DelawareOversize & overweight permits.

A superload is 15′ or more wide or high, 120′ or more long, or over 120,000 lb.

• Length, width, height and combination superloads: front and rear escorts plus a contracted Delaware State Police trooper and patrol car

Typical superload application review:

• Length only: 5 business days
• Width only, height only or weight only: 10 business days
• Combinations: 14 business days
• Requests to move outside the normal hours: review may take up to 14 business days

When DelDOT requires a route survey:

• Complete it within 14 business days before the move
• Show no part of the move within 6″ of any overhead object
• Show no part of the move within 3 or 6″ of lateral objects on each side

Depending on height, a height superload may need:

• A DelDOT Traffic-approved electrical contractor for traffic signal work
• Written clearance from utility companies on the route
• Vegetation clearing by a Delaware-certified arborist

DelDOT automatically reviews any permit with an axle at or above 25,000 lb. Moves over 120,000 lb gross, or across a structure posted below the move's gross weight, need DelDOT Bridge Management approval.

A DelDOT permit covers only the designated route on state-maintained roads. Local authorities may issue their own permits, with different requirements, for roads they maintain.

Book Delaware State Police escorts through the DSP Special Duty Officer at 877-425-8330 at least 48 hours before the move. Fees may change without notice:

• $78 per hour for each trooper, 1.5-hour minimum
• $18 per hour for each patrol vehicle, 1.5-hour minimum

Delaware escort vehicles must be:

• A single-unit, non-permitted vehicle no smaller than a compact car, not attached to another vehicle
• Escorting only one oversize load
• In visual contact and two-way radio contact with the load's driver
• Low-beam headlights on at all times

Escort vehicles show an OVERSIZE LOAD sign on the roof, or on the front and rear, at least 5′ long and 12″ high with 8″ letters. A roof light bar is described but not required in Delaware.

When separate rules call for a front escort and a rear escort, use two escorts, one in front and one behind.

• Loads that are only overweight, or 12′ wide or less, that can't move freely with traffic may also need escorts

Permitted loads may not move when road conditions, visibility or weather make travel hazardous. If caught underway, exit at the first safe place and park until conditions improve.

Red or fluorescent orange flags at least 18″ square, shown in daylight. Rear-overhang flags are in the 4′ overhang marker.

• Over legal width: at the extremities of the load

Over-width loads show 2 OVERSIZE LOAD signs, one on the front of the truck and one on the rear of the load: at least 7′×18″, with 10″ black letters on yellow.

On authorized night moves, steady-burning lights visible 500′ in all directions mark the load:

• Amber on extremities visible from the front and near the front
• Red on extremities at or near the rear
• Rear-overhang lights are in the projection rule

Carry the permit and its supporting documents in the vehicle, open to inspection by police or DelDOT. Leaving the permitted route is not allowed and is cause for revocation.

Vehicles must be licensed before you apply. Apply online in DelDOT's OSOW Permit System or through an authorized permit service; phone, walk-in and fax applications are not accepted. The permittee must carry liability and property damage insurance.

Mobile homes, modular housing and office trailers that are oversize, normally legal weight and under superload size move on a Load Code 4 single-trip permit ($30, valid 5 days), sunrise to sunset Monday–Sunday.

Self-propelled cranes can get an annual blanket permit:

• Up to 70′ long, 12′ wide, 13′6″ high
• Gross: 56,000 lb on 2 axles, 84,000 on 3, 112,000 on 4, 120,000 on 5 or more; 28,000 lb maximum per axle
• 24 hours a day, Monday–Sunday, except restricted holiday periods

For the annual crane permit:

• A Delaware State Police weight certification must be filed first
• Allow 2 weeks after all documents are in
• No superloads and no Interstate travel under the blanket permit

3-axle (65,000 lb) and 4-axle (73,280 lb) single trucks that exceed the federal bridge formula need an Interstate permit: single trip (Load Code 9) or multi-trip, good for 60 trips a year (Load Code 10).

In an emergency, DelDOT can issue a permit for loads up to 14′ wide and 100,000 lb on 4 axles, 108,000 lb on 5 or 120,000 lb on 6 or more. Loads over 9′ wide or slower than the speed limit need a rear escort on divided highways and front and rear on undivided highways.