State profile · Kentucky

Kentucky oversize and overweight permits

Legal limits, escort triggers, permit fees, the superload line and the police escort position for Kentucky — every figure carrying the state document behind it.

9 source documents on fileoldest revision 2003-06-24last retrieved 2026-09-0226 escort rules in effectNo source conflicts on fileFree · no account needed

The short version: a Kentucky single-trip permit starts at $60 before bands, overweight and the transaction charge; an escort is first required at over 12' wide; and the load becomes a superload at over 160,000 lb. Everything below carries the Kentucky document it came from, that document's own revision date, and the date we read it.

Escort requirements

2. When Kentucky requires an escort

MeasurementFirst escort triggerFirst police escort trigger
Widthover 12'rev. 2017-07-07 · read 2026-09-02 · varies by road classNone published
HeightNone publishedNone published
Lengthover 75'rev. 2017-07-07 · read 2026-09-02 · varies by road classNone published
Rear overhangover 10'undated document · read 2026-09-02None published
Gross weightNone publishedNone published
Every escort rule on file, in full26 rules

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Permit fees

3. Kentucky single-trip permit fees

ChargeAmount
Single-trip base$60rev. 2017-07-07 · read 2026-09-02
Transaction / card4% of the totalundated document · read 2026-09-02
Route analysis reviewNot yet covered
Route with no bridgesNot yet covered

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Overweight

4. How Kentucky prices overweight

601 KAR 1:018 §17(2)(b) sets one payment of sixty dollars for a single-trip overweight OR overdimensional permit. The regulation states no weight-stepped surcharge, no per-mile charge and no per-ton charge anywhere in the fee section, so being overweight adds nothing to the $60.

601 KAR 1:018 — Oversize and overweight vehicle permits (effective 2017-07-07) — rev. 2017-07-07 · read 2026-09-02

Superload

5. Kentucky's superload threshold

Above one of these, the state stops issuing over the counter and prices the move after an engineering review.

TriggerThreshold
Gross weightover 160,000 lbrev. 2017-07-07 · read 2026-09-02
WidthNone published
HeightNone published
LengthNone published
Short axle spacingNot yet covered

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Route survey

6. Route survey and bridge review

The dimensions at which Kentucky triggers a physical route inspection or an engineering review, and what the agency charges to review it.

MeasurementInspection / review trigger
WidthNot yet covered
Heightover 15'6"rev. 2017-07-07 · read 2026-09-02
LengthNot yet covered
Police escorts

7. Police escorts

Charges exist and no schedule is published. Neither the Kentucky State Police (502 KAR, KRS Chapter 16) nor the Transportation Cabinet publishes an application fee, hourly officer rate, minimum hours, mileage charge or cancellation charge. The title index was opened and searched.

This is a positive finding: we searched and there is nothing to quote. It is not the same as "no police escort is ever required here".

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Travel restrictions

8. When you can move it

Holiday, curfew and night-travel windows are not yet encoded for Kentucky.

Kentucky spring thaw restrictions →

Why those windows are absent rather than estimated

They are not guessed at here. What we do publish is the seasonal weight-restriction picture, with the date we last read each state's own bulletin — a curfew invented from a plausible pattern is worth less than an honest gap, because a reader cannot tell the two apart on the page.

Who issues it

9. Permit office

The agency behind each figure above is linked from that figure. We publish no per-state permit-office phone number.

Why there is no phone number here

We are not publishing per-state permit-office phone numbers yet, and the reason is worth stating: the two seed lists available for them are both demonstrably stale — the federal one gives two different states the same phone number — and a wrong number on a page like this costs somebody a morning. The agency behind each figure above is linked from that figure, which is the part we can stand behind today.

Scope

11. What this does not include

Named rather than gestured at, because each of these can exceed the permit itself. Every item is listed; open one for why it is excluded.

Line haul, fuel and driver time

This is a permit fee, not a freight rate.

Civilian pilot car rates

We hold no rate data, and the two commercial sites that publish market rates disagree by nearly a factor of two on the same service.

Route-survey engineering

The agency's review fee is shown where the state publishes one; the engineer's own fee is a private cost with no schedule.

Bonds and escrow

Set per move by the agency, and in at least one state the escort is billed at actual cost against it.

Utility coordination and line lifts

Arranged with each utility, priced by each utility.

Second-issuer permits

A toll, bridge or city authority inside the same state issues its own permit, and a state total that omits it is missing a whole permit.

Need a pilot car for this lane? Browse the pilot car & escort directory.

Price a lane through Kentucky →

Provenance

12. Every source behind this page (9)

Every document behind Kentucky9 sources
  • 502 KAR (Kentucky State Police) — title index, searched for an escort fee scheduleKentucky State Police, via the Legislative Research Commission — no administrative regulation in Title 502 KAR, and nothing in KRS Chapter 16, states an officer rate, a minimum, a mileage charge or a cancellation charge for a commercial OS/OW escort
    undated document · read 2026-09-02
  • 601 KAR 1:018 — Oversize and overweight vehicle permits (effective 2017-07-07)Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Department of Vehicle Regulation — Section 1(4) the height-pole definition; Section 2(3) and 2(6) permit validity; Section 6(1) the 13 ft 6 in permit trigger and 6(4) the TC 95-625 route survey over 15 ft 6 in; Section 7(1)(a) the 80,000 lb registered-weight requirement and 7(2)(a)-(h) the permitted axle and configuration caps; Section 11(2) the sign lettering; Section 13(1) the 300 ft escort distance and 13(1)(d) the height pole "in excess of fourteen (14) feet eleven (11) inches"; Section 14(1)-(4) the escort table and 14(5) the discretionary additional escorts; Section 17(2)(b) "A payment of sixty (60) dollars pursuant to KRS 189.270(2)"; Section 17(3)(b) the $250 container annual; the $10 duplicate/transfer fee
    rev. 2017-07-07 · read 2026-09-02
  • 603 KAR 5:066 — Weight limits for state-maintained highways by classificationKentucky Transportation Cabinet, Department of Highways — Section 1(1)(a)-(c) and Sections 2–5: Class "AAA" 80,000 lb, Class "AA" 62,000 lb, Class "A" 44,000 lb; 20,000 lb single axle; 34,000 lb tandem; the tridem steps; the 700 lb per inch of tire width rule; the bridge weight formula; Section 3(10) the interstate zero-tolerance rule
    rev. 2025-02-18 · read 2026-09-02
  • 603 KAR 5:070 — Maximum dimensions and the National Truck NetworkKentucky Transportation Cabinet, Department of Highways — Section 3(1)(a)-(d) height 13 ft 6 in, width 8 ft, single unit 45 ft, combination 65 ft; Section 3(2) the transporter overhangs; Section 4(2)(a)-(c) the NTN 102 in, 53 ft towed unit and 28 ft twins; Section 5(2) the 15-mile and 5-mile access corridors
    rev. 2026-02-23 · read 2026-09-02
  • KRS 189.221 — Maximum dimensions and weight on non-designated highwaysKentucky General Assembly, Legislative Research Commission — (1) "exceeds eleven and one-half (11-1/2) feet in height or ninety-six (96) inches in width"; (2) "twenty-six and one half (26-1/2) feet"; (3) "Any semitrailer truck which exceeds thirty (30) feet"; (4) "exceeds 36,000 pounds gross weight"; the section opens "except those highways designated by the secretary of transportation under the provisions of KRS 189.222"
    rev. 2026-07-15 · read 2026-09-02
  • KRS 189.230 — County maximum weight roads and cooperative haulage agreementsKentucky General Assembly, Legislative Research Commission — "The fiscal court of any county may enter into a cooperative agreement with the Transportation Cabinet … over any road in the county road system that has been classified as a maximum weight road"
    rev. 2003-06-24 · read 2026-09-02
  • KYTC drive.ky.gov — Overweight/Over-Dimensional Frequently Asked Questions (undated)Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Division of Motor Carriers — "A Single Trip permit cost $60. There is an applicable service fee of 4% for credit card or a $3 ACH fee."; "A rear escort is required any time overhang is in excess of 10'"; "Over 110' long a rear is required Over 120' long a front and 2 rear plus a pivot/steerable dolly is required"
    undated document · read 2026-09-02
  • KYTC drive.ky.gov — OWOD Escort Requirements (undated)Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Division of Motor Carriers — the two-lane and multi-lane width and length tables; the Escort Vehicle Safety Requirements bullet "Use a height pole if the escorted load is fifteen (15) feet or greater."
    undated document · read 2026-09-02
  • KYTC Forms Library (TC 95) — route survey form TC 95-625 (undated)Kentucky Transportation Cabinet — "TC 95-625 Overweight or Overdimensional Proposed Route Survey Word PDF"
    undated document · read 2026-09-02
Common questions

Questions

How much is an oversize permit in Kentucky?

The single-trip base is $60, before the dimension bands, the overweight component and the transaction charge. The base alone is rarely what is paid.

When does Kentucky require a pilot car?

The first width trigger is over 12', and it varies by road class — the figure shown is the lowest across classes.

What is a superload in Kentucky?

Kentucky's published gross-weight superload line is over 160,000 lb. It is not 80,000 lb; that is the federal legal gross limit, not a superload threshold.