By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Sep 28, 2026
West Virginia's oversize and overweight permits come from the Division of Highways Permit Section in Charleston and are self-issued online through wv.gotpermits.com for trips inside the state, at no convenience fee. A single-trip permit costs $20.00 plus 4 cents per ton-mile for overweight loads and is good for five days. Annual blanket permits are tied to one power unit and cost $200.00 for oversize only or $500.00 for oversize and overweight. Legal height is 13 feet 6 inches on every route, and oversize loads move sunrise to sunset.
West Virginia legal limits (no permit needed at or under these)
- Width
- 8.5 ft8 feet 6 inches on Interstate, US and WV routes and on local service routes with lanes 10 feet or wider; 8 feet on local service routes with lanes under 10 feet. W. Va. Code 17C-17-2 sets 96 inches with 102 inches on designated highways and any highway with a minimum lane width of ten feet.
- Length: Semitrailer
- 53 ft53 feet only where the distance from the tractor's rear axle to the trailer's first axle does not exceed 37 feet.
- Length: Driveaway saddle mount
- 75 ft75 feet on the current limits page and in W. Va. Code 17C-17-4(c); the 2023 Permit Information document prints 97 feet.
- Off interstate limits
- US and WV routes: 80,000 pounds gross with a 10 percent tolerance, 20,000 pounds per axle, and single units at 60,000 pounds (3 axles), 70,000 pounds (4 axles) and 73,000 pounds (5 axles). Local service routes: 65,000 pounds gross with a 10 percent tolerance. Interstates carry no tolerance, and the federal bridge formula governs all other combinations.
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.
Scroll sideways to see every column.
Permit fees
- Single trip
- $20 ($20.00 for an overweight or overdimensional single-trip permit, plus $0.04 per ton-mile for overweight. Superloads pay the same fee. Single-trip and superload permits are good for five days, and a permit may be amended once (a plate correction, an extension of up to three days, or a date change before it goes active). Bridges approved at low impact add monitoring fees.)
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 West Virginia 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.
- Districts
- Highway districts and the Parkway Authority may require more escorts or tighter movement rules than the chart, never fewer. Escort requirements are written into the permit.
- Pole trailers
- A pole or extendable trailer may legally carry a load up to 80 ft long without a permit if it is not overweight; escorts are not required but are encouraged.
- Escort vehicle
- Escort vehicles must weigh more than 2,000 lb, have a manufacturer's gross weight rating under 26,000 lb, be properly licensed, and show the company or driver's name and telephone number on both sides on signs at least 8 by 12 inches.
- Equipment the escort vehicle carries
- A 360 degree amber rotating or strobe light visible from 500 ft; a yellow 5 ft by 12 in OVERSIZE LOAD sign with 10 in black letters; two red or orange flags at least 18 in square. For-hire escorts also carry a CB or other two-way radio, two 5 lb ABC fire extinguishers, an 18 in STOP/SLOW paddle, a safety orange vest, a red hand-held sign, two oversize load banners, and three reflective triangles or 18 in cones.
Liability cover the permit itself requires
Distinct from your operating-authority minimums: this is the cover West Virginia attaches to the permit, banded by the dimension you are permitted for. Each one is sourced.
Escort rules beyond the thresholds
Knowing when you need an escort is half of it. These are the West Virginia rules on who may run one, what the vehicle has to carry, and how the move is conducted.
- Districts
- Highway districts and the Parkway Authority may require more escorts or tighter movement rules than the chart, never fewer. Escort requirements are written into the permit.
- Pole trailers
- A pole or extendable trailer may legally carry a load up to 80 ft long without a permit if it is not overweight; escorts are not required but are encouraged.
- Escort vehicle
- Escort vehicles must weigh more than 2,000 lb, have a manufacturer's gross weight rating under 26,000 lb, be properly licensed, and show the company or driver's name and telephone number on both sides on signs at least 8 by 12 inches.
- Equipment
- A 360 degree amber rotating or strobe light visible from 500 ft; a yellow 5 ft by 12 in OVERSIZE LOAD sign with 10 in black letters; two red or orange flags at least 18 in square. For-hire escorts also carry a CB or other two-way radio, two 5 lb ABC fire extinguishers, an 18 in STOP/SLOW paddle, a safety orange vest, a red hand-held sign, two oversize load banners, and three reflective triangles or 18 in cones.
Conditions attached to every permit
The standing conditions West Virginia writes into the permit itself, which apply whether or not they are printed on your copy.
- Nondivisible load
- Overweight permits issue only for nondivisible loads. W. Va. Code 17C-17-11(b)(2) defines one as a load that, if separated, would compromise the vehicle's intended use, destroy the load's value, or take more than eight work hours to dismantle, with the applicant bearing the burden of proof on hours.
- Carry permit
- Every permit must be carried in the vehicle it covers and be open to inspection by any police officer or authorized agent of the Division of Highways or the Public Service Commission.
Travel restrictions
- Daylight only
- Oversize loads move sunrise to sunset. Loads 14 ft wide or less, of any length, height or weight except low impact loads, may move seven days a week on all routes except the West Virginia Turnpike, where weekend travel must be requested. Wider loads move Monday through Friday. (Loads that are overweight but not oversize may move 24 hours a day, seven days a week when requested: up to 110,000 lb on the Turnpike and 135,000 lb on other state routes per the 2023 Permit Information document. The permit office FAQ narrows night travel to overweight-only loads up to 110,000 lb on multi-lane highways, with two-lane requests reviewed case by case. W. Va. Code 17C-17-11(f) lets the Commissioner issue permits for night, holiday and weekend moves on Interstates, US highways with four or more lanes, and four-lane divided highways, and requires prompt issuance when the route, dates and times meet state and federal requirements.)
- Curfews
- School bus hours: escorted loads may not travel on two-lane highways 7 to 9 a.m. and 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. on school weekdays. Charleston area (I-64 exits 39 to 85, I-77 exits 85 to 106, US 119 from Ruth to I-64, and routes within 5 miles of city limits): escorted loads may not move 7 to 9 a.m. or 4 to 6 p.m. during daylight saving time, and only 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. during standard time. Event closures include West Virginia University home football game days in Monongalia, Marion, Harrison and Preston Counties, the State Fair on US 219, and Bridge Day on US 19. (The school bus and event rules come from the 2024 High Travel Days document linked from the permit page; its dates are the 2024 ones and no later edition was found at that link, so check with the Permit Office for the current calendar.)
- Weekend / holiday
- No travel on high travel days: the Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends (Saturday through Monday), Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Weekend travel is granted on request for loads not over 14 ft wide, except on the Turnpike or at low impact. On the Turnpike, loads 14 ft 1 in to 18 ft wide move sunrise to sunset Monday through Thursday, 18 ft 1 in to 24 ft 6 in Sunday before noon only, and wider loads get limited approval because of toll plazas.
- Daylight hours rule
- Loads that are overweight but not oversize may move 24 hours a day, seven days a week when requested: up to 110,000 lb on the Turnpike and 135,000 lb on other state routes per the 2023 Permit Information document. The permit office FAQ narrows night travel to overweight-only loads up to 110,000 lb on multi-lane highways, with two-lane requests reviewed case by case. W. Va. Code 17C-17-11(f) lets the Commissioner issue permits for night, holiday and weekend moves on Interstates, US highways with four or more lanes, and four-lane divided highways, and requires prompt issuance when the route, dates and times meet state and federal requirements.
Superload and beyond-permit review
Loads past the standard single-trip permit thresholds get individual state review rather than an off-the-shelf permit.
Any weight or dimension over the single-trip limits is a superload: 28,000 lb single axle, 45,000 lb tandem, 50,000 lb tridem, 55,000 lb quad, 120,000 lb gross, or 16 ft wide. Height and length have no fixed single-trip limit if the route can accommodate them.
No weight cap, but every superload must pass a bridge analysis, and overall size must suit the route. Processing takes a minimum of 48 hours. A permit approved at low impact names the bridges, the required speed and a number to schedule monitors, and moving without the monitor violates the permit.
More West Virginia permit rules
- Data quality note
- Every figure was read on 2026-09-28 at a West Virginia primary source: the Division of Highways permit pages, its Permit Information document (revised 3-17-2023), and W. Va. Code Chapter 17C. Four source conflicts are recorded on their rows rather than smoothed over: the driveaway saddle-mount length (75 feet on the current limits page and in W. Va. Code 17C-17-4(c), 97 feet in the 2023 document), the seagoing container blanket fee (the current Permit Types page adds $15.00 per permit beyond 15, the 2023 document does not), the permit office room number (Room 356 on the current page, Room 303 in the 2023 document), and holiday travel (the 2023 document says no permitted travel on holidays; W. Va. Code 17C-17-11(f) now lets the Commissioner permit night, holiday and weekend moves on interstates and four-lane divided highways). The event calendar the permit page links is the 2024 edition; no later edition was found at the linked address.
- Single trip fee note
- $20.00 for an overweight or overdimensional single-trip permit, plus $0.04 per ton-mile for overweight. Superloads pay the same fee. Single-trip and superload permits are good for five days, and a permit may be amended once (a plate correction, an extension of up to three days, or a date change before it goes active). Bridges approved at low impact add monitoring fees.
- Annual permit fee note
- $200.00 for an oversize-only regular blanket permit; $500.00 for an oversize and overweight blanket. Every blanket is tied to one power unit and runs one year from a start date up to 30 days after application.
- Annual permit eligibility
- Blanket permits are self-issued through wv.gotpermits.com or gotpermits.com, cover unlimited trips for one year, and are specific to one power unit. Apart from the seagoing container permit, overweight loads must be nondivisible. Divisible load permits are not available.
- Annual permit details: interstate and divided routes
- 14 ft 6 in high, 14 ft wide, 95 ft long, 15 ft overhang, 110,000 lb (overweight blanket)
- Annual permit details: US and selected routes
- 14 ft high, 12 ft wide, 75 ft long, 10 ft overhang, 90,000 lb (overweight blanket)
- Annual permit details: all other routes
- 13 ft 6 in high, 12 ft wide, 75 ft long, 10 ft overhang, legal weight
- Annual permit details: axle limits
- Overweight blanket: 28,000 lb single, 45,000 lb tandem, 50,000 lb tridem. Oversize blanket: 20,000 lb single, 34,000 lb tandem.
- Annual permit details: overhang cap
- No permit of any type may exceed 15 ft front or 30 ft rear overhang.
- Escort notes: districts
- Highway districts and the Parkway Authority may require more escorts or tighter movement rules than the chart, never fewer. Escort requirements are written into the permit.
- Escort notes: pole trailers
- A pole or extendable trailer may legally carry a load up to 80 ft long without a permit if it is not overweight; escorts are not required but are encouraged.
- Escort notes: escort vehicle
- Escort vehicles must weigh more than 2,000 lb, have a manufacturer's gross weight rating under 26,000 lb, be properly licensed, and show the company or driver's name and telephone number on both sides on signs at least 8 by 12 inches.
- Escort notes: equipment
- A 360 degree amber rotating or strobe light visible from 500 ft; a yellow 5 ft by 12 in OVERSIZE LOAD sign with 10 in black letters; two red or orange flags at least 18 in square. For-hire escorts also carry a CB or other two-way radio, two 5 lb ABC fire extinguishers, an 18 in STOP/SLOW paddle, a safety orange vest, a red hand-held sign, two oversize load banners, and three reflective triangles or 18 in cones.
- Escort notes: rule
- Escort vehicles must comply with the Division of Highways legislative rule at Title 157, Series 5, Section 3, as the Permit Information document states.
- Escort notes: turnpike height
- On the Parkway (I-77/64) the Yeager Bridge limits height to 15 ft 10 in, 16 ft at the center of the bridge.
- Permit conditions: nondivisible load
- Overweight permits issue only for nondivisible loads. W. Va. Code 17C-17-11(b)(2) defines one as a load that, if separated, would compromise the vehicle's intended use, destroy the load's value, or take more than eight work hours to dismantle, with the applicant bearing the burden of proof on hours.
- Permit conditions: carry permit
- Every permit must be carried in the vehicle it covers and be open to inspection by any police officer or authorized agent of the Division of Highways or the Public Service Commission.
- Permit conditions: repeat move
- An identical move over the same route within 30 days of a prior permit can be issued without a full re-analysis, but a new application quoting the old permit number is still required.
- Permit conditions: bulldozers
- A bulldozer may be hauled with the blade on if the blade angles away from oncoming traffic and the load is not over 14 ft wide; wider, the blade must come off and travel on a separate trailer if the load is also overweight.
| Component | Applies to | Fee USD |
|---|---|---|
| Regular blanket, oversize only | Legal weight; up to 14 ft 6 in high, 14 ft wide, 95 ft long on Interstate and divided routes | 200 |
| Regular blanket, oversize and overweight | Up to 110,000 lb on Interstate and divided routes, 90,000 lb on US and selected routes, legal weight elsewhere | 500 |
| Seagoing containerized cargo blanket | First 15 permits; the current Permit Types page adds $15.00 for each additional permit, the 2023 document prints $150 for 1 to 15 permits only | 150 |
| Mobile home blanket | Mobile homes 14 ft wide or less | 200 |
| Manufactured commodity blanket | Commodities manufactured for interstate commerce, up to 120,000 lb, engineering analysis required, not valid on Interstates | 500 |
| Name | Detail |
|---|---|
| Seagoing containerized cargo blanket | Annual, one power unit, 90,000 lb gross with 28,000 lb single, 45,000 lb tandem, 50,000 lb tridem, on Interstate, divided, US and selected routes. Authorized by W. Va. Code 17C-17-11(a)(3) for sealed seagoing containers moving to or from a seaport or inland waterway port. |
| Mobile home blanket and single trip | Blanket for homes 14 ft wide or less at $200; single trip $20 for homes up to 16 ft wide, 15 ft 6 in high, 80 ft long, 110 ft combination. Homes over 16 ft wide are not allowed. Up to 14 ft wide may move sunrise to sunset Monday through Friday and until noon Saturday; 14 to 16 ft Monday through Thursday and until 3 p.m. Friday. Insurance must be on file. |
| Manufactured commodity blanket | Annual, $500, up to 120,000 lb for commodities manufactured for interstate commerce, contingent on an engineering analysis; not valid on Interstates. W. Va. Code 17C-17-11(b)(3). |
| Timber and forest products permit | W. Va. Code 17C-17-11(b)(4) lets the Commissioner permit a six-axle tractor-semitrailer hauling logs, wood chips, lumber and other forest products at up to 94,000 lb with no tolerance, with axle limits of 15,000, 17,000, 17,000, 15,000, 15,000 and 15,000 lb and at least 29 ft 6 in from the last drive axle to the first trailer axle. Not issued for Interstate routes. The Division publishes a separate selected routes list for timber blanket permits. |
| Coal resource transportation road special permit | Issued by the Public Service Commission, not the Division of Highways; recorded in the state rules page. |
The West Virginia permit office
- Online system
- wv.gotpermits.com for trips entirely within West Virginia, with no convenience fee; gotpermits.com for multi-state permits, with a convenience fee added
- How it works
- Enter the truck specifications and routes; if the size and weight analysis passes, the permit prints immediately. If it fails, or a route cannot be selected, the application goes to the Permit Office for review. Applications are not taken by telephone.
Legal limits before you need a permit
Legal width depends on the road. The wider limit applies on Interstate, US and WV routes and on local roads with wide lanes, and a narrower one on local roads with narrow lanes. Height is the same on every route. Overall length is unlimited on the Interstates and the national network, capped on US and WV routes, and tighter on county routes.
Weight tolerance is the part carriers miss. Interstates carry none. US and WV routes and local service routes allow a percentage tolerance over their gross and axle limits, and local service routes start from a lower gross.
What a permit costs
The single-trip fee is flat, with a per-ton-mile charge added for overweight loads. Superloads pay the same base fee. A load approved at low impact also pays for bridge monitoring, charged per bridge with a cap on the total. Annual blankets are priced by type: oversize only, oversize and overweight, seagoing container, mobile home and manufactured commodity.
A single-trip or superload permit lasts five days and can be amended once, for a plate correction, a short extension or a date change.
Annual blanket permits
A blanket permit covers unlimited trips for a year on one power unit, starting on a date up to a month after the application. It is self-issued through the same online system. Allowed size and weight step down by road type, from Interstate and divided routes to US and selected routes to everything else, and no permit of any type may exceed the state's front and rear overhang caps.
Apart from the seagoing container blanket, overweight loads must be nondivisible.
Superloads and bridge review
Anything over the single-trip axle, gross or width limits is a superload. There is no weight cap, but every superload must pass a bridge analysis, and processing takes at least 48 hours. A permit approved at low impact names the bridges, the speed and a number to schedule monitors. Moving without the monitor violates the permit.
Escort requirements
Escorts are set by width, length, front and rear overhang, and height, and the count and placement change between two-lane and four-lane roads. Highway districts and the Parkway Authority may require more escorts than the chart, never fewer, and the requirement is written into the permit.
Escort vehicles have their own rules: a weight band, signs with the company name and phone, an amber light, an OVERSIZE LOAD sign and flags. For-hire escorts also carry a radio, fire extinguishers and a STOP/SLOW paddle under the Division of Highways legislative rule.
When loads can move
Oversize loads move sunrise to sunset. Narrower loads may move seven days a week on most routes, and wider loads Monday through Friday. Loads that are overweight but not oversize may move around the clock on request, though the permit office FAQ and the Permit Information document set different ceilings for that.
No oversize travel is allowed on the major holiday weekends and holidays. The Division also closes counties and corridors for West Virginia University home games, the State Fair and Bridge Day, bars escorted loads from two-lane roads during school bus hours, and sets a Charleston rush hour curfew. The event dates come from a 2024 document, so confirm the current calendar with the Permit Office.
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 West Virginia permit stack, see West Virginia trucking permits.