What can I haul in Kentucky without an oversize permit?

Anything inside the published legal limits for width, height, length by configuration, and gross weight. Width and height match the common national figures, and car haulers get a taller height allowance. Off the interstates the limits tighten and gross weight is set by highway class.

How much is a single-trip oversize permit in Kentucky?

A single-trip permit carries a flat base fee for a short window, with a higher flat fee for a metal commodities trip, plus a small card or bank-transfer service charge. The exact amounts render below from the Division of Motor Carriers fee page.

Can oversize loads travel any time in Kentucky?

Most may run around the clock unless the permit states otherwise, and Kentucky sets no holiday moratorium. Manufactured home moves are the exception: daylight only, no Sundays. Some urban counties also close weekday rush-hour windows, and high winds stop the widest loads.

Kentucky Oversize and Overweight Permits

By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Jul 19, 2026

Kentucky legal limits (no permit needed at or under these)

Width: 8.5 ft8 ft 6 in on interstates and designated highways. On all other state-maintained highways the legal width is 8 ft 0 in.
Height: 13.5 ft13 ft 6 in. Car haulers (automobile transporters) may operate up to 14 ft 0 in on interstates and designated highways.
Gross weight: 80,000 lbTotal gross weight of vehicle and load shall not exceed 80,000 lbs on interstates and designated highways (KRS 189.222, 603 KAR 5:070).
Length: motor_truck_ft: 45 ft
Length: semitrailer_single_combination_ft: 53 ft
Length: dual_trailer_each_ft: 28 ft
Length: dual_trailer_note: 28 ft each when operated in a tractor-semitrailer-trailer combination.
Length: other_highways_single_unit_ft: 45 ft
Length: other_highways_combination_ft: 65 ft
Off interstate limits: summary: On other state-maintained highways, maximum gross weight is set by highway classification: Class A 44,000 lbs, Class AA 62,000 lbs, Class AAA 80,000 lbs. Legal width on these roads is 8 ft; combinations are limited to 65 ft.

Axle weight limits

Gross weight is one ceiling; each axle group carries its own limit, and a load can be legal on gross weight yet overweight on an axle. Exceeding any of these needs an overweight permit.

Kentucky legal axle weight limits by axle group
Axle group	Maximum weight
Single axle	20,000 lb
Tandem axle (two axles in a tandem arrangement)	34,000 lb
Three axles	48,000 lb

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Permit fees

Single trip: A single-trip OW/OD permit costs 60 USD and is valid for 10 days. A payment service fee applies: 4 percent for credit card, or a 3 USD ACH fee. Metal commodities have a dedicated single-trip permit at 100 USD. How overweight fees scale by weight/distance beyond the base permit is not published on the fee page and is left blank rather than invented.
Annual permit: Annual (12-month) permits by category, per the Division of Motor Carriers OW/OD fee schedule.
Annual eligibility: Annual permits are issued by category (non-divisible, farm, metal commodities, non-divisible steel, feed, manufactured home). Non-divisible and farm annual permits are tiered at under 14 ft wide and 14 to 16 ft wide. Allow 10 to 14 business days for processing.

Single-trip permit fee schedule

A single-trip permit stacks a base fee with a weight-tiered maintenance fee, and the heaviest loads add a supervision fee.

Kentucky single-trip oversize permit fee components
Fee component	Applies to	Amount
Single-trip OW/OD permit (base, 10 days)	Not confirmed	$60
Metal commodities single-trip permit	Not confirmed	$100
Credit-card service fee	4 percent of permit total	Not confirmed
ACH payment fee	Not confirmed	$3

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To price a specific load, try the oversize permit cost estimator, or compare every state on the national oversize permit table.

To see how these fees combine on real loads, walk through Kentucky oversize permit cost worked examples.

Escort thresholds

Dimension	Threshold	Escorts	Police escort
width (multi-lane highway)	over 12 ft	1 rear	No
width (multi-lane highway)	over 14 ft	1 front and 1 rear	No
width (multi-lane highway)	over 16 ft	2 front and 2 rear	No
width (two-lane highway)	over 12 ft	1 front and 1 rear	No
width (two-lane highway)	over 16 ft	2 front and 2 rear	No
height (both highway types)	over 14 ft 11 in	1 front escort with a height-pole attachment	No
length (multi-lane highway)	110 ft and over	1 rear	No
length (multi-lane highway)	120 ft and over	1 front and 2 rear	No
length (two-lane highway)	75 ft and over	1 front	No
length (two-lane highway)	85 ft and over	1 front and 1 rear	No
length (two-lane highway)	120 ft and over	1 front and 2 rear	No

What the escort itself has to be

Hitting the threshold is only half of it. The escort vehicle, its equipment, its driver's certification and where it rides are all regulated, and the carrier is the one holding the permit when they are not met.

Escort rules: Escort counts are stated as front/rear positions. Kentucky's escort page does not specify a mandatory law-enforcement (police) escort tier; recorded as unstated rather than invented. Heights over 15 ft 6 in require an OW/OD Proposed Route Survey (form TC 95-625) before movement.

Escort rules beyond the thresholds

Knowing when you need an escort is half of it. These are the Kentucky rules on who may run one, what the vehicle has to carry, and how the move is conducted.

Escort notes: Escort counts are stated as front/rear positions. Kentucky's escort page does not specify a mandatory law-enforcement (police) escort tier; recorded as unstated rather than invented. Heights over 15 ft 6 in require an OW/OD Proposed Route Survey (form TC 95-625) before movement.

Travel restrictions

Daylight only: Manufactured/mobile home moves are restricted to daylight hours, Monday through Saturday, with no Sunday travel. Other OW/OD loads may generally travel 24 hours unless the permit states otherwise.
Curfews: Rush-hour restriction in five counties (Boone, Campbell, Fayette, Jefferson, Kenton) Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. A load originating in Fayette County is exempt from rush-hour restrictions on I-64 and I-75 in Fayette County and on connecting routes up to 3 miles from those interstates.
Weekend / holiday: Kentucky has no holiday travel restrictions. Manufactured/mobile home moves are prohibited on Sundays.
Wind / weather: A load more than 12 ft wide shall not move on a highway when the National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory, or when adverse weather or road conditions would make the move dangerous.

Superload and beyond-permit review

Loads past the standard single-trip permit thresholds get individual state review rather than an off-the-shelf permit.

Kentucky does not publish a single numeric 'superload' class on the OW/OD pages. The practical review triggers are the escort/route-survey thresholds: a height over 15 ft 6 in requires an OW/OD Proposed Route Survey (form TC 95-625), and widths over 16 ft or lengths over 120 ft require the maximum front-and-rear escort configuration.

Route survey form: TC 95-625 (OW/OD Proposed Route Survey)

More Kentucky permit rules

Issuing office: agency: Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Division of Motor Carriers
Issuing office: online system: Motor Carrier Portal permit purchase at apps.transportation.ky.gov/MotorCarrierPermits/PermitManagement.aspx
Issuing office: processing time: Annual permits: allow 10 to 14 business days for processing.
Issuing office: route check: Call Before You Haul route checking is available through westernais.org/callbeforeyouhaul.
Single trip fee USD: base fee USD: 60
Single trip fee USD: duration: 10 days
Single trip fee USD: note: A single-trip OW/OD permit costs 60 USD and is valid for 10 days. A payment service fee applies: 4 percent for credit card, or a 3 USD ACH fee. Metal commodities have a dedicated single-trip permit at 100 USD. How overweight fees scale by weight/distance beyond the base permit is not published on the fee page and is left blank rather than invented.
Annual permit eligibility: Annual permits are issued by category (non-divisible, farm, metal commodities, non-divisible steel, feed, manufactured home). Non-divisible and farm annual permits are tiered at under 14 ft wide and 14 to 16 ft wide. Allow 10 to 14 business days for processing.
Escort notes: Escort counts are stated as front/rear positions. Kentucky's escort page does not specify a mandatory law-enforcement (police) escort tier; recorded as unstated rather than invented. Heights over 15 ft 6 in require an OW/OD Proposed Route Survey (form TC 95-625) before movement.
Seasonal permits: summary: Kentucky issues extended-weight coal haul decals for vehicles hauling coal or coal by-products on the designated Coal Haul Highway System. Eligible vehicles must be registered to 80,000 lbs and carry a Kentucky commercial plate or IRP plate (out-of-state plated vehicles need current registration documentation). The extended gross-weight limits and the decal fee schedule are not published on the overview page and are left blank rather than invented. Annual farm permits (A03/A04) and annual feed permits (A09) cover agricultural movements.
Seasonal permits: coal haul decal: Yes
Statute: KRS 189.222 and 603 KAR 5:070 (size and weight limits); KRS 189.270 (permits and travel provisions).

Legal limits before you need a permit

Kentucky publishes its no-permit limits for width, height, length by configuration, and gross weight. Width and height match the common national figures, with one twist: car haulers get a taller height allowance on interstates and designated highways. Length depends on the configuration, from a single truck up to a tractor with two trailers. Once you leave the interstates, the legal width drops and combinations are held shorter, and gross weight is capped by highway class. The limits and the axle groups render below, each from the Division of Motor Carriers dimensions page.

Single-trip and annual permits

A single-trip permit covers one non-divisible load over the legal limits and runs for a short set window, and Kentucky sells a separate single-trip permit for metal commodities. For repeat work, annual permits come by category: non-divisible, farm, metal, steel, feed, and manufactured home, with farm categories priced lower and the widest loads higher. The single-trip fee components render below from the Division of Motor Carriers schedule, and a payment service fee applies on top, by card or bank transfer.

Escorts, route surveys, and travel windows

Escort requirements climb with size. A wider load picks up a rear escort, then front and rear, then two front and two rear at the widest, and the counts differ between multi-lane and two-lane highways. Tall loads take a front escort with a height pole, and the very tallest need an approved route survey before they move. On timing, most oversize loads may run around the clock unless the permit says otherwise, but manufactured home moves are daylight-only and off-limits on Sundays, and a handful of urban counties close weekday rush-hour windows. High winds stop the widest loads. The escort steps and the travel rules render below with their sources.

How to read this page

A value reading "Not confirmed" means we could not verify the figure on an official agency page at review time, so it stays open rather than guessed. Superload moves above the standard permit thresholds get individual review by the state; contact the permit office named on this page. For the rest of the Kentucky permit stack, see Kentucky trucking permits.