By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Jul 18, 2026
Texas legal limits (no permit needed at or under these)
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.
Permit fees
- Single trip
- $60 (General single-trip permit base fee is $60. Overweight loads add a highway maintenance fee by gross weight, and loads over 200,000 pounds add a $35 vehicle supervision fee. Single-trip permits cover non-divisible loads up to 254,300 pounds; loads over 200,000 pounds must have at least 95 feet of total axle spacing and a Shipper's Certificate of Weight (Form 2280). Width over 20 feet, height over 18 feet 11 inches, or length over 125 feet requires route inspection certification.)
- Annual eligibility
- The annual envelope permit (company specific) costs $4,000, expires one year from the effective date, and covers loads up to 12 feet wide, 14 feet high, 110 feet long, and 120,000 pounds gross weight. It is company specific, usable by any properly registered truck owned by or leased to the company, with only one vehicle operating under the permit at a time. Applicants need a USDOT Number verified against federal records, or a $10,000 surety bond on file if no USDOT Number is required.
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.
To price a specific load, try the oversize permit cost estimator, or compare every state on the national oversize permit table.
Escort thresholds
Travel restrictions
- Curfews
- City and county curfews are published per TxDOT district and in the TxDMV Time Permit Curfews document (effective September 30, 2025). Examples: Austin restricts loads over 12 feet wide or 95 feet long from 7 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays; Tarrant County restricts all oversize vehicles 7 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays; Conroe restricts loads over 14 feet wide, 14 feet high, or 110 feet long 6 to 9 a.m. and 3 to 7 p.m. weekdays. Permit holders are responsible for checking current restrictions before traveling.
- Weekend / holiday
- Loads exceeding 14 feet wide, 16 feet high, or 110 feet long may not move on Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, or New Year's Day unless an exception is granted. Manufactured housing moves are also restricted on Veterans Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and Presidents' Day.
Superload and beyond-permit review
Loads past the standard single-trip permit thresholds get individual state review rather than an off-the-shelf permit.
Superheavy single-trip permits cover loads exceeding 254,300 pounds total gross weight, or between 200,001 and 254,300 pounds with less than 95 feet of total axle spacing.
Applications go through TxPROS three to four weeks before the permit is needed to allow route approval and any required bridge or pavement analysis, unless an approved route is already on file.
Legal limits before you need a permit
Texas publishes its no-permit limits for width, height, length by vehicle configuration, gross weight, and axle groups. The height allowance is taller than the figure common in many eastern states, which matters if you plan routes that cross state lines. Length depends on the configuration, from a single motor vehicle up to twin-trailer combinations, with separate front and rear overhang allowances.
Axle group limits step up from single axles through larger groupings, with a minimum spacing rule between axles. The limits table on this page carries each figure from the TxDMV size and weight page. County and district level restrictions are published separately per TxDOT district.
Single-trip permits
A general single-trip permit covers one non-divisible load over the legal limits. Pricing stacks a base permit fee with a highway maintenance fee that climbs through gross weight tiers, and the heaviest band adds a vehicle supervision fee. The heaviest loads also need a shipper's certificate of weight, and loads past certain width, height, or length lines need route inspection certification.
The fee schedule table on this page lists each component, its weight band, and its amount, straight from the TxDMV single-trip page.
The annual envelope permit
For repeated oversize work, the company-specific envelope permit covers a year of moves inside a published width, height, length, and weight envelope. It belongs to the company rather than one truck: any properly registered vehicle the company owns or leases can run under it, one vehicle at a time.
Applicants need a USDOT Number that verifies against federal records, or a surety bond on file when no USDOT Number is required. The envelope dimensions, fee, and bond figure are sourced fields on this page.
Escort requirements
Escorts phase in by dimension. Crossing the first width, height, or length line takes a single escort, placed front or rear depending on the road type; crossing the higher line in the same dimension takes escorts front and rear on all roads. Long front or rear overhangs take a rear escort. When a load crosses lines in more than one dimension, the largest escort count controls.
Escort vehicles carry their own equipment rules: amber warning lighting, an oversize load sign of published dimensions, two-way radio contact with the permitted vehicle, and a nonconductive height pole once the load tops the height line. TxDMV also reserves the right to require law enforcement escorts but publishes no fixed dimension threshold for them, so we record none.
The escort table on this page carries each threshold and placement from the TxDMV escort requirements page.
When oversize loads can move
The largest loads may not move on major holidays unless an exception is granted, and manufactured housing picks up added restricted days. City and county curfews, published per TxDOT district and consolidated in the Time Permit Curfews document, close weekday rush windows in several metro areas. The current list overrides what is printed on older permits.
Two honest gaps: the TxDMV pages we read publish no statewide daylight-only rule and no statewide wind or weather rule, so this page records neither. Movement times are controlled through permit provisions and the published curfew lists instead.
Superheavy loads
Past the single-trip ceiling, Texas moves you into the superheavy regime: loads over the published gross weight line, or heavy loads with less than the published axle spacing. Superheavy permits go through TxPROS three to four weeks before the move so the state can approve the route and run any bridge or pavement analysis, unless an approved route is already on file.
Superheavy pricing stacks the base and top-tier maintenance fees with a supervision fee, and an engineering analysis fee applies when the move falls outside an existing engineer's report. The threshold and fee fields on this page carry the amounts from the TxDMV superheavy page.
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 Texas permit stack, see Texas trucking permits.
Frequently asked questions
What can I haul in Texas without an oversize permit?
- Anything inside the published legal limits for width, height, length by configuration, gross weight, and axle groups. Texas allows more height than many states, and length depends on your vehicle configuration. The limits table on this page lists each figure from the TxDMV size and weight page.
How much does a Texas single-trip oversize permit cost?
- It stacks: a base permit fee, a highway maintenance fee that rises through gross weight tiers, and a vehicle supervision fee in the heaviest band. The sourced fee schedule on this page lists each component and amount.
When does an oversize load need an escort in Texas?
- Once a load crosses the published width, height, length, or overhang lines. The first line in a dimension takes one escort, the higher line takes escorts front and rear, and the largest count controls when several dimensions are over. A height pole rides along once the load tops the height line. The escort table on this page carries each threshold.
What counts as a superheavy load in Texas?
- A load over the published gross weight ceiling, or a heavy load with less than the published total axle spacing. Superheavy moves need route approval and possible bridge or pavement analysis, so applications go through TxPROS weeks ahead. The threshold fields on this page carry the figures.
Does Texas restrict oversize moves to daylight hours?
- The TxDMV pages we read publish no statewide daylight-only rule, so we do not record one. Movement times come from your permit's provisions plus the district curfew lists and holiday restrictions, which do block the largest loads at set times.
Haul Handbook publishes educational information about trucking registration and compliance requirements. This is not legal, financial, or tax advice. Rules, fees, and deadlines change; confirm with the agency before you file or pay.