.
Superloads
Past the single-trip ceilings for width, height, length, or gross weight, a move becomes a superload and goes to the Central Permit Office in Albany. Superloads need a certification that the load cannot be broken down, a letter of responsibility for damage, and permission from each municipality on the route. The heaviest and tallest moves add bonding, an axle-configuration schematic, and sometimes a bridge analysis by a licensed engineering firm.
Every superload requires a police escort, arranged at least two business days ahead. The sourced thresholds and bonding steps come from the Central Permit Office guidance.
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 New York permit stack, see New York trucking permits.
Frequently asked questions
What can I haul in New York without an oversize permit?
- Anything inside the Section 385 legal limits for width, height, length by configuration, gross weight, and axle groups. Qualifying highways allow more generous length than plain state highways. The sourced limits come from Section 385 and the Central Permit Office guidance.
How much does a New York single-trip permit cost?
- It depends on the office that issues it and whether you amend it. The Central Permit Office issues at one rate and a regional office at a higher one. Each amount is a sourced figure in the fee schedule here.
When does a load need an escort in New York?
- Over the standard width, a load carries red flags and may need escorts at the Department's discretion. New York sets escort counts in each permit rather than a fixed table, and every superload requires a police escort arranged in advance.
What counts as a superload in New York?
- A move that exceeds the published single-trip ceilings for width, height, length, or gross weight. Superloads go to the Central Permit Office in Albany, need route permissions and often bonding, and always require a police escort.
Can oversize loads move on the New York Thruway?
- Not under a Department of Transportation permit. State permits cover only state-jurisdiction highways. The Thruway, parkways, New York City, and local roads each need separate permission from the authority that controls them.
Haul Handbook publishes educational information about trucking registration and compliance requirements. This is not legal, financial, or tax advice. Rules, fees, and deadlines change; confirm with the agency before you file or pay.