Texas oversize load permits
Texas allows 14'0" unpermitted, which 20 states do. The other 26 cap at 13'6" — so a 14-foot load legal here needs a permit the moment it crosses into most of them.
Texas permit requirements
The same seven sections for every state, so two states can be compared without re-learning the layout.
Permit required above
Exceed any one of these in Texas and the load needs a permit. No overall cap on a truck-tractor plus semitrailer — the 59' trailer is the trigger. Other combinations cap at 65'. A trailer longer than 59' re-activates the state's 125' overall cap. Permigo files it for a flat $20, with the state's own fee billed at cost.
Front and rear overhang are capped separately, not combined. Exceed either and Texas requires a permit.
Filed from Houston, TX. A permit agent answers +1 (786) 494-6912, 7am–7pm CT, 7 days; no card needed for a quote.
Axle limits
Escorts by road type
Police escort at the state’s discretion.
Superload above
Allow about 42 business days for review.
Movement windows
| Situation | Window |
|---|---|
| Oversize (general) | Daylight only: 30 min before sunrise → 30 min after sunset |
| Interstate exception | Night OK on the Interstate when ≤10' wide and ≤100' long with legal overhangs; also unladen lift/well-servicing ≤9'W; utility-pole power-restoration moves (rear escort) |
| Overweight-only, legal dims | 24/7 |
| Holidays (the six allows TxDMV to restrict) | Loads >14'W / >16'H / >110'L banned New Year's, Memorial, July 4, Labor, Thanksgiving, Christmas (exact dates published; route-study exceptions possible); manufactured housing: all national holidays |
| Weekends | No statewide rule (only inside local curfews, e.g. Bandera county-wide Sat–Sun ban) |
| Curfews (runtime) | Statewide Time Permit Curfews PDF + per-district Permit Restrictions PDFs (Houston: ≥17'6"H = 48-hr signal-shop notice; >20'W = law-enforcement F+R) |
| Convoys | 110–150': up to 4 loads share 1F+1R · 150'1"–180': 2 loads · spacing 1,000–2,000 ft, amber beacon top-rear of each load |
Travel restrictions
Other published tables
Permit axle caps & denial walls
| Item | Limit |
|---|---|
| Single axle | 25,000 lb (or 650 lb per inch of tire width, whichever is less) |
| Tandem | 46,000 lb |
| Tridem | 60,000 lb |
| Quad | 70,000 lb |
| Quint | 81,400 lb |
| Load-zoned roads | the caps drop 10% |
| Beyond any cap | |
| Overhang denial wall | no permit over 25' front or 30' rear overhang |
| Route inspection (carrier self-survey) | >20' wide · >18'11" high · >125' long |
| Escort combining rule | 'When a load exceeds more than one dimension that requires an escort under this subsection, front and rear escort flag vehicles will be required' — two total (F+R), never stacked per dimension; Handbook example: 16'W × 112'L = 2 escorts; TxDOT may grant exceptions |
Toll authorities
| Facility | OS/OW status |
|---|---|
| TxDOT tollways — SH 130 seg. 1–4, Grand Parkway SH 99, SH 249, CTTS | State highway system: the TxDMV permit + TxPROS routing cover them |
| SH 130 Segments 5–6 (concession, Austin–Seguin) | OS/OW pilot with TxDOT: TxDMV permit + toll tag, OS/OW bills as Class F; launch 'announced soon' (watch) |
| NTTA (DFW) · HCTRA (Houston) · CTRMA (Austin) | Not routed by TxDMV — 'the carrier is responsible for contacting the appropriate jurisdiction for all non-state maintained travel'; no official OS/OW policy published online: clear by phone — NTTA · HCTRA · CTRMA |
Primary source: TxDMV — Texas size and weight limits ↗
Every figure on this page was checked against it on August 4, 2026.
Get Texas priced and filed
Send the route and a permit agent calls you back with Texas’s fee, any other state on the way, and one total. Filed from Houston, TX; we answer +1 (786) 494-6912, 7am–7pm CT, 7 days.
Already know the load? Start an order in FleetLynk, the filing app behind Permigo — or send the form and we set it up for you.
States that border Texas
Limits change at the line. One order covers every state on your route.
Texas oversize permits, answered
Do I need an oversize permit in Texas?
You need a permit in Texas once the load exceeds any one of these: 8'6" wide, 14'0" high, or 80,000 lb gross. There is no overall length cap on a normal tractor-semitrailer — the trailer itself is capped at 59' instead. Axle limits apply too — 20,000 lb on a single axle and 34,000 lb on a tandem.
When does Texas require an escort?
Texas requires no escort below 14' wide. Above that the requirement depends on the road type as well as the dimension, which is why the same load can need a front escort on a two-lane and a rear escort on a multilane.
Can I move an oversize load at night in Texas?
Daylight hours only. There is no general weekend blackout. Holiday movement is restricted.
What counts as a superload in Texas?
A load over 254,301 lb is handled as a superload in Texas. Allow about 42 business days for review.
How much does a Texas oversize permit cost?
Permigo charges a flat $20 service fee per state permit. Texas's own permit fee is billed at cost on the same invoice, itemised, with nothing added. Call +1 (786) 494-6912 and we will price your exact route.
What happens if I move without a Texas permit?
Moving above Texas's limits without a permit is a violation, not a paperwork gap. The load can be stopped at a scale or by a trooper and held until a permit is issued, the fine is set by Texas and the citing officer, and a pattern of violations follows the carrier's safety record. If you are not sure the load needs one, when you need an oversize permit walks through the triggers.
Which kind of Texas permit do I need?
Most moves take a single-trip permit: one load, one route, a set number of days. Many states also sell annual or blanket permits for loads that stay within routine dimensions; whether Texas does, and for which loads, is on the state's own permit page. A superload is permitted separately and reviewed by the state — the thresholds are in the answer above. Permigo files whichever kind the load needs at the same $20 flat fee; what Texas itself charges is on the cost guide.
Is a Texas oversize permit the same as a Texas truck permit?
No. A "truck permit" usually means the paperwork a truck needs to cross Texas at all — a trip permit, a fuel permit (IFTA) or IRP plates — which the state's motor-carrier office issues. An oversize or overweight permit covers one load that exceeds Texas's legal size or weight, and that is what Permigo files.
Also useful: when you need a permit, pilot car requirements by state, and the interactive map of all 48 states.
Moving through Texas?
$20 flat per state permit, the state's fee at cost. A permit agent answers, 7am–7pm CT.