Weight limits by state
Gross, single, tandem, tridem and quad for all 48 contiguous states, the bridge formula that governs every axle group, and what each state charges to go over. Weight is the one limit that is checked twice — once on paper when the permit is written, and again on the scale, group by group.
What every state starts from
On the Interstate system these three numbers are federal, and no state sets them lower. Everything on this page is a departure from them — upward off the network, upward with axle count, or upward on a permit.
Cross any one of them and the load is overweight and needs a permit. The gross figure is the one drivers quote, but it is rarely the one that catches them: a rig can sit under 80,000 and still be over on a tandem, and the scale weighs the group, not the truck.
Why spreading the axles buys you weight
The federal bridge formula limits what a group of axles may carry according to how far apart the outer two sit. It protects the bridge, not the pavement — the same weight concentrated in ten feet does far more to a span than spread over forty.
| Spread | 2 axles | 3 axles | 4 axles | 5 axles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 ft | 38,000 | 42,000 | 47,333 | 53,000 |
| 12 ft | 42,000 | 45,000 | 50,000 | 55,500 |
| 20 ft | 50,000 | 51,000 | 55,333 | 60,500 |
| 30 ft | 60,000 | 58,500 | 62,000 | 66,750 |
| 40 ft | 70,000 | 66,000 | 68,666 | 73,000 |
| 51 ft | 81,000 | 74,250 | 76,000 | 79,875 |
Read the last row: five axles over 51 feet works out at 79,875 lb. The familiar 80,000 is the statutory cap sitting on top of the formula, not the formula's own answer — which is why a rig can pass the gross check and fail a group.
Two limits apply to every group and the stricter one wins: the formula above, and the state's own single, tandem, tridem and quad figures in the table below.
Legal weight, state by state
The gross column is the Interstate figure. Where a state allows more off the designated network, that figure sits underneath it. Scroll the table sideways for the axle groups and the pricing model.
| State | Gross | Single | Tandem | Tridem | Quad | Superload at | Overweight priced | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AlabamaAL | 80,000 lb84,000 lb off the network | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | 42,000 lb | not published | 300,000 lb | Weight bracket | source |
| ArizonaAZ | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | — | not published | 250,000 lb | Dimensional envelope | source |
| ArkansasAR | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | 50,000 lb | not published | 180,000 lb | Axle, weight and distance tablevaries with distance | source |
| CaliforniaCA | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | 43,500 lb | 51,500 lb | no weight trigger | One flat rate | source |
| ColoradoCO | 80,000 lb85,000 lb off the network | 20,000 lb | 36,000 lb | — | not published | 500,000 lb | Per axle | source |
| ConnecticutCT | 80,000 lb | 22,400 lb | 36,000 lb | — | not published | 200,001 lb | Per 1,000 lb over | source |
| DelawareDE | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | — | not published | 120,000 lb | Per 1,000 lb over | source |
| FloridaFL | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 40,000 lb | 44,980 lb | not published | 200,000 lb | Per mile, by weightvaries with distance | source |
| GeorgiaGA | 80,000 lb | 20,340 lb | 34,000 lb | — | not published | 180,001 lb | Weight bracket | source |
| IdahoID | 80,000 lb105,500 lb off the network | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | — | not published | no weight trigger | Per mile, ramped by weightvaries with distance | source |
| IllinoisIL | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | — | not published | 120,000 lb | Axle, weight and distance tablevaries with distance | source |
| IndianaIN | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | 50,000 lb | not published | 120,000 lb | Envelope base plus mileagevaries with distance | source |
| IowaIA | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | — | not published | no weight trigger | Per 1,000 lb over | source |
| KansasKS | 80,000 lb85,500 lb off the network | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | 42,000 lb | not published | 150,000 lb | Weight bracket | source |
| KentuckyKY | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | 48,000 lb | not published | 160,000 lb | One flat rate | source |
| LouisianaLA | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | 42,000 lb | 50,000 lb | 232,000 lb | Axle, weight and distance tablevaries with distance | source |
| MaineME | 80,000 lb | 22,400 lb | 38,000 lb | 48,000 lb | not published | 160,000 lb | Bracket on the weight over | source |
| MarylandMD | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | 42,500 lb | not published | 150,000 lb | Per 1,000 lb over | source |
| MassachusettsMA | 80,000 lb | 22,400 lb | 34,000 lb | — | not published | 130,000 lb | One flat rate | source |
| MichiganMI | 80,000 lb | 18,000 lb | 32,000 lb | 39,000 lb | not published | no weight trigger | One flat rate | source |
| MinnesotaMN | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | — | not published | 250,000 lb | Per axle group, per milevaries with distance | source |
| MississippiMS | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | 42,000 lb | not published | 189,999 lb | Per ton, per milevaries with distance | source |
| MissouriMO | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | — | not published | 160,000 lb | Per 1,000 lb over | source |
| MontanaMT | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | — | not published | no weight trigger | Weight steps per 25 milesvaries with distance | source |
| NebraskaNE | 80,000 lb94,000 lb off the network | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | — | not published | 160,000 lb | One flat rate | source |
| NevadaNV | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | — | not published | 500,000 lb | One flat rate | source |
| New HampshireNH | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | — | not published | 150,000 lb | Weight bracket | source |
| New JerseyNJ | 80,000 lb | 22,400 lb | 34,000 lb | — | not published | no weight trigger | Per 1,000 lb over | source |
| New MexicoNM | 86,400 lb | 21,600 lb | 34,320 lb | — | not published | 170,000 lb | Per ton, per milevaries with distance | source |
| New YorkNY | 80,000 lb | 22,400 lb | 36,000 lb | — | not published | 200,000 lb | One flat rate | source |
| North CarolinaNC | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 38,000 lb | — | not published | 132,000 lb | Per 1,000 lb over | source |
| North DakotaND | 80,000 lb105,500 lb off the network | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | — | not published | 200,000 lb | Weight bracket plus ton-milesvaries with distance | source |
| OhioOH | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | — | not published | 120,000 lb | Weight bracket plus ton-milesvaries with distance | source |
| OklahomaOK | 80,000 lb90,000 lb off the network | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | — | not published | 209,000 lb | Per 1,000 lb over | source |
| OregonOR | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | — | not published | 900,000 lb | Per mile, by weightvaries with distance | source |
| PennsylvaniaPA | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | — | not published | 201,000 lb | Per ton, per milevaries with distance | source |
| Rhode IslandRI | 80,000 lb | 22,400 lb | 36,000 lb | — | not published | 200,000 lb | One flat rate | source |
| South CarolinaSC | 80,000 lb73,280 lb off the network | 20,000 lb | 35,200 lb | — | not published | 130,000 lb | One flat rate | source |
| South DakotaSD | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | — | not published | no weight trigger | Per ton, per milevaries with distance | source |
| TennesseeTN | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | — | not published | no weight trigger | Per ton, per milevaries with distance | source |
| TexasTX | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | 42,000 lb | 50,000 lb | 254,301 lb | Weight bracket | source |
| UtahUT | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | — | not published | no weight trigger | Axle, weight and distance tablevaries with distance | source |
| VermontVT | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | — | not published | 150,000 lb | One flat rate | source |
| VirginiaVA | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | — | not published | 115,000 lb | Per mile, by weightvaries with distance | source |
| WashingtonWA | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | — | not published | 200,000 lb | Per mile, by weight stepvaries with distance | source |
| West VirginiaWV | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | — | not published | 120,001 lb | Per ton, per milevaries with distance | source |
| WisconsinWI | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 34,000 lb | — | not published | 150,001 lb | Weight bracket | source |
| WyomingWY | 80,000 lb | 20,000 lb | 36,000 lb | 42,000 lb | not published | 160,001 lb | Per ton, per milevaries with distance | source |
8 states allow a higher gross off the designated network: Alabama, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina. Only 3 publish a quad-axle figure at all — California, Louisiana, Texas — and elsewhere a four-axle group is governed by the bridge formula alone.
Two states raise the gross with the axle count
Maine and Michigan do not stop at one number. Add axles and the legal gross rises with them, which is why testing a long rig in either state against a flat 80,000 reports it overweight when the state's own table says otherwise.
Maine
| Axles | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal gross | 34,000 | 54,000 | 69,000 | 80,000 |
Michigan
| Axles | 4 | 5 | 8 | 11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal gross | 67,500 | 86,000 | 109,000 | 164,000 |
Michigan at eleven axles is the highest legal gross in the country without a permit. The calculator reads these ladders, so an eleven-axle rig is judged against 164,000 lb rather than 80,000.
Fifteen ways to price one permit
There is no national overweight fee and nothing close to a common method. Ten states charge the same amount whatever you weigh. 21 price by distance, so the identical load costs different money on a short run and a long one.
| How it prices | States | Which | Distance matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| One flat rate | 10 | CA KY MA MI NE NV NY RI SC VT | No |
| Per 1,000 lb over | 8 | CT DE IA MD MO NC NJ OK | No |
| Per ton, per mile | 7 | MS NM PA SD TN WV WY | Yes |
| Weight bracket | 6 | AL GA KS NH TX WI | No |
| Axle, weight and distance table | 4 | AR IL LA UT | Yes |
| Per mile, by weight | 3 | FL OR VA | Yes |
| Weight bracket plus ton-miles | 2 | ND OH | Yes |
| Dimensional envelope | 1 | AZ | No |
| Per axle | 1 | CO | No |
| Per mile, ramped by weight | 1 | ID | Yes |
| Envelope base plus mileage | 1 | IN | Yes |
| Bracket on the weight over | 1 | ME | No |
| Per axle group, per mile | 1 | MN | Yes |
| Weight steps per 25 miles | 1 | MT | Yes |
| Per mile, by weight step | 1 | WA | Yes |
One permit or two?
When a load is both oversize and overweight, most states do not charge for both. Thirty-eight of the 48 end up billing a single fee: 34 waive the oversize fee outright, Alabama waives the weight fee instead, Maine charges whichever line is higher, and Nebraska and Ohio issue one combined permit at their own rate.
Ten states charge both lines separately: FL, MS, MT, NC, NH, NJ, OK, OR, TN, WY. Those are two filings, so our service fee is $20 twice. Everywhere else it is $20 once.
Price your route — all of itAbout weight limits
Is the legal weight limit 80,000 lb everywhere?
On the Interstate system, yes: 80,000 lb gross, 20,000 lb on a single axle and 34,000 lb on a tandem are federal figures every state carries. Off the Interstate a state may allow more, and several do. Two states publish a gross that rises with the axle count instead of stopping at one number.
What is the federal bridge formula?
A formula that limits the weight on any group of axles according to how far apart they are: W = 500 × ( L × N ÷ (N − 1) + 12N + 36 ), where L is the distance in feet between the outermost axles of the group and N is the number of axles in it. Spread the axles further and the group may carry more. It is checked group by group at the scale, so a rig can be legal on gross and still be overweight on one group.
Why does an overweight permit cost different amounts in different states?
Because there are fifteen different ways to price one. Some states charge a flat rate whatever the load weighs. Others use a weight bracket, a charge per 1,000 pounds over the limit, a rate per ton per mile, or a table keyed on axles, weight and distance together. 21 of the 48 price by distance, so the same load costs different amounts on a short run and a long one.
Do I need one permit or two if the load is both oversize and overweight?
In 38 states it is one permit with one fee: 34 waive the oversize fee outright, Alabama waives the weight fee instead, Maine charges whichever is higher, and Nebraska and Ohio issue one combined permit. Ten states charge an oversize fee and a weight fee separately. Permigo files at $20 per permit, so those ten cost $40 in service fees and the rest cost $20.
Does axle count change the legal weight?
In most states the gross limit is a single figure and the axle count only matters through the bridge formula and the per-axle-group limits. Maine and Michigan are different: both publish a gross that rises with the number of axles, and Michigan reaches 164,000 lb at eleven axles. Several states also set the fee threshold by axle count even where the legal gross does not move.
Also useful: check a load against one state, price a whole route, permit cost by state, and the interactive map of all 48.
Over on weight? We’ll file it.
$20 flat per permit, the state’s fee at cost. A permit agent answers, 7am–7pm CT, 7 days.