The short version: a Virginia single-trip permit starts at $20 before bands, overweight and the transaction charge; an escort is first required at over 12' wide; and the load becomes a superload at a gross weight the state does not publish. Everything below carries the Virginia document it came from, that document's own revision date, and the date we read it.
1. Virginia 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"rev. 2024-07-01 · read 2026-09-02 |
| Height | 13'6"rev. 2024-07-01 · read 2026-09-02 |
| Semitrailer length | 53'rev. 2024-07-01 · read 2026-09-02 |
| Overall length | None published |
| Kingpin to rear axle | 41'rev. 2016 · read 2026-09-02 |
| Front overhang | 3'rev. 2024-07-01 · read 2026-09-02 |
| Rear overhang | 4'rev. 2024-07-01 · read 2026-09-02 |
| Gross weight | 80,000 lbrev. 2024-07-01 · read 2026-09-02 |
| Single axle | 20,000 lbrev. 2024-07-01 · read 2026-09-02 |
| Tandem axle | 34,000 lbrev. 2024-07-01 · read 2026-09-02 |
2. When Virginia requires an escort
| Measurement | First escort trigger | First police escort trigger |
|---|---|---|
| Width | over 12'rev. 2023-03-01 · read 2026-09-02 · varies by road class | None published |
| Height | over 14'5"rev. 2023-03-01 · read 2026-09-02 | None published |
| Length | over 90'rev. 2023-03-01 · read 2026-09-02 · varies by road class | None published |
| Rear overhang | over 15'rev. 2023-03-01 · read 2026-09-02 | None published |
| Gross weight | None published | None published |
Every escort rule on file, in full21 rules
- Over 12 ft wide on a noninterstate route — one front and one rear escort — the complete numbered escort schedule, items 1–15, and paragraph B rev. 2023-03-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Over 12 ft wide on an interstate route — one rear escort — the complete numbered escort schedule, items 1–15, and paragraph B rev. 2023-03-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Over 14 ft wide on a noninterstate route — TWO front escorts and one rear escort — the complete numbered escort schedule, items 1–15, and paragraph B rev. 2023-03-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Over 14 ft wide on an interstate route — one front and one rear escort — the complete numbered escort schedule, items 1–15, and paragraph B rev. 2023-03-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Over 16 ft wide on a noninterstate route — TWO front escorts and TWO rear escorts — the complete numbered escort schedule, items 1–15, and paragraph B rev. 2023-03-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Over 16 ft wide on an interstate route — one front escort and TWO rear escorts — the complete numbered escort schedule, items 1–15, and paragraph B rev. 2023-03-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Over 90 ft long on a noninterstate route — one rear escort — the complete numbered escort schedule, items 1–15, and paragraph B rev. 2023-03-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Over 120 ft long on an interstate route — one rear escort — the complete numbered escort schedule, items 1–15, and paragraph B rev. 2023-03-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Over 150 ft long — one front and one rear escort, on all routes — the complete numbered escort schedule, items 1–15, and paragraph B rev. 2023-03-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Front overhang over 10 ft measured from the bumper — one front escort, on all routes — the complete numbered escort schedule, items 1–15, and paragraph B rev. 2023-03-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Rear overhang over 15 ft measured from the bumper — one rear escort, on all routes — the complete numbered escort schedule, items 1–15, and paragraph B rev. 2023-03-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Over 14 ft 5 in high — one front escort equipped with a height pole, on all routes (Administrative Code) — the complete numbered escort schedule, items 1–15, and paragraph B rev. 2023-03-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Over 14 ft 6 in high — one front escort with a height pole (DMV FAQ, "generally required") — "A height pole is generally required for loads with a maximum height over 14 feet 6 inches." undated document · read 2026-09-02
- Over 14 ft 5 in but not over 14 ft 6 in — the Administrative Code requires a height pole and the DMV FAQ does not — the complete numbered escort schedule, items 1–15, and paragraph B rev. 2023-03-01 · read 2026-09-02
- An off-centred load draws escorts in Virginia on a measurement a quote does not collect — the complete numbered escort schedule, items 1–15, and paragraph B rev. 2023-03-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Over 18 ft wide or over 200 ft long — Virginia handles escorts case by case — the complete numbered escort schedule, items 1–15, and paragraph B rev. 2023-03-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Over 18 ft wide, 250,000 lb, 200 ft long or 16 ft high — DMV may require a detailed travel plan with written law-enforcement authorisation — "Superload single trip permit requests exceed the maximum weight or size limitations ordinarily allowed on a single trip permit."; the 18 ft / 250,000 lb / 200 ft / 16 ft travel-plan parameters; 10 working days rev. 2023-03-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Virginia publishes no state police escort rate because there is none — each locality crossed authorises and prices its own escort — "Superload single trip permit requests exceed the maximum weight or size limitations ordinarily allowed on a single trip permit."; the 18 ft / 250,000 lb / 200 ft / 16 ft travel-plan parameters; 10 working days rev. 2023-03-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Virginia charges 30 cents per mile and never says how a PART mile is billed — this quote bills the true mileage pro rata — Single Trip $20; Blanket $100/$200; Superload $30 plus a damage fee "based on the gross weight of the vehicle configuration" undated document · read 2026-09-02
- A Virginia superload is $30 plus mileage plus an unpublished damage fee, so no superload total can be quoted at all — Single Trip $20; Blanket $100/$200; Superload $30 plus a damage fee "based on the gross weight of the vehicle configuration" undated document · read 2026-09-02
- Virginia certifies its escort drivers, and the certification cost is the operator’s rather than a permit fee — Code of Virginia §46.2-2907 reciprocity; the SEVEN-state list — Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah, Washington undated document · read 2026-09-02
3. Virginia single-trip permit fees
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Single-trip base | $20rev. 2024-07-01 · read 2026-09-02 |
| Transaction / card | Not yet covered |
| Route analysis review | Not yet covered |
| Route with no bridges | Not yet covered |
4. How Virginia prices overweight
Virginia adds "a mileage fee of 30 cents per mile ... if overweight or if the vehicle configuration cannot be licensed in Virginia" on top of the flat $20 single-trip fee. There are no weight bands and no per-axle schedule.
5. Virginia's superload threshold
Above one of these, the state stops issuing over the counter and prices the move after an engineering review.
6. Route survey and bridge review
The dimensions at which Virginia 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 |
7. Police escorts
No schedule exists, and that is structural rather than a gap. Virginia does not have a state police escort rate. 24VAC20-82-60.B.9 requires written authorisation from LOCAL law-enforcement personnel for each locality on the route, negotiated and priced separately with every one of them. There is no published schedule to quote.
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 Virginia.
Virginia 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 (14)
Every document behind Virginia14 sources
- 24 Va. Admin. Code §20-82-130 — Escort vehicle requirements — Virginia Law Portal, Commonwealth of Virginia — the complete numbered escort schedule, items 1–15, and paragraph B
rev. 2023-03-01 · read 2026-09-02 - 24 Va. Admin. Code §20-82-60 — Superload single trip permits — Virginia Law Portal, Commonwealth of Virginia — "Superload single trip permit requests exceed the maximum weight or size limitations ordinarily allowed on a single trip permit."; the 18 ft / 250,000 lb / 200 ft / 16 ft travel-plan parameters; 10 working days
rev. 2023-03-01 · read 2026-09-02 - Code of Virginia §46.2-1105 — Width of vehicles — Virginia Law Portal, Commonwealth of Virginia — "shall not exceed a total outside width of 102 inches"; subsection B on travel-trailer and motor-home appurtenances
rev. 2024 · read 2026-09-02 - Code of Virginia §46.2-1110 — Height of vehicles — Virginia Law Portal, Commonwealth of Virginia — "No loaded or unloaded vehicle shall exceed a height of 13 feet, six inches."
rev. 2015 · read 2026-09-02 - Code of Virginia §46.2-1112 — Length of vehicles, generally — Virginia Law Portal, Commonwealth of Virginia — 65 ft combination; the interstate/designated-highway exemption from any overall length restriction; the 48 ft semitrailer, the 41 ft kingpin condition and the 53 ft allowance; 28½ ft per trailer in a twin
rev. 2016 · read 2026-09-02 - Code of Virginia §46.2-1120 — Extension of loads beyond front of vehicles — Virginia Law Portal, Commonwealth of Virginia — "no vehicle shall carry any load extending more than three feet beyond the front of such vehicle"; subsection C, self-propelled pole carriers to 10 ft
rev. 2013 · read 2026-09-02 - Code of Virginia §46.2-1121 — Warning devices on projecting loads — Virginia Law Portal, Commonwealth of Virginia — "more than four feet beyond the rear of the vehicle shall have the extremities of the load marked with a red or orange fluorescent warning flag"
rev. 2022 · read 2026-09-02 - Code of Virginia §46.2-1124 — Maximum single axle weight (last amended 1989) — Virginia Law Portal, Commonwealth of Virginia — "shall not exceed 20,000 pounds, nor shall it exceed 650 pounds per inch, width of tire"
rev. 1989 · read 2026-09-02 - Code of Virginia §46.2-1125 — Maximum tandem axle weight (last amended 1989) — Virginia Law Portal, Commonwealth of Virginia — "The tandem axle weight of any vehicle or combination shall not exceed 34,000 pounds"; the 40–96 inch spacing definition
rev. 1989 · read 2026-09-02 - Code of Virginia §46.2-1127 — Weight limits on interstate highways (last amended 1989) — Virginia Law Portal, Commonwealth of Virginia — "a gross weight, regardless of axle spacing, in excess of 80,000 pounds, unless otherwise permitted by the proper authority"
rev. 1989 · read 2026-09-02 - Virginia DMV — Escort Vehicle Driver training and certification (undated) — Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles — Code of Virginia §46.2-2907 reciprocity; the SEVEN-state list — Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah, Washington
undated document · read 2026-09-02 - Virginia DMV — Escort vehicle FAQ (undated) — Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles — "A height pole is generally required for loads with a maximum height over 14 feet 6 inches."
undated document · read 2026-09-02 - Virginia DMV — Hauling Permit Manual, DMV109 (PDF, 07/2024) — Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles — legal size and weight limits; the ordinary single-trip ceilings (15 ft / 15 ft / 150 ft / 24,000 lb / 44,000 lb); the $20 single-trip fee and 30-cent mileage note
rev. 2024-07-01 · read 2026-09-02 - Virginia DMV — Hauling Permits fee table (undated) — Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles — Single Trip $20; Blanket $100/$200; Superload $30 plus a damage fee "based on the gross weight of the vehicle configuration"
undated document · read 2026-09-02
Questions
How much is an oversize permit in Virginia?
The single-trip base is $20, before the dimension bands, the overweight component and the transaction charge. The base alone is rarely what is paid.
When does Virginia 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 Virginia?
Virginia publishes no gross-weight superload threshold in the documents on file — see the superload section, which shows the dimensional triggers it does publish.