By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Aug 9, 2026
Washington oversize and overweight permits come from the WSDOT Commercial Vehicle Services office, and most routine ones are self-issued online around the clock. A single trip dimensional permit is $10; an overweight permit is priced per mile against the pounds of excess weight, with a $14 minimum. The state legal envelope is 8 feet 6 inches wide, 14 feet high, a 53 foot semitrailer or 40 foot single unit, 75 feet overall for a truck and trailer, and a weight table that runs all the way to 105,500 pounds, so a load that would be overweight in most states can still be legal here.
Washington legal limits (no permit needed at or under these)
- Width
- 8.5 ft8 feet 6 inches for any vehicle or its load. An externally mounted rear vision mirror may extend past that, and rule-designated safety, aerodynamic or energy conservation devices may extend up to 3 inches beyond the body width.
- Height
- 14 ft14 feet above the surface the vehicle stands on, unladen or with load. Authorized emergency vehicles and public utility repair equipment in reasonably necessary operation are outside the limit.
- Gross weight
- 105,500 lb105,500 pounds is the largest figure in the RCW 46.44.041 weight table, reached only by long, many-axle groups. Gross vehicle weight is decided by three overlapping criteria and the lesser governs: tire size, axle weight, and the weight table. No single axle may exceed 20,000 pounds, and two consecutive sets of tandem axles may each carry 34,000 pounds when the first and last axles of those sets are 36 feet or more apart. For a sense of scale, the table allows 80,000 pounds on five axles at 51 feet. The Washington sources read for this file publish one table for the public highways of this state and no separate Interstate column, so the federal Interstate ceiling is not recorded here as a Washington figure.
- Length: note
- The 61 foot figure for two trailers is the combined length of the trailers, not the overall combination. Trailer inventory being moved by a manufacturer, distributor or dealer, carrying no property and weighing 26,000 pounds or less in total, is exempt from the two trailer limit up to 82 feet overall. The 15 foot rear protrusion is measured from the centre of the last axle; the 3 foot front protrusion from the front wheels or front bumper.
- Off interstate limits
- RCW 46.44.041 sets one weight table for the public highways of this state and the WSDOT chart reproduces it without an off-Interstate variant. Two Washington provisions do turn on Interstate status: excess weight bought with a collection truck permit under RCW 46.44.0941 is not valid anywhere on the federal Interstate system, and the port district border provision allowing an 80,000 pound load from a bordering sales-tax state within four miles of the line expressly excludes the Interstate system.
- Tire load
- 600 pounds per inch of tire width is the ceiling. An axle carrying more than 10,000 pounds gross must have four or more tires, whatever its build date; an axle may instead run two tires limited to 500 pounds per inch of tire width. The tire rule does not apply to a vehicle under an oversize or overweight permit carrying a nonreducible load.
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
- $10 ($10 covers a single trip permit for any overlegal load except an overweight one. The Single Trip OSOW permit WSDOT issues is route specific, good for three days, and available for nondivisible loads only. An overweight single trip permit is priced instead on the cost per mile table in RCW 46.44.0941, running from 7 cents per mile for the first 9,999 pounds of excess weight to $4.25 per mile at 100,000 pounds of excess, plus 50 cents for each additional 5,000 pound increment. The minimum overweight permit fee is $14 and a duplicate permit is $14.)
- Annual permit
- $100 ($100 a year is the headline continuous-operation price: it buys a single trailing unit over 53 and up to 56 feet, or two trailing units over 61 and up to 68 feet. Most other continuous permits are cheaper by the month, and a few specialised ones cost more. Fees are set by statute in RCW 46.44.0941 rather than by WSDOT policy, and government-owned vehicles of the state, a county, a city, a town, a metropolitan municipal corporation or the federal government pay none of them.)
- Annual eligibility
- Washington does not sell one blanket annual envelope permit the way Texas and Oklahoma do. It sells a menu of continuous-operation permits, each tied to a configuration or a commodity: single trailer to 56 feet, double trailers to 68 feet, milk doubles to 85 feet and 129,000 pounds, three and four axle fixed load vehicles, dimensional nondivisible loads up to 14 feet wide, 15 feet high and 125 feet long, manufactured housing up to 15 feet wide and high and a 75 foot trailer, tarping systems to 9 feet wide, empty apple bins and rancher hay to 15 feet high, log tolerance, tow trucks by class, collection trucks, and the two heavy haul corridors. Dimensional continuous permits may be issued for consecutive months up to a 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 Washington 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.
- Operator certification
- Washington certifies its pilot and escort vehicle operators. An operator with a Washington driver licence must hold a valid Washington pilot escort vehicle operator certificate card and carry it while working. An operator licensed elsewhere may either get the Washington card or work under a certification from a jurisdiction WSDOT has approved. Certification takes an eight hour initial course, or a four hour recertification course, from a WSDOT-approved provider, plus a written test passed at 80 percent or better. Cards are renewed every three years.
- Escort vehicle
- The escort vehicle must be a single unit passenger car, passenger van, or two axle truck including a nonplacarded service truck; no more than 16,000 pounds gross weight or gross weight rating; a body at least 60 inches and no more than 102 inches wide; inside legal size and weight; fitted with outside rear view mirrors on both sides; and it may not tow a trailer while escorting.
- Equipment the escort vehicle carries
- At least one flashing or rotating amber light or strobe above the roof line, visible 500 feet front and rear and a full 360 degrees, used only while escorting or while taking height measurements on a prerun. Headlights on while escorting. An OVERSIZE LOAD sign at least five feet wide and 10 inches high, black lettering at least eight inches high in a one inch brush stroke on yellow, mounted over the roof and displayed only while escorting. A two-way radio giving reliable voice contact with the transport vehicle at all times.
- Where the escort rides
- A rear escort stays close enough to warn approaching traffic and never more than half a mile back, except where a long narrow section makes that unsafe. A front escort stays far enough ahead for the load to stop or correct, but never so far ahead that radio contact suffers. A pilot escort operator may not perform tillerman duties while escorting.
- Manufactured housing
- WSDOT's permit conditions state that manufactured housing takes the front height pole escort only when the load exceeds 15 feet high, rather than at the general 14 feet 6 inches trigger.
- Flag person substitute
- For the over-105-foot and over-125-foot length triggers the special permit may authorise a riding flag person instead of a pilot escort vehicle. The flag person may ride in the transport vehicle with the transporter's authorisation.
- When the state adds escorts at its discretion
- WSDOT may require additional pilot escort vehicles, or law enforcement vehicles, for any overdimensional or overweight move it judges necessary to protect the traveling public. Those assignments have to be authorised through the department's administrator for commercial vehicle services, and a superload planner should expect them.
Escort rules beyond the thresholds
Knowing when you need an escort is half of it. These are the Washington rules on who may run one, what the vehicle has to carry, and how the move is conducted.
- Operator certification
- Washington certifies its pilot and escort vehicle operators. An operator with a Washington driver licence must hold a valid Washington pilot escort vehicle operator certificate card and carry it while working. An operator licensed elsewhere may either get the Washington card or work under a certification from a jurisdiction WSDOT has approved. Certification takes an eight hour initial course, or a four hour recertification course, from a WSDOT-approved provider, plus a written test passed at 80 percent or better. Cards are renewed every three years.
- Escort vehicle
- The escort vehicle must be a single unit passenger car, passenger van, or two axle truck including a nonplacarded service truck; no more than 16,000 pounds gross weight or gross weight rating; a body at least 60 inches and no more than 102 inches wide; inside legal size and weight; fitted with outside rear view mirrors on both sides; and it may not tow a trailer while escorting.
- Equipment
- At least one flashing or rotating amber light or strobe above the roof line, visible 500 feet front and rear and a full 360 degrees, used only while escorting or while taking height measurements on a prerun. Headlights on while escorting. An OVERSIZE LOAD sign at least five feet wide and 10 inches high, black lettering at least eight inches high in a one inch brush stroke on yellow, mounted over the roof and displayed only while escorting. A two-way radio giving reliable voice contact with the transport vehicle at all times.
- Positioning
- A rear escort stays close enough to warn approaching traffic and never more than half a mile back, except where a long narrow section makes that unsafe. A front escort stays far enough ahead for the load to stop or correct, but never so far ahead that radio contact suffers. A pilot escort operator may not perform tillerman duties while escorting.
- Manufactured housing
- WSDOT's permit conditions state that manufactured housing takes the front height pole escort only when the load exceeds 15 feet high, rather than at the general 14 feet 6 inches trigger.
- Flag person substitute
- For the over-105-foot and over-125-foot length triggers the special permit may authorise a riding flag person instead of a pilot escort vehicle. The flag person may ride in the transport vehicle with the transporter's authorisation.
- Discretionary
- WSDOT may require additional pilot escort vehicles, or law enforcement vehicles, for any overdimensional or overweight move it judges necessary to protect the traveling public. Those assignments have to be authorised through the department's administrator for commercial vehicle services, and a superload planner should expect them.
Conditions attached to every permit
The standing conditions Washington writes into the permit itself, which apply whether or not they are printed on your copy.
- Non divisible rule
- Permits are issued only for loads that cannot be divided. If the load or any part of it can reasonably be reduced it must be reduced, and no permit is granted. A configuration may stay assembled where separating it would compromise the intended use, destroy the value of the load, or take more than eight work hours with appropriate equipment; the applicant carries the burden of proof.
- Carry requirements
- A signed permit, or a copy of the signed permit, must be carried on the power unit at all times while the permit is in effect. An electronic display is allowed if the permittee accepts the liability for the device, the permit is verifiable through eSNOOPI, the permittee lets law enforcement take physical control of the device to inspect it, and the screen is at least 3.5 by 5 inches for permits that carry routing information.
- Route responsibility
- The applicant provides the route and is responsible for verifying restrictions and overhead clearances. Issuing a permit does not guarantee the route is free of overhead obstructions or that any structure is adequate.
- Liability
- Every special permit is issued on the understanding that the permittee is responsible and liable for accidents, damage or injury to any person or property resulting from operating the permitted vehicle on the public highways, and indemnifies the state.
- Signs and flags
- An OVERSIZE LOAD sign at least seven feet wide and 18 inches high with black lettering at least 10 inches high, brush stroke between 1.4 and 1.5 inches, on yellow, goes on the front and rear of the transporting vehicle where it does not block lights or plates, and comes off when the vehicle is not carrying an overdimensional load. Flags go on all four corners of an overwidth load and at the extreme ends of every protrusion; during darkness, lights replace the flags at each of those points. A white flag or cloth at least 18 inches square goes at the middle of any span over 15 feet between a towed and towing vehicle.
- Securement
- The load must be secured and protected by safety chains or other securing devices under 49 C.F.R. Part 393.100, must not drag on the highway, and any boom or aerial device must be secured so it cannot ratchet up or sway.
- Brakes and towing
- Braking must meet RCW 46.37.360. A permit is not issued for a vehicle in tow of another without brakes unless the power unit is a three axle truck or truck tractor of at least 15,000 pounds unladen with enough power and braking to control the towed unit.
Travel restrictions
- Daylight only
- No (Washington does not impose a blanket daylight-only rule. A vehicle or combination inside a defined envelope of 12 feet wide, 14 feet 6 inches high and 105 feet long including legal overhangs may move at night as of right. A larger load may still be permitted to move at night on state highways subject to WSDOT preferred hours and routes, but the permit itself has to say Nighttime movement approved. Night runs from one half hour after sunset to one half hour before sunrise, the load needs lighting meeting 49 C.F.R. 393.11, and every night move must obey the published curfews. No move may be made when visibility drops below 500 feet or when the road is hazardous with snow, ice, mudslide, wind or flooding.)
- Curfews
- Commuter curfews apply Monday through Friday on named urban corridors, and they bite at widths as narrow as 9 feet. Seattle to Everett: SR 2 mileposts 0 to 2.42 eastbound 3 to 7 p.m. and westbound 6 to 9 a.m. at 9 feet; I-5 between SR 512 and SR 599 6 to 9 a.m. and 3 to 6 p.m. at 10 feet; I-5 between SR 599 and SR 523 6 to 9 a.m. and 3 to 6 p.m. at 9 feet; SR 18, I-90, SR 167, I-405 for its whole length, SR 518 and SR 522 mostly 6 to 9 a.m. and 3 to 7 p.m. at 10 feet. Tacoma: I-5 exit 118 to SR 512 and SR 512 itself, plus SR 16, at 10 feet. Olympia: I-5 exits 99 to 109, 4 to 6 p.m. at 10 feet. Vancouver: I-5 and I-205 near the Oregon line at 10 feet. Kelso: SR 433 over the Lewis and Clark Bridge 6 to 9 a.m. at 10 feet. Spokane: I-90 from Medical Lake to Liberty Lake 6 to 9 a.m. and 3 to 7 p.m. at 11 feet 2 inches. Vehicles that are over width only and stay inside the listed width are excepted. WSDOT publishes the current list on the internet and as an addendum to the permit.
- Weekend / holiday
- Overweight vehicles that cannot hold the speed of surrounding traffic, and all overdimensional vehicles and loads, are prohibited on New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, the day after Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day, and during the afternoon of the day before each of those holidays. WAC 468-38-175(1) states the restriction as commencing at noon on the day preceding the holiday.
- Wind / weather
- Movement under permit is prohibited in any area displaying the signs TRACTION ADVISORY OVERSIZE VEHICLES PROHIBITED, VEHICLES OVER 10,000 GVWR CHAINS REQUIRED, or ALL VEHICLES CHAINS REQUIRED EXCEPT ALL-WHEEL DRIVE, except for the vehicles WAC 468-38-075 exempts, which must still comply with the chain rules in WAC 204-24-050.
- Speed
- Unless the permit says otherwise the speed limit for a permitted vehicle is the posted truck limit. Travel on the shoulder of a two-lane highway to let traffic pass is capped at 25 miles per hour. A speed stated on the permit is a condition of it, a lower posted limit still wins, and exceeding the permit speed renders the permit null and void.
- Daylight hours rule
- Washington does not impose a blanket daylight-only rule. A vehicle or combination inside a defined envelope of 12 feet wide, 14 feet 6 inches high and 105 feet long including legal overhangs may move at night as of right. A larger load may still be permitted to move at night on state highways subject to WSDOT preferred hours and routes, but the permit itself has to say Nighttime movement approved. Night runs from one half hour after sunset to one half hour before sunrise, the load needs lighting meeting 49 C.F.R. 393.11, and every night move must obey the published curfews. No move may be made when visibility drops below 500 feet or when the road is hazardous with snow, ice, mudslide, wind or flooding.
- Weather
- Movement under permit is prohibited in any area displaying the signs TRACTION ADVISORY OVERSIZE VEHICLES PROHIBITED, VEHICLES OVER 10,000 GVWR CHAINS REQUIRED, or ALL VEHICLES CHAINS REQUIRED EXCEPT ALL-WHEEL DRIVE, except for the vehicles WAC 468-38-075 exempts, which must still comply with the chain rules in WAC 204-24-050.
- Speed
- Unless the permit says otherwise the speed limit for a permitted vehicle is the posted truck limit. Travel on the shoulder of a two-lane highway to let traffic pass is capped at 25 miles per hour. A speed stated on the permit is a condition of it, a lower posted limit still wins, and exceeding the permit speed renders the permit null and void.
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 nondivisible load over 200,000 pounds, or over 16 feet high, or over 16 feet wide, or with a trailing unit plus load over 125 feet long. Superloads cannot be self-issued.
The applicant supplies documentation that the move is in the public interest and that barge or rail is not a feasible alternative, a schematic or photograph showing why the item cannot be broken down, a schematic of the loaded vehicle with axle loadings, axle spacings, tire sizes and tires per axle, the proposed route, evidence that any county or city on the route will permit it, and a traffic control plan covering delays, lane restrictions, escorts and flag persons, moving overhead obstacles, railroad crossings, and how emergency vehicles will get around the load. Physical examination of every railroad crossing is treated as critical.
- Lead time
- A load over 200,000 pounds needs a written application at least 30 calendar days before the move. A load that meets only the dimensional criteria needs at least 7 calendar days. Electronic submission counts as written. The lead time exists so WSDOT can analyse the pavements and structures on the route.
- Cost sharing
- If the analysis will take significant WSDOT resources the applicant may be asked to share the cost. WSDOT gives an estimate first so the applicant can decide whether to proceed.
More Washington permit rules
- Single trip fee note
- $10 covers a single trip permit for any overlegal load except an overweight one. The Single Trip OSOW permit WSDOT issues is route specific, good for three days, and available for nondivisible loads only. An overweight single trip permit is priced instead on the cost per mile table in RCW 46.44.0941, running from 7 cents per mile for the first 9,999 pounds of excess weight to $4.25 per mile at 100,000 pounds of excess, plus 50 cents for each additional 5,000 pound increment. The minimum overweight permit fee is $14 and a duplicate permit is $14.
- Annual permit fee note
- $100 a year is the headline continuous-operation price: it buys a single trailing unit over 53 and up to 56 feet, or two trailing units over 61 and up to 68 feet. Most other continuous permits are cheaper by the month, and a few specialised ones cost more. Fees are set by statute in RCW 46.44.0941 rather than by WSDOT policy, and government-owned vehicles of the state, a county, a city, a town, a metropolitan municipal corporation or the federal government pay none of them.
- Annual permit eligibility
- Washington does not sell one blanket annual envelope permit the way Texas and Oklahoma do. It sells a menu of continuous-operation permits, each tied to a configuration or a commodity: single trailer to 56 feet, double trailers to 68 feet, milk doubles to 85 feet and 129,000 pounds, three and four axle fixed load vehicles, dimensional nondivisible loads up to 14 feet wide, 15 feet high and 125 feet long, manufactured housing up to 15 feet wide and high and a 75 foot trailer, tarping systems to 9 feet wide, empty apple bins and rancher hay to 15 feet high, log tolerance, tow trucks by class, collection trucks, and the two heavy haul corridors. Dimensional continuous permits may be issued for consecutive months up to a year.
- Annual permit details: validity
- Dimensional continuous operation permits covering height, length or width may be issued for an expanded period of consecutive months up to one year. Log tolerance permits all expire March 31 whatever their issue date.
- Annual permit details: transfer
- A size or weight permit can be moved from one power unit to another on DOT Form 560-047, once per permit. Trip and fuel permits cannot be transferred.
- Escort notes: operator certification
- Washington certifies its pilot and escort vehicle operators. An operator with a Washington driver licence must hold a valid Washington pilot escort vehicle operator certificate card and carry it while working. An operator licensed elsewhere may either get the Washington card or work under a certification from a jurisdiction WSDOT has approved. Certification takes an eight hour initial course, or a four hour recertification course, from a WSDOT-approved provider, plus a written test passed at 80 percent or better. Cards are renewed every three years.
- Escort notes: escort vehicle
- The escort vehicle must be a single unit passenger car, passenger van, or two axle truck including a nonplacarded service truck; no more than 16,000 pounds gross weight or gross weight rating; a body at least 60 inches and no more than 102 inches wide; inside legal size and weight; fitted with outside rear view mirrors on both sides; and it may not tow a trailer while escorting.
- Escort notes: equipment
- At least one flashing or rotating amber light or strobe above the roof line, visible 500 feet front and rear and a full 360 degrees, used only while escorting or while taking height measurements on a prerun. Headlights on while escorting. An OVERSIZE LOAD sign at least five feet wide and 10 inches high, black lettering at least eight inches high in a one inch brush stroke on yellow, mounted over the roof and displayed only while escorting. A two-way radio giving reliable voice contact with the transport vehicle at all times.
- Escort notes: positioning
- A rear escort stays close enough to warn approaching traffic and never more than half a mile back, except where a long narrow section makes that unsafe. A front escort stays far enough ahead for the load to stop or correct, but never so far ahead that radio contact suffers. A pilot escort operator may not perform tillerman duties while escorting.
- Escort notes: manufactured housing
- WSDOT's permit conditions state that manufactured housing takes the front height pole escort only when the load exceeds 15 feet high, rather than at the general 14 feet 6 inches trigger.
- Escort notes: flag person substitute
- For the over-105-foot and over-125-foot length triggers the special permit may authorise a riding flag person instead of a pilot escort vehicle. The flag person may ride in the transport vehicle with the transporter's authorisation.
- Escort notes: discretionary
- WSDOT may require additional pilot escort vehicles, or law enforcement vehicles, for any overdimensional or overweight move it judges necessary to protect the traveling public. Those assignments have to be authorised through the department's administrator for commercial vehicle services, and a superload planner should expect them.
- Escort notes: police escort
- Chapter 468-38 WAC sets no fixed dimension at which a law enforcement escort becomes mandatory. Law enforcement accompaniment is discretionary under WAC 468-38-100(1)(k) and WAC 468-38-405(6), so no numeric police escort threshold is recorded.
- Permit conditions: non divisible rule
- Permits are issued only for loads that cannot be divided. If the load or any part of it can reasonably be reduced it must be reduced, and no permit is granted. A configuration may stay assembled where separating it would compromise the intended use, destroy the value of the load, or take more than eight work hours with appropriate equipment; the applicant carries the burden of proof.
- Permit conditions: carry requirements
- A signed permit, or a copy of the signed permit, must be carried on the power unit at all times while the permit is in effect. An electronic display is allowed if the permittee accepts the liability for the device, the permit is verifiable through eSNOOPI, the permittee lets law enforcement take physical control of the device to inspect it, and the screen is at least 3.5 by 5 inches for permits that carry routing information.
- Permit conditions: route responsibility
- The applicant provides the route and is responsible for verifying restrictions and overhead clearances. Issuing a permit does not guarantee the route is free of overhead obstructions or that any structure is adequate.
- Permit conditions: liability
- Every special permit is issued on the understanding that the permittee is responsible and liable for accidents, damage or injury to any person or property resulting from operating the permitted vehicle on the public highways, and indemnifies the state.
- Permit conditions: signs and flags
- An OVERSIZE LOAD sign at least seven feet wide and 18 inches high with black lettering at least 10 inches high, brush stroke between 1.4 and 1.5 inches, on yellow, goes on the front and rear of the transporting vehicle where it does not block lights or plates, and comes off when the vehicle is not carrying an overdimensional load. Flags go on all four corners of an overwidth load and at the extreme ends of every protrusion; during darkness, lights replace the flags at each of those points. A white flag or cloth at least 18 inches square goes at the middle of any span over 15 feet between a towed and towing vehicle.
- Permit conditions: securement
- The load must be secured and protected by safety chains or other securing devices under 49 C.F.R. Part 393.100, must not drag on the highway, and any boom or aerial device must be secured so it cannot ratchet up or sway.
- Permit conditions: brakes and towing
- Braking must meet RCW 46.37.360. A permit is not issued for a vehicle in tow of another without brakes unless the power unit is a three axle truck or truck tractor of at least 15,000 pounds unladen with enough power and braking to control the towed unit.
- Permit conditions: railroad emergencies
- The emergency number printed on the permit for a vehicle stuck on a railroad crossing is 1-888-877-7267.
- Permit conditions: rule changes
- WSDOT warns that the rules change and that holders of monthly and annual permits are subject to the current rule, not the rule printed on the permit.
- Permit insurance requirements: detail
- By signing the special permit the applicant affirms that the move, meaning the vehicle and the operator, is covered by at least $750,000 of liability insurance, or at least $300,000 for a noncommercial move. This is a permit condition affirmed on the application rather than a certificate WSDOT collects in advance, and it is separate from the operating authority insurance the Utilities and Transportation Commission requires.
- Permitted maximum dimensions: width note
- RCW 46.44.092 caps permitted width outside city and town limits at 14 feet on two-lane highways, 20 feet on multiple-lane highways separated by a physical median barrier, and 32 feet on multiple-lane highways with no barrier. Permits above those widths may be issued on highway segments designed and built for them, and the limits do not apply to a daylight move on a two-lane state highway where gross weight stays at or under 80,000 pounds and the load is not over 16 feet wide, subject to conditions WSDOT sets. Building moves on a two-lane state highway other than the Interstate may exceed the limits under controlled one-way traffic for a distance of no more than five miles.
- Permitted maximum dimensions: height note
- There is no fixed permitted height ceiling. Any move over 14 feet is governed by whether it can clear bridges, underpasses, wires and overhead signs, and a permit is not a guarantee that the route is clear. The applicant prerun the route and provides for detours; state-owned structures should be reviewed with WSDOT field staff.
- Permitted maximum dimensions: length note
- Overlength routing is limited by the ability to negotiate curves, interchanges, entrances and exits. A truck tractor pulling a semitrailer or full trailer may not have the trailer exceed the length or width of the nondivisible load it carries, beyond the permitted 56 feet, unless WSDOT grants an exception to spread weight. A truck tractor with a semitrailer and full trailer is capped at 61 feet of combined trailer length and loads no wider than 10 feet, and may not carry overheight, overlength or overweight loads. A loaded truck and trailer combination carrying a nondivisible overlength load is capped at 85 feet overall and may not be overweight.
- Permitted maximum dimensions: weight note
- Permitted weight is set by the axle formula in RCW 46.44.091: 22,000 pounds on a single axle or on dual axles less than 3 feet 6 inches apart, 43,000 pounds on dual axles 3 feet 6 inches to under 7 feet apart, then 6,500 pounds times the wheelbase in feet from 7 to under 10 feet, 2,200 pounds times the sum of 20 and the wheelbase from 10 to under 30 feet, and 1,600 pounds times the sum of 40 and the wheelbase at 30 feet or more. The lesser of the whole-group figure and any sub-group figure governs. Permitted tire loading is capped at the lesser of 600 pounds per inch of tire width or the manufacturer's rating. Weights above the formula are available on highways designed for them, on military or power facility certification, or where WSDOT judges the movement necessary. WSDOT will not let a carrier self-issue an 8-tire axle permit above 43,000 pounds on a tandem or 22,000 pounds on a single axle.
- Penalties: overweight
- An overweight violation is a traffic infraction with a basic penalty of at least $50 for a first finding, $75 for a second, and $100 for a third or later, plus a per-pound penalty on top: 3 cents per pound for the first 4,000 pounds over; $120 plus 12 cents per pound from 4,001 to 10,000 pounds over; $840 plus 16 cents per pound from 10,001 to 15,000; $1,640 plus 20 cents per pound from 15,001 to 20,000; and $2,640 plus 30 cents per pound above 20,000 pounds over. On a first violation in a calendar year a court may suspend the penalty for 500 pounds of excess per axle, up to 2,000 pounds; otherwise neither penalty may be suspended.
- Penalties: posted limits
- Violating a posted highway or section limitation draws at least $150, and a second violation within twelve months involving the same power unit costs the certificate of licence registration for at least 30 days.
- Penalties: farm warning
- A vehicle carrying farm products from the field where they were grown or harvested that exceeds the RCW 46.44.041 gross limits by 5 percent or less gets a written warning instead of a penalty, provided the driver has had no infraction and no more than one written warning for that section in the calendar year.
- Penalties: scales
- Refusing to stop and submit to a weighing is unlawful. A commercial motor vehicle must stop at an open weighing station unless it is a bus, is rated at 16,000 pounds or less and carries no hazardous materials, is an unladen tow truck, or is a farm vehicle carrying farm produce rated at 26,000 pounds or less.
- Statute note
- RCW 46.44.090 gives WSDOT and local authorities the power to issue an oversize or overweight special permit on written application and good cause shown. RCW 46.44.091 sets the permitted weight formula, RCW 46.44.092 the permitted widths, RCW 46.44.0941 the fees, and chapter 468-38 WAC the operating rules. A WSDOT permit reaches only state highways; county roads and city streets need the permission of the jurisdiction that maintains them.
| Dimension | Limit | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Width | 8 feet 6 inches | RCW 46.44.010 |
| Height | 14 feet | RCW 46.44.020 |
| Length | 40 feet for a single vehicle, 53 feet for the semitrailer of a tractor semitrailer, 61 feet combined trailer length for a tractor and two trailers, 75 feet overall for a truck and trailer or a log truck with a stinger-steered pole trailer | RCW 46.44.030 |
| Overhang | 3 feet beyond the front wheels or front bumper, 15 feet beyond the centre of the last axle | RCW 46.44.034 |
| Axle and gross weight | 20,000 pounds on a single axle; axle groups per the wheelbase table, which tops out at 105,500 pounds; two consecutive tandem sets may each carry 34,000 pounds at 36 feet or more between the first and last axles | RCW 46.44.041 |
| Tire loading | 600 pounds per inch of tire width, with four or more tires required on any axle over 10,000 pounds | RCW 46.44.042 |
| Component | Applies to | Fee USD | Statute | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single trailer, continuous operation | One trailing unit over 53 feet and not more than 56 feet, divisible loads allowed | 100 | RCW 46.44.0941 | $10 for 30 days as an alternative. |
| Double trailer, continuous operation | Two trailing units together over 61 feet and not more than 68 feet, divisible loads allowed | 100 | RCW 46.44.0941 | $10 for 30 days as an alternative. |
| Milk double trailer, continuous operation | Two trailing units hauling fluid or liquid nondivisible milk, over 61 feet and not more than 85 feet, up to 129,000 pounds | 300 | RCW 46.44.0941 | |
| Manufactured housing, continuous movement | Nonreducible features up to 85 feet total length and 14 feet wide under the statute; WSDOT prices the permit at 15 feet high, 15 feet wide including a 12 inch eave, and a trailer length up to 75 feet including tongue | 150 | RCW 46.44.0941 | WSDOT also sells the manufactured housing permit at $30 for 30 days or $360 per year on its permit types page. The statute prices a one year continuous movement permit at $150 for a load not exceeding 85 feet and 14 feet wide, which is a narrower envelope; a carrier should confirm which product it is buying before relying on either figure. |
| Nondivisible dimensional permit, 30 days | Up to 14 feet wide, 15 feet high and 125 feet long, length depending on combination type | 20 | RCW 46.44.0941 | $20 for 30 days where the permit covers height or width; $10 for 30 days where it covers length only. The statute prices overwidth or overheight continuous operation at $20 for up to 30 days and overlength only at $10. |
| Three axle fixed load vehicle, 30 days | Fixed load single unit under 65,000 pounds gross weight | 70 | RCW 46.44.0941 | |
| Four axle fixed load vehicle, 30 days | Fixed load single unit meeting RCW 46.44.091(1) and weighing under 86,000 pounds gross | 90 | RCW 46.44.0941 | |
| Tow truck, class C or class E with a class C rating, one year | Emergency and nonemergency tows of oversize or overweight vehicles | 150 | RCW 46.44.0941 | |
| Tow truck, class B or class E with a class B rating, one year | Emergency and nonemergency tows of oversize or overweight vehicles | 75 | RCW 46.44.0941 | |
| Collection truck, two or three axles, one year | Solid waste or recyclable collection under chapter 81.77 or 35.21 RCW, or by contract under RCW 36.58.090, carrying 6,000 extra pounds on the rear axle of a two axle truck or 8,000 on the tandem of a three axle truck | 42 | RCW 46.44.0941 | The statutory fee is $42 per thousand pounds of added weight, which is why WSDOT prices the product at $252 a year for a two axle truck and $336 for a three axle truck. None of the excess weight is valid on the federal Interstate system. |
| Tarping system permit | Divisible load over 8 feet 6 inches and up to 9 feet wide on a vehicle fitted with a tarping system | 240 | $240 per year or $20 for 30 days. WSDOT prices this product on its permit types page. | |
| Empty apple bins or rancher hay bales, overheight | Loads up to 15 feet high; the hay permit is limited to a rancher hauling hay from their own fields for their own livestock | 240 | $240 per year or $20 for 30 days for either permit. | |
| Log tolerance permit | A three axle log truck pulling a two axle pole trailer, allowing weights over the federal bridge formula | 50 | RCW 46.44.047 | All log tolerance permits expire March 31 and the fee is prorated by the quarter of issue: $50 from April 1 to June 30, $37.50 from July 1 to September 30, $25 from October 1 to December 31, and $12.50 from January 1 to March 31. |
| Temporary additional tonnage permit | Temporarily raising the licensed weight of a single unit or combination, legal weights only | 2.8 | RCW 46.44.095 | $2.80 per ton per day with a five day minimum, so $14 per ton at the floor. |
| Heavy haul industrial corridor permit | Overweight sealed international containers and, on the designated corridors, overweight vehicles | 1,000 | RCW 46.44.0915 | $100 per month or $1,000 per year. Three corridors are designated: SR 509 from milepost 0.25 to 5.7 near the Port of Tacoma, US 97 from the Canadian border to milepost 331.12 at the Oroville railhead with a ceiling of 139,994 pounds, and SR 128 and SR 193 from the Idaho border to the Port of Wilma with a ceiling of 129,000 pounds. Outside those two named corridors the ceiling is 105,500 pounds gross with axle weights inside RCW 46.44.091 and 600 pounds per inch of tire width. |
| Canadian weights permit, State Route 9 | Nondivisible loads at Canadian weights from the border to Sumas | 14 | $14.00 per year. | |
| Farm implement permit | Farm implements up to 19 feet 11 inches wide weighing less than 65,000 pounds; farm implements are legal at 16 feet wide without a permit | 25 | RCW 46.44.0941 | Farmers pay $10 for three months or $25 per year; dealers and businesses that sell, repair or maintain farm equipment pay $25 for three months or $100 per year. |
| Name | Detail | Fee USD | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Log tolerance permit | Lets a three axle log truck pulling a two axle pole trailer exceed the federal bridge formula. All log tolerance permits expire March 31 and the fee is prorated by quarter of issue, from $50 in the April to June quarter down to $12.50 in the January to March quarter. | 50 | RCW 46.44.047 |
| Empty apple bins permit | Allows a height of up to 15 feet for a vehicle or combination hauling empty apple bins, and may exempt the move from the front height pole escort that would otherwise apply above 14 feet 6 inches. It can be combined with either overlength permit. | 240 | |
| Hay bales permit | Allows up to 15 feet high, limited to a rancher hauling hay from their own fields to feed their own livestock, and may exempt the move from the front height pole escort. Combinable with either overlength permit. | 240 | |
| Farm implement permit | Allows farm implements up to 19 feet 11 inches wide on vehicles weighing less than 65,000 pounds. Farm implements are legal at 16 feet wide without a permit. Farmers pay $10 for three months or $25 a year; dealers and repairers pay $25 for three months or $100 a year. | 25 | RCW 46.44.140 |
| Milk double trailer permit | Raw liquid milk on double trailers up to 85 feet long and 129,000 pounds, $300 per year. | 300 | |
| Public fire truck permit | Allows firefighting apparatus up to 50,000 pounds on a tandem axle set and 31,000 pounds on a single drive axle, with axle weights capped at 670 pounds per inch of tire width. DOT Form 560-048. |
The Washington permit office
- Headquarters
- Commercial Vehicle Services Headquarters, 7345 Linderson Way SW, P.O. Box 47367, Olympia, WA 98504-7367
- [email protected]
Legal limits before you need a permit
Washington publishes its no-permit limits for width, height, length by configuration, overhang, gross weight and axle groups, each fixed in its own statute section. Length depends on the configuration, running from a single vehicle through a tractor semitrailer to twin trailers and a truck and trailer measured overall.
Gross weight is decided by three overlapping criteria and the lesser governs: tire size, axle weight and the wheelbase table. The table's top figure is reached only by long groups of five or more axles, and no single axle may exceed the published single axle allowance. Washington's sources publish one table for the public highways of this state with no separate interstate column, so no federal interstate ceiling is recorded here as a Washington figure.
Single trip permits and how overweight is priced
A single trip permit covers one overlegal load, is route specific, runs three days, and is available for nondivisible loads only. The dimensional version carries a flat fee. Overweight is different: RCW 46.44.0941 sets a cost per mile against the pounds of excess weight over the legal capacity, climbing through bands, adding a further increment above the top band, and applying a floor under any calculated amount that comes out lower.
The consequence for a dispatcher is that route length prices the permit. A short heavy move can land on the minimum while a long one across the state runs into real money, and the whole schedule is fixed in statute rather than set by WSDOT policy.
Continuous operation permits
For repeated work Washington sells continuous operation permits by configuration or commodity rather than one blanket envelope. Longer single trailers and longer doubles each carry a yearly price with a thirty day alternative, milk doubles run longer and heavier than any other double, and manufactured housing, tarping systems, farm implements, log tolerance and the heavy haul corridors each have their own product.
One caution on manufactured housing. The statute prices a one year continuous movement permit for a narrower envelope than the product WSDOT lists on its permit types page, and the two amounts differ. Confirm which product you are buying before you rely on either figure. Government owned vehicles of the state, a county, a city, a town, a metropolitan municipal corporation or the federal government pay none of these fees.
Escorts and certified escort operators
Escort counts step in by dimension and by road type. Width triggers escorts at several thresholds with different placements on two lane and multilane highways, height triggers a front escort carrying a measuring pole, and length, overhang and poor rear visibility each trigger a rear escort. WSDOT may also require extra escorts, or law enforcement accompaniment, for any move it judges necessary to protect the traveling public. The rules set no fixed dimension at which a police escort becomes mandatory, so no numeric threshold is recorded.
Washington certifies the people, not only the vehicles. An operator holding a Washington driver licence must carry a Washington pilot escort vehicle operator certificate card while working, earned through an approved course and a written test and renewed every three years. An operator licensed elsewhere may work under a certification from a jurisdiction WSDOT has approved. The escort vehicle itself has its own build, lighting, sign and radio rules.
When permitted loads can move
Washington sets no blanket daylight-only rule. A load inside a defined envelope of width, height and length may move at night as of right. A larger one needs the permit to say that night movement is approved, and night runs from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise, with lighting to the federal standard.
Commuter curfews close weekday windows on named urban corridors, and in places they start at widths most states would treat as routine. Holiday restrictions stop overdimensional loads on seven named days and from noon the day before each. There is no numeric wind limit; the rule instead stops movement when visibility falls below the published distance, or when snow, ice, mudslide, wind or flooding makes the road hazardous, and it puts that call on the driver.
Superloads
Washington uses one word for four cases. A superload is a nondivisible load over the published gross weight ceiling, or over the published height, or over the published width, or with a trailing unit plus load over the published length. None of them can be self-issued.
Lead time splits by case. The weight case needs a written application well ahead of the move so WSDOT can analyse the pavements and structures on the route; the dimensional cases need less. The applicant supplies proof that the move is in the public interest and that barge or rail is not feasible, a schematic showing why the item cannot be broken down, axle loadings and spacings, the proposed route, evidence that any county or city on it will permit the move, and a traffic control plan. If a pavement or a structure on the route is inadequate the application is denied, and the applicant reroutes or reconfigures the load.
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 Washington permit stack, see Washington trucking permits.
Frequently asked questions
What can I haul in Washington without an oversize permit?
- Anything inside the published legal limits for width, height, length by configuration, overhang, gross weight and axle groups. Gross weight is the lesser of the tire, axle and wheelbase table figures, and Washington's table runs higher than the federal interstate figure on long axle groups.
How much does a Washington overweight permit cost?
- It depends on the route. Washington prices an overweight single trip permit per mile against the pounds of excess weight, with a floor under the calculated amount, so a longer haul costs more for the same load. Dimensional single trip permits carry a flat fee instead.
When does an oversize load need an escort in Washington?
- Once it crosses the published width, height, length, overhang or rear visibility thresholds, with placement depending on the road type. Escort operators have to be certified, and WSDOT can require more escorts or law enforcement accompaniment for a move it judges risky.
What counts as a superload in Washington?
- A nondivisible load over the published gross weight ceiling, or over the published height or width, or with a trailing unit plus load over the published length. Superloads cannot be self-issued and need a written application with route analysis ahead of the move.
Does Washington restrict oversize moves to daylight?
- There is no blanket rule. A load inside a defined width, height and length envelope may move at night as of right, and a larger one needs the permit to authorise night movement. Curfews, holiday restrictions and hazardous conditions still apply on top.
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.