What can I haul in Virginia without an oversize permit?

Anything within the legal dimensions and axle weights on this page, after reducing the load to its smallest size.

How much does a Virginia single-trip permit cost?

A flat fee, plus a per-mile charge when overweight or when the configuration cannot be licensed in Virginia. The amounts are in the fee table on this page.

When does an oversize load need an escort in Virginia?

When it passes the width, height, length, overhang or off-center thresholds in the escort table on this page. Interstate routes usually need fewer escorts.

What counts as a superload in Virginia?

Any load beyond what an ordinary single-trip permit allows, which DMV and VDOT review case by case.

Does Virginia restrict oversize moves to daylight hours?

Yes. Normal travel is sunrise to sunset, though DMV may require some superloads to move at night.

How do you get an oversize or overweight permit in Virginia?

Online, through EZ Haul, with automated routing and self-issue for some permit types; most permits issue in one day or less, the permit system named on this page with its login link in the permit office section. Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, Hauling Permits Section runs it; the office's phone and hours are in the same section for moves the system cannot price.

Virginia Oversize/Overweight Permits: EZ Haul Login and Fees

By Haul Handbook editorial team· Updated Oct 6, 2026

Virginia hauling permits are issued by the DMV Hauling Permits Section, not the Department of Transportation, and ordered online through EZ Haul. Legal limits are 8 feet 6 inches wide, 13 feet 6 inches high, 40 feet for a single motorized vehicle, 48 feet for a trailer (53 feet on the Interstate system), 65 feet for a combination, 20,000 lbs on a single axle and 34,000 lbs on a tandem. A single-trip permit costs $20, plus 30 cents per mile when overweight. A blanket permit costs $100 for one year or $200 for two, plus $40 a year mileage and $360 a year damage fees when overweight. Superloads cost $30 plus mileage and damage fees.

Virginia legal limits (no permit needed at or under these)

Width: 8.5 ft8 feet 6 inches.
Height: 13.5 ft13 feet 6 inches.
Gross weight: 80,000 lbVa. Code 46.2-1126 sets gross weight by an axle-group table that tops out at 80,000 lbs.
Length: Single motorized vehicle: 40 ft
Length: Trailer: 48 ft
Length: Trailer on interstate system: 53 ft
Length: Combination: 65 ft
Length: Rear overhang: 4 ft
Length: Front overhang: 3 ft
Length: Note: Motorized vehicles other than buses or motor homes 40 feet; trailers 48 feet, with 53-foot trailers allowed on the Interstate system; vehicle and trailer combinations 65 feet; overhang 4 feet rear and 3 feet front.

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.

Virginia legal axle weight limits by axle group
Axle group	Maximum weight
Single axle	20,000 lb (DMV Hauling Permits legal limits.)
Tandem axle	34,000 lb (DMV Hauling Permits legal limits.)
Groups of axles	Set by the Va. Code 46.2-1126 table by distance and axle count.

Scroll sideways to see every column.

Permit fees

Single trip: $20 (A single trip costs $20. A mileage fee of 30 cents per mile is added when overweight or when the configuration cannot be licensed in Virginia; mobile and manufactured homes pay a flat $1 instead. Most single-trip permits are valid for 13 days.)
Annual permit: $100 (A blanket permit costs $100 for one year or $200 for two years. Overweight blankets add a $40 mileage fee and a $360 damage fee per year; configurations that cannot be licensed in Virginia add the $40 mileage fee.)
Annual eligibility: Blanket (annual multi-trip) permits allow multiple moves on designated or unrestricted routes and are issued case by case from DMV headquarters, with requests at least 10 business days ahead. Holders must download the VDOT structure exclusion list or locality document named on the permit.

Single-trip permit fee schedule

Check the applies-to column and source for each fee component. A partial schedule does not establish the total charge.

Virginia single-trip oversize permit fee components
Fee component	Applies to	Amount
Single trip permit	One move between origin and destination	$20
Mileage fee, per mile	Overweight loads or configurations that cannot be licensed in Virginia	$0.30
Superload permit	Size or weight that requires research and analysis	$30

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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.

Escort thresholds

Dimension	Threshold	Escorts	Where the escorts ride	Police escort
width	over 12 ft	2	One front and one rear on non-Interstate routes; one rear on Interstate routes	No
width	over 14 ft	3	Two front and one rear on non-Interstate routes; one front and one rear on Interstate routes	No
width	over 16 ft	4	Two front and two rear on non-Interstate routes; one front and two rear on Interstate routes	No
height	over 14 ft 5 in	1	One front escort with a height pole set three inches above the load, all routes	No
length	over 90 ft	1	One rear escort on non-Interstate routes (over 120 ft on Interstate routes)	No
length	over 150 ft	2	One front and one rear, all routes	No
off-center load	over 3 ft 6 in on the passenger side	1	One front escort (front and rear when over 5 ft)	No
overhang	front over 10 ft or rear over 15 ft	1	One front escort for front overhang; one rear escort for rear overhang	No

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.

Case by case: Loads over 18 feet wide or 200 feet long are handled case by case, and DMV may change escort requirements for weight, dimensions, location or route.
Escort driver certification: Escort vehicle operators must be certified before escorting in Virginia.

Escort rules beyond the thresholds

Knowing when you need an escort is half of it. These are the Virginia rules on who may run one, what the vehicle has to carry, and how the move is conducted.

Case by case: Loads over 18 feet wide or 200 feet long are handled case by case, and DMV may change escort requirements for weight, dimensions, location or route.
Certification: Escort vehicle operators must be certified before escorting in Virginia.

Travel restrictions

Daylight only: Yes (Normal travel is sunrise to sunset; some superloads may be required to move at night.)
Curfews: No permitted travel inside city or town limits from 7 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m., except configurations that are only overweight or overlength up to 85 feet.
Weekend / holiday: No travel on New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving or Christmas, with permits invalid from noon the preceding weekday; a Monday holiday starts at noon the Friday before.
Wind / weather: Permitted vehicles may not operate when road conditions, visibility or weather make travel hazardous, unless responding to an emergency.

Daylight hours rule: Normal travel is sunrise to sunset; some superloads may be required to move at night.
Weather: Permitted vehicles may not operate when road conditions, visibility or weather make travel hazardous, unless responding to an emergency.

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 exceeds the size or weight ordinarily allowed on a single-trip permit and needs research or VDOT engineering analysis. Moves over 18 feet wide, 250,000 lbs, 200 feet long or 16 feet high may need a detailed travel plan with law enforcement, utility and VDOT authorizations.

Submit at least 10 working days before the move; permits issue case by case after review.

More Virginia permit rules

Single trip fee: $20
Single trip fee note: A single trip costs $20. A mileage fee of 30 cents per mile is added when overweight or when the configuration cannot be licensed in Virginia; mobile and manufactured homes pay a flat $1 instead. Most single-trip permits are valid for 13 days.
Annual permit fee note: A blanket permit costs $100 for one year or $200 for two years. Overweight blankets add a $40 mileage fee and a $360 damage fee per year; configurations that cannot be licensed in Virginia add the $40 mileage fee.
Annual permit eligibility: Blanket (annual multi-trip) permits allow multiple moves on designated or unrestricted routes and are issued case by case from DMV headquarters, with requests at least 10 business days ahead. Holders must download the VDOT structure exclusion list or locality document named on the permit.
Escort notes: case by case: Loads over 18 feet wide or 200 feet long are handled case by case, and DMV may change escort requirements for weight, dimensions, location or route.
Escort notes: certification: Escort vehicle operators must be certified before escorting in Virginia.
Seasonal permits note: DMV offers exempt permits for specific commodities and services instead of a seasonal class, priced by commodity.

Annual permit fee schedule
Component	Fee
Blanket permit, one year	$100
Blanket permit, two years	$200
Overweight blanket mileage fee, per year	$40
Overweight blanket damage fee, per year	$360

The Virginia permit office

Apply or log in (EZ Haul, with automated routing and self-issue for some permit types; most permits issue in one day or less): ezhaulvirginia.com
Name: Virginia DMV Hauling Permits Section
Agency: Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles
Phone: 804-786-2787
Email: haulingpermit@dmv.virginia.gov
Address: P.O. Box 23260, 6th Floor, Richmond, VA 23260
Note: Payment by credit card or e-check.

Legal limits before you need a permit

DMV publishes the legal height, width, length, overhang and axle weights. Trailer length is longer on the Interstate system, and gross weight follows the bridge table in Va. Code 46.2-1126. You may not create an oversize load by hauling several items together.

Single-trip permits

A single trip covers one move between two points and is usually valid for about two weeks. Overweight loads and configurations that cannot be licensed in Virginia add a per-mile fee.

Blanket permits

A blanket permit covers multiple moves for one or two years on designated or unrestricted routes. Overweight blankets pay yearly mileage and damage fees, and every blanket holder downloads the structure exclusion list named on the permit.

Escort requirements

Escorts are set by width, height, length, overhang and off-center loads, with different counts on Interstate and other routes. Escort drivers must be certified, and the widest and longest loads are reviewed case by case.

When oversize loads can move

Permitted loads normally move from sunrise to sunset, outside city rush hours and holiday periods, and not in hazardous weather.

Superloads

A superload exceeds the ordinary single-trip limits and needs review or VDOT engineering analysis. File at least ten working days ahead; the very largest moves also need a travel plan with police, utility and VDOT sign-offs.

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 Virginia permit stack, see Virginia trucking permits.