Legal size & loaded measurements
General width
8′6″Ordinary vehicle-and-load limit; safety-device, vehicle and load exceptions may apply.
Loaded height
14′Ordinary vehicle-and-load limit; listed exceptions and actual route clearances apply.
Legal size & loaded measurements
The statewide baselines are 102 inches wide and 14 feet high. Length, overhang and weight need full configuration, axle/spacing, bridge, tire, posting, route and exception facts.
Loaded width
North Carolina publishes a 102-inch legal-width baseline on all roads.
Loaded height
North Carolina publishes a 14-foot legal-height baseline.
Permits, routes & larger loads
The permit authority
NCDOT authority and the issued route do not replace municipal, federal, tribal, private, port or facility permissions; resolve every segment owner.
The applicable permit
Use the applicable permit for an overlegal nondivisible move. The ordinary single trip is one trip within ten calendar days; verify, sign and carry the issued permit.
Larger-load review
Over 16 feet wide, over 132,000 pounds gross or over 20,000 pounds steer enters written superload review; routine permit limits never authorize movement by themselves.
State permit fees
Single-trip agency fee example
$12 for this North Carolina planning example: a nondivisible load measuring 8′7″ wide, 13′ high and 70′ overall, at 72,000 lb gross on a five-axle rig with a 48′ trailer. The example uses 100 in-state miles. Change the load details in the calculator for your move.
What the agency estimate includes
The calculator applies North Carolina's maintained single-trip permit schedule to the loaded vehicle and the supplied fee inputs. It itemizes the supported state charges, including weight or distance charges where applicable. Annual permits, special products, local permissions and payment-method charges need their own applicable schedule.
NC / Permit worksheet
Price your North Carolina movement.
Enter the complete loaded vehicle. Get estimated agency fees and escort requirements before sharing your contact details.
The numbers behind your next move.
Your result will show the agency fee breakdown, potential pilot-car requirements, and the rules used to calculate them.
- 01 State agency fee subtotal
- 02 Escort & survey considerations
- 03 Sources & pricing assumptions
Single-state pricing uses the mileage you enter. For a proposed route and intermediate states, use the route calculator.
About the example equipment
The samples use ODPermit’s editable 48 ft flatbed · 5 axles planning profile. Loaded dimensions, gross weight, 100 state miles and Texas registration are example inputs, not a capacity rating or a route approval. Replace them with your actual setup.
Great Dane Freedom trailer specifications — 48 ft platform; the illustrated 40 in drop deck and 20 in drop support a 60 in upper-deck planning height. Combined tare and tractor geometry are editable ODPermit assumptions.
Pilot cars, height poles & surveys
14′6″-wide load example
Example: 14′6″ wide × 13′ high, 75′ overall, 72,000 lb gross, zero overhang or rear projection, ordinary nondivisible freight in daylight. Two-lane roads: 1 front pilot car. Multi-lane undivided roads: 1 rear pilot car. Divided highways: 1 rear pilot car.
17′6″-high load example
Example: 9′ wide × 17′6″ high, 75′ overall, 72,000 lb gross, zero overhang or rear projection, ordinary nondivisible freight in daylight. All road types: 1 front (height pole required) pilot car.
Travel hours & road restrictions
Travel hours
General commodities ordinarily move sunrise to sunset; evaluate the exact permit, date, holiday schedule, continuous authority and weather before dispatch.
Travel hours & road restrictions
Loads over 12 feet wide face published Charlotte/Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill peak-period restrictions; snow, ice, sub-500-foot visibility and unsafe conditions stop movement.
Signs, flags & safety equipment
Safety equipment
Apply the exact width/overhang flags, front/rear warning banners, amber lights, headlamps, communications and certified-escort equipment required by the handbook and permit.
What the driver needs
Prepare the driver packet
Before movement, proof and sign the written permit, carry it in the vehicle with its route/conditions, and make it available for inspection. Do not rely only on a phone copy unless the issued permit or NCDOT expressly authorizes that medium.
Special equipment & permit programs
Special permit programs
Annual, mobile/manufactured home, house, sealed-container, self-propelled, emergency, farm and superload paths have distinct eligibility, routes, documents and limits.
BEFORE THE TRUCK ROLLS
Turn the estimate
into a permitted move.
Confirm the loaded measurements, carrier details, travel dates and exact pickup and delivery. We can help coordinate permits, escorts and route surveys around those facts.
THE SOURCE RECORD
Official references.
Read the rule behind each requirement. These are dated references; current restrictions and the issued permit control your move.
- 01North Carolina Oversize/Overweight Permit Handbook
North Carolina Laws, pages 2-3 · Page 2
Source record: - 02
- 03North Carolina Oversize/Overweight Permit Handbook
Annual, Single Trip and Superload Permits, pages 6-8 · Page 6
Source record: - 04NCDOT SL-6 and G.S. 20-119(b) — dimension and special-review fees
NCDOT SL-6 and G.S. 20-119(b) — dimension and special-review fees
Source record: - 05NCDOT Publication E-9 — Escort Vehicles, revised August 2024
NCDOT Publication E-9 — Escort Vehicles, revised August 2024
Source record: - 06NCDOT Publication E-9 — Escort Vehicles, revised August 2024
NCDOT Publication E-9 — Escort Vehicles, revised August 2024
Source record: - 07North Carolina Oversize/Overweight Permit Handbook
Permit Rules and Time of Travel, pages 14 and 19-20 · Page 14
Source record: - 08
- 09North Carolina Oversize/Overweight Permit Handbook
Equipment/Safety Requirements, pages 16-18 · Page 16
Source record: - 10