The short version: a New Jersey single-trip permit starts at $0 before bands, overweight and the transaction charge; an escort is first required at over 14' wide; and the load becomes a superload at a gross weight the state does not publish. Everything below carries the New Jersey document it came from, that document's own revision date, and the date we read it.
1. New Jersey legal limits
Anything over one of these needs a permit. Every value links to the document that sets it.
| Measure | Legal limit |
|---|---|
| Width | 8'6"undated document · read 2026-09-02 |
| Height | 13'6"undated document · read 2026-09-02 |
| Semitrailer length | 53'rev. 2024-01-05 · read 2026-09-02 |
| Overall length | None published |
| Kingpin to rear axle | None published |
| Front overhang | None published |
| Rear overhang | None published |
| Gross weight | 80,000 lbundated document · read 2026-09-02 |
| Single axle | 22,400 lbundated document · read 2026-09-02 |
| Tandem axle | 34,000 lbundated document · read 2026-09-02 |
2. When New Jersey requires an escort
| Measurement | First escort trigger | First police escort trigger |
|---|---|---|
| Width | over 14'undated document · read 2026-09-02 | None published |
| Height | None published | None published |
| Length | over 100'rev. 2024-01-05 · read 2026-09-02 | None published |
| Rear overhang | None published | None published |
| Gross weight | None published | None published |
Every escort rule on file, in full10 rules
- Over 14 ft wide — one escort (rear on a highway with four or more lanes, front on a highway with fewer) — §1.6(a)1 the $10 base; §1.6(d) the $12 transaction fee and 5% service charge; §1.12(a),(d),(e),(f) escorts undated document · read 2026-09-02
- Over 16 ft wide — two escorts, one front and one rear — §1.6(a)2 the $20 oversize-and-overweight base; §1.6(c) the $5.00 per 2,000 lb formula; §1.12(b),(c),(g),(h),(i) escorts undated document · read 2026-09-02
- Over 100 ft long — one escort (rear on a highway with four or more lanes, front on a highway with fewer) — Table 4 fee structures; Table 6 escorts; §2.1 size limits; §5.3.3 the over-14 ft utility notification; §5.5 escorts and certification rev. 2024-01-05 · read 2026-09-02
- Over 120 ft long — two escorts, one front and one rear — "R.2010 d.169, effective 8/2/2010"; §1.6(b) "exceed 63 feet in length"; §1.6(c) "exceeds either the axle or gross weight limits--whichever is greater" rev. 2010-08-02 · read 2026-09-02
- Over 14 ft high — no escort and no height pole, but a statutory duty to notify every public utility on the route — Table 4 fee structures; Table 6 escorts; §2.1 size limits; §5.3.3 the over-14 ft utility notification; §5.5 escorts and certification rev. 2024-01-05 · read 2026-09-02
- An oversize move travelling between sunset and sunrise under a waiver needs one additional escort — Table 4 fee structures; Table 6 escorts; §2.1 size limits; §5.3.3 the over-14 ft utility notification; §5.5 escorts and certification rev. 2024-01-05 · read 2026-09-02
- New Jersey assigns only private escorts, and publishes no state police escort trigger or rate — Table 4 fee structures; Table 6 escorts; §2.1 size limits; §5.3.3 the over-14 ft utility notification; §5.5 escorts and certification rev. 2024-01-05 · read 2026-09-02
- Above unpublished limits a New Jersey permit is not system-issued and goes to a state or bridge engineer — "There are limits to which permits can be system issued."; bridge-engineer review status undated document · read 2026-09-02
- New Jersey’s own documents disagree about which length the $1.00-per-foot excess fee is measured on — "R.2010 d.169, effective 8/2/2010"; §1.6(b) "exceed 63 feet in length"; §1.6(c) "exceeds either the axle or gross weight limits--whichever is greater" rev. 2010-08-02 · read 2026-09-02
- New Jersey’s regulation and fee schedule disagree about whether the excess-weight fee is the greater of the axle and gross excess or both of them — "R.2010 d.169, effective 8/2/2010"; §1.6(b) "exceed 63 feet in length"; §1.6(c) "exceeds either the axle or gross weight limits--whichever is greater" rev. 2010-08-02 · read 2026-09-02
3. New Jersey single-trip permit fees
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Single-trip base | $0rev. 2024-01-05 · read 2026-09-02 |
| Transaction / card | $12 + 5% of the totalundated document · read 2026-09-02 |
| Route analysis review | Not yet covered |
| Route with no bridges | Not yet covered |
Dimension bands
| Band | Fee |
|---|---|
| not over 14 ft wide — $10 oversize base, no width excess | $10rev. 2024-01-05 · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 14 ft up to 15 ft wide — $10 base plus $1 width excess | $11rev. 2024-01-05 · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 15 ft up to 16 ft wide — $10 base plus $2 width excess | $12rev. 2024-01-05 · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 16 ft up to 17 ft wide — $10 base plus $3 width excess | $13rev. 2024-01-05 · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 17 ft up to 18 ft wide — $10 base plus $4 width excess | $14rev. 2024-01-05 · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 18 ft up to 19 ft wide — $10 base plus $5 width excess | $15rev. 2024-01-05 · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 19 ft up to 20 ft wide — $10 base plus $6 width excess | $16rev. 2024-01-05 · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 20 ft up to 21 ft wide — $10 base plus $7 width excess | $17rev. 2024-01-05 · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 21 ft up to 22 ft wide — $10 base plus $8 width excess | $18rev. 2024-01-05 · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 22 ft up to 23 ft wide — $10 base plus $9 width excess | $19rev. 2024-01-05 · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 23 ft up to 24 ft wide — $10 base plus $10 width excess | $20rev. 2024-01-05 · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 24 ft up to 25 ft wide — $10 base plus $11 width excess | $21rev. 2024-01-05 · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 25 ft up to 26 ft wide — $10 base plus $12 width excess | $22rev. 2024-01-05 · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 26 ft up to 27 ft wide — $10 base plus $13 width excess | $23rev. 2024-01-05 · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 27 ft up to 28 ft wide — $10 base plus $14 width excess | $24rev. 2024-01-05 · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 28 ft up to 29 ft wide — $10 base plus $15 width excess | $25rev. 2024-01-05 · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 29 ft up to 30 ft wide — $10 base plus $16 width excess | $26rev. 2024-01-05 · read 2026-09-02 |
| not over 14 ft wide — $10 oversize base, no width excess | $10undated document · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 14 ft up to 15 ft wide — $10 base plus $1 width excess | $11undated document · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 15 ft up to 16 ft wide — $10 base plus $2 width excess | $12undated document · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 16 ft up to 17 ft wide — $10 base plus $3 width excess | $13undated document · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 17 ft up to 18 ft wide — $10 base plus $4 width excess | $14undated document · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 18 ft up to 19 ft wide — $10 base plus $5 width excess | $15undated document · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 19 ft up to 20 ft wide — $10 base plus $6 width excess | $16undated document · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 20 ft up to 21 ft wide — $10 base plus $7 width excess | $17undated document · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 21 ft up to 22 ft wide — $10 base plus $8 width excess | $18undated document · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 22 ft up to 23 ft wide — $10 base plus $9 width excess | $19undated document · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 23 ft up to 24 ft wide — $10 base plus $10 width excess | $20undated document · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 24 ft up to 25 ft wide — $10 base plus $11 width excess | $21undated document · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 25 ft up to 26 ft wide — $10 base plus $12 width excess | $22undated document · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 26 ft up to 27 ft wide — $10 base plus $13 width excess | $23undated document · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 27 ft up to 28 ft wide — $10 base plus $14 width excess | $24undated document · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 28 ft up to 29 ft wide — $10 base plus $15 width excess | $25undated document · read 2026-09-02 |
| over 29 ft up to 30 ft wide — $10 base plus $16 width excess | $26undated document · read 2026-09-02 |
4. How New Jersey prices overweight
N.J.A.C. 13:18-1.6(c) charges "$5.00 for each 2,000 pounds or fractional portion thereof" of excess weight — a formula, not a per-mile rate, not a per-axle-count schedule and not an agency band table. It is enumerated here at 2,000 lb steps up to 300,000 lb; New Jersey publishes no superload classification and therefore no ceiling, so a heavier load is reported as unpriced rather than folded into the top step.
5. New Jersey's superload threshold
Above one of these, the state stops issuing over the counter and prices the move after an engineering review.
| Trigger | Threshold |
|---|---|
| Gross weight | None published |
| Width | None published |
| Height | None published |
| Length | None published |
| Short axle spacing | Not yet covered |
6. Route survey and bridge review
The dimensions at which New Jersey triggers a physical route inspection or an engineering review, and what the agency charges to review it.
| Measurement | Inspection / review trigger |
|---|---|
| Width | over 16'undated document · read 2026-09-02 |
| Height | over 14'6"undated document · read 2026-09-02 |
| Length | Not yet covered |
7. Police escorts
No schedule exists, and that is structural rather than a gap. NJDOT assigns only private escorts — "Only private escorts are assigned to permitted loads" — so there is no state police escort trigger and no rate. A Port Authority Police escort through Port Newark is arranged directly with PAPD and is not a state fee.
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".
8. When you can move it
Holiday, curfew and night-travel windows are not yet encoded for New Jersey.
New Jersey 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.
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.
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.
12. Every source behind this page (8)
Every document behind New Jersey8 sources
- N.J.A.C. 13:18-1 — NJDOT permit-portal copy (PDF, undated) — New Jersey Department of Transportation — §1.6(a)1 the $10 base; §1.6(d) the $12 transaction fee and 5% service charge; §1.12(a),(d),(e),(f) escorts
undated document · read 2026-09-02 - N.J.A.C. 13:18-1 — NJDOT-hosted courtesy copy (PDF, header states "Expires on March 9, 2018") — New Jersey Department of Transportation — §1.6(a)2 the $20 oversize-and-overweight base; §1.6(c) the $5.00 per 2,000 lb formula; §1.12(b),(c),(g),(h),(i) escorts
undated document · read 2026-09-02 - N.J.A.C. 13:18-1.6 and 13:18-1.12 (via Cornell LII — SECONDARY source, with amendment history) — Cornell Legal Information Institute, reproducing the New Jersey Administrative Code — "R.2010 d.169, effective 8/2/2010"; §1.6(b) "exceed 63 feet in length"; §1.6(c) "exceeds either the axle or gross weight limits--whichever is greater"
rev. 2010-08-02 · read 2026-09-02 - N.J.S.A. 39:3-84 — NJDOT-hosted statute copy (PDF, undated) — New Jersey Department of Transportation — a(1) width; a(2) height; a(3) length; b(1) single axle; b(2) tandem; b(4) gross weight
undated document · read 2026-09-02 - NJDOT — Commercial Vehicle Size and Weight Guidebook, January 2024 (PDF) — New Jersey Department of Transportation — Table 4 fee structures; Table 6 escorts; §2.1 size limits; §5.3.3 the over-14 ft utility notification; §5.5 escorts and certification
rev. 2024-01-05 · read 2026-09-02 - NJDOT — Permit Fee Schedule (PDF, undated) — New Jersey Department of Transportation — "$10 Base Fee + any excess weight fees + $12 Transaction Fee + 5% Service charge"; "$1.00 per foot (or fraction thereof) in excess of 14 feet in width"; "NOTE: 5% leeway is given on axle weights."
undated document · read 2026-09-02 - NJDOT — SUPERLOAD online permitting system, portal home (undated bulletin) — New Jersey Department of Transportation — "Route survey is required when the overall width exceeds 16' or height exceeds 14' 6''."; Port Newark PAPD escort bulletin
undated document · read 2026-09-02 - NJDOT at GotPermits — FAQ (PDF, undated) — New Jersey Department of Transportation — "There are limits to which permits can be system issued."; bridge-engineer review status
undated document · read 2026-09-02
Questions
How much is an oversize permit in New Jersey?
The single-trip base is $0, before the dimension bands, the overweight component and the transaction charge. The base alone is rarely what is paid.
When does New Jersey require a pilot car?
The first width trigger is over 14'.
What is a superload in New Jersey?
New Jersey publishes no gross-weight superload threshold in the documents on file — see the superload section, which shows the dimensional triggers it does publish.