Texas oversize permit requirements
Texas issues more oversize permits than any other state, and the first thing to know about it is administrative rather than physical: the permits do not come from TxDOT. They come from the Motor Carrier Division of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, a separate agency with its own phone menu, and a carrier who spends twenty minutes on hold with the highway department has not started the clock on their permit yet.
Once you are in the right place, Texas is more generous than most states about when a load may move. The default is the familiar daylight window, half an hour either side of sunrise and sunset — but it runs seven days a week, Saturday and Sunday included, which alone separates Texas from states that close on Sundays. Better still, a load no wider than ten feet, no taller than the legal fourteen feet and no longer than a hundred feet may run at night, provided it stays on the Interstate. A load that is heavy but not large gets further: overweight-only movement is continuous.
The routine permit ceiling is unusually high in one dimension in particular. Texas will permit to eighteen feet eleven inches of height as ordinary business, which is taller than any routine limit in the eastern states and tall enough that height is rarely the constraint that stops a Texas move. Width tells the opposite story: twenty feet is permitted generally, but sixteen feet is the ceiling on the Interstate, so the widest loads are pushed onto exactly the roads least able to take them.
Two rules catch people out. A flatbed load cannot be permitted for width and for height at the same time — if the load is both, the configuration has to change before the permit will issue. And beyond the routine limits sits the Super Heavy regime: past 254,000 pounds, or past 200,000 pounds with less than ninety-five feet of axle spacing, approval takes weeks rather than days, because bridges have to be individually analysed. That is a schedule problem, not a paperwork problem, and it is worth discovering at quoting time rather than at dispatch.
Legal dimensions
At or under these figures, no oversize permit is required in Texas.
- Width
- 8′6″
- Height
- 14′0″
- Gross weight
- 80,000 lb
- Overhang
- 2′ front, 4′ rear
- Single axle
- 20,000 lb
- Tandem
- 34,000 lb
- Tridem
- 42,000 lb
Routine permit limits
Above legal dimensions and up to these figures, Texas issues a permit as routine business. Beyond them the load becomes a superload, reviewed case by case.
- Length
- 125′
- Overhang
- 30′
- Width
- 20′ — 16′ is the ceiling on the Interstate
- Height
- 18′11″
- Single axle
- 25,000 lb
- Tandem
- 46,000 lb
- Tridem
- 60,000 lb
- Quad
- 70,000 lb
Escort requirements
A load reaching any of these figures needs an escort in Texas — the figure is the first size that requires one, so a load measuring exactly this much already needs it.
- Width
- 14′1″
- Height
- 15′0″
- Length
- 110′1″
When the load may move
Permit validity. Single-trip permits run three to five days depending on the route. The permit must be issued before the load enters the state.
Operating time. Daylight — half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset — seven days a week, Saturday and Sunday included. Loads within 10′ wide, 14′ high and 100′ long may run at night on the Interstate. Overweight-only loads may move continuously.
Restricted travel. City and county curfews are printed on the permit and vary by route. Holiday movement depends on the dimensions of the load rather than being barred outright.
Worth knowing
- Permits are issued by the Texas DMV, not by TxDOT.
- A flatbed load cannot be permitted for width and height at the same time.
- Red flags are required at every extremity of the load.
- Beyond 254,000 lb — or beyond 200,000 lb with under 95′ of axle spacing — the load is Super Heavy and approval takes several weeks.
- Signs are required on the escort vehicles rather than on the load.
Texas permits, answered
Who issues oversize permits in Texas?
The Motor Carrier Division of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, not TxDOT. It is the single most common wrong turn carriers make in Texas.
Can an oversize load travel at night in Texas?
Yes, within limits. A load no wider than 10′, no taller than the legal 14′ and no longer than 100′ may run at night on the Interstate. Overweight-only loads may move continuously, day or night.
Can a Texas load be permitted for both width and height?
Not on a flatbed. Texas will not issue a permit covering width and height simultaneously for a flatbed load, so the configuration has to change before the permit can be written.
What makes a Texas load Super Heavy?
Over 254,000 lb, or over 200,000 lb with less than 95′ of axle spacing. Approval requires bridge analysis and takes several weeks rather than days — plan the schedule around it, not the other way round.
How wide can a load be on a Texas Interstate?
16′. Texas permits up to 20′ generally, but the widest four feet are not allowed on the Interstate, which pushes those loads onto state routes.
Crossing more than Texas?
A permit is per state. If the route leaves Texas, these are the states it most likely enters.
Get a permit quote for Texas
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 Texas →Compiled from published state DOT sources. Regulations change — confirm the current rules before dispatch. Last reviewed 2026-07-30.