Legal limits, escort triggers, permit fees, the superload line and the police escort position for North Carolina — every figure carrying the state document behind it.
11 source documents on fileoldest revision 2019-11-01last retrieved 2026-09-0214 escort rules in effect3 source conflictsFree · no account needed
The short version: a North Carolina single-trip permit starts at $0 before bands, overweight and the transaction charge; an escort is first required at over 12' wide; and the load becomes a superload at over 132,000 lb. Everything below carries the North Carolina document it came from, that document's own revision date, and the date we read it.
Legal limits
1. North Carolina legal limits
Anything over one of these needs a permit. Every value links to the document that sets it.
over legal width, between 13 ft 6 in and 14 ft high — two over-legal dimensions at $24, reading the legal height as the EVO Handbook’s written 13 ft 6 in
The dimensions at which North Carolina triggers a physical route inspection or an engineering review, and what the agency charges to review it.
Measurement
Inspection / review trigger
Width
Not yet covered
Height
Not yet covered
Length
Not yet covered
Police escorts
7. Police escorts
Charges exist and no schedule is published. One of the three escorts over 16 ft wide must be a State Highway Patrol escort. The Highway Patrol publishes no hourly or per-mile rate; G.S. §143B-1729 requires only "a fee covering the full cost to administer, plan, and carry out the escort".
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".
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.
Source conflicts
10. Where the sources disagree
Two official documents, both in effect, giving different answers. Neither has been adopted.
over 16'NCDOT — 2024 EVO Handbook (PDF) — superload triggers; height-pole specification; EVO course payment rev. 2024-01-01 · read 2026-09-02
17' or moreNCDOT — Superload Publication (SL-6), Rev. 1/20 (PDF) — "Width: 17' or greater"; "$3.00 per 1,000 lbs. over 132,000 lbs. gross weight."; "$100 non-refundable application fee"; 10 business days rev. 2020-01-01 · read 2026-09-02
over 16'11"NCDOT — Single Trip Publication (ST-1), Rev. 11/19 (PDF) — "Permit is valid for 10 calendar days. Cost for permit is $12 per dimension over the legal limit."; "Width: 16' 11" maximum." rev. 2019-11-01 · read 2026-09-02
over 16'NCDOT — Oversize/Overweight Permit Handbook (PDF, undated) — "Fee $12 - $48 (state fee)"; "Width 16 feet maximum"; 40 ft single vehicle / 60 ft combination; the 150 ft escort row; the steer-axle superload row undated document · read 2026-09-02
N.C. Gen. Stat. §20-116 — Size of vehicles and loads — North Carolina General Assembly — width 102 in; height 14 ft; the 53 ft semitrailer exemption from the 60 ft combination limit undated document · read 2026-09-02
N.C. Gen. Stat. §20-119 — Special permits for oversize/overweight vehicles — North Carolina General Assembly — "$12.00 for each dimension over lawful dimensions, including height, length, width, and weight up to 132,000 pounds"; $3.00 per 1,000 lb above that; the $100 engineering-study application fee undated document · read 2026-09-02
NCDOT — 2024 EVO Handbook (PDF) — North Carolina Department of Transportation — superload triggers; height-pole specification; EVO course payment rev. 2024-01-01 · read 2026-09-02
NCDOT — General Information and Instructions, Rev. 3/25 (PDF) — North Carolina Department of Transportation — "North Carolina requires escort/pilot vehicle drivers to be certified in accordance with 19A NCAC 02D."; 8-hour course, valid 4 years rev. 2025-03-01 · read 2026-09-02
NCDOT — Oversize/Overweight Permit Handbook (PDF, undated) — North Carolina Department of Transportation — "Fee $12 - $48 (state fee)"; "Width 16 feet maximum"; 40 ft single vehicle / 60 ft combination; the 150 ft escort row; the steer-axle superload row undated document · read 2026-09-02
NCDOT — Single Trip Publication (ST-1), Rev. 11/19 (PDF) — North Carolina Department of Transportation — "Permit is valid for 10 calendar days. Cost for permit is $12 per dimension over the legal limit."; "Width: 16' 11" maximum." rev. 2019-11-01 · read 2026-09-02
NCDOT — Superload Publication (SL-6), Rev. 1/20 (PDF) — North Carolina Department of Transportation — "Width: 17' or greater"; "$3.00 per 1,000 lbs. over 132,000 lbs. gross weight."; "$100 non-refundable application fee"; 10 business days rev. 2020-01-01 · read 2026-09-02
Common questions
Questions
How much is an oversize permit in North Carolina?
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 North Carolina require a pilot car?
The first width trigger is over 12'.
What is a superload in North Carolina?
North Carolina's published gross-weight superload line is over 132,000 lb. It is not 80,000 lb; that is the federal legal gross limit, not a superload threshold.
Do North Carolina's own documents contradict each other?
Yes, in 3 place(s) we hold both documents for. They are set out in full above, each with its pinpoint citation, and none of them has been adopted.
