Connecticut oversize permit requirements
Connecticut confines its widest and tallest loads to three days a week. A load thirteen feet six wide or over fourteen feet high may move on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday only, and only between nine in the morning and four in the afternoon. That is twenty-one hours a week, and it is the tightest regular window in the country. Combined with a three-day permit, the shortest on the seaboard, a Connecticut move has very little slack in it.
Ordinary loads fare better but not by much. Daylight is defined narrowly — half an hour after sunrise to half an hour before sunset — and the peak bans take out half past six to nine in the morning and four to six in the evening on top. A weekend pilot programme allows daylight movement to noon on Saturday and Sunday for loads within twelve feet, thirteen feet six, eighty feet and a hundred and twenty thousand pounds on five or more axles.
Two rules are worth knowing before quoting. Connecticut will not issue an overheight permit for a building of any type — a modular or relocated structure that is over height is simply not moving through the state. And anything over a hundred and forty thousand pounds needs an engineer's review. A load counts as a superload past fourteen feet of width, fourteen feet of height or a hundred and twenty feet of length, which are low thresholds by regional standards. Legal length is forty-eight feet for the trailer; fifty-three feet is legal only on the Interstate and designated highways, and only with kingpin to rear axle centre inside forty-three feet.
Legal dimensions
At or under these figures, no oversize permit is required in Connecticut.
- Width
- 8′6″
- Height
- 13′6″
- Gross weight
- 80,000 lb
- Overhang
- 4′, with flagging by day and lighting at night
- Single axle
- 22,400 lb
- Tandem
- 36,000 lb
- Tridem
- 42,500 lb
Routine permit limits
Above legal dimensions and up to these figures, Connecticut issues a permit as routine business. Beyond them the load becomes a superload, reviewed case by case.
- Length
- 130′
- Width
- 15′11″
- Height
- 14′ — a route survey is required above 14′
- Single axle
- 22,500 lb, or up to 25,000 lb within the manufacturer's rating
- Tandem
- 45,000 lb
- Tridem
- 67,500 lb
Escort requirements
A load reaching any of these figures needs an escort in Connecticut — the figure is the first size that requires one, so a load measuring exactly this much already needs it.
- Width
- 12′1″
- Height
- 14′0″
- Length
- 100′1″
When the load may move
Permit validity. Permits are valid for three days — the shortest on the eastern seaboard.
Operating time. Half an hour after sunrise to half an hour before sunset. Loads 13′6″ wide or over 14′ high may travel Tuesday to Thursday only, between 9 AM and 4 PM. A weekend programme allows daylight travel until noon on Saturday and Sunday for loads within 12′ wide, 13′6″ high, 80′ long and 120,000 lb on five or more axles.
Restricted travel. No movement 6:30–9 AM or 4–6 PM. No weekend moves for overweight-only loads outside the weekend programme. No travel on New Year, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving or Christmas; when a holiday falls on a Monday, movement stops at noon the previous day.
Worth knowing
- Loads 13′6″ wide or over 14′ high may move only Tuesday to Thursday, 9 AM to 4 PM — the tightest regular window in the country.
- Connecticut will not issue an overheight permit for a building of any type.
- A load over 140,000 lb requires an engineer's review.
- Superload thresholds are low: over 14′ wide, 14′ high or 120′ long.
- A 53′ semitrailer is legal only on the Interstate and designated highways, and only with kingpin to rear axle centre inside 43′. Otherwise the limit is 48′.
- Good Friday is a restricted travel day.
Connecticut permits, answered
When can a wide load travel in Connecticut?
If it is 13′6″ wide or over 14′ high — Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, 9 AM to 4 PM. Twenty-one hours a week, the tightest regular window anywhere.
How long is a Connecticut oversize permit valid?
Three days, the shortest on the eastern seaboard. Paired with the narrow travel window, a Connecticut move has very little slack.
Can I move an overheight building through Connecticut?
No. Connecticut will not issue an overheight permit for a building of any type, so a modular or relocated structure over height is not moving through the state.
Can an oversize load travel at the weekend in Connecticut?
Under a pilot programme, until noon on Saturday and Sunday, for loads within 12′ wide, 13′6″ high, 80′ long and 120,000 lb on five or more axles.
When is a Connecticut load a superload?
Past 14′ of width, 14′ of height or 120′ of length — low thresholds by regional standards. Above 140,000 lb an engineer's review is required as well.
Crossing more than Connecticut?
A permit is per state. If the route leaves Connecticut, these are the states it most likely enters.
Get a permit quote for Connecticut
Enter the load once and the estimator prices every state on the route, flags where an escort is required, and turns the quote into an order.
Price a permit for Connecticut →Compiled from published state DOT sources. Regulations change — confirm the current rules before dispatch. Last reviewed 2026-07-30.