Legal size & loaded measurements
General width
8′6″Ordinary vehicle-and-load limit; safety-device, vehicle and load exceptions may apply.
Loaded height
13′6″Ordinary vehicle-and-load limit; listed exceptions and actual route clearances apply.
Loaded dimensions
General baselines: width 8 feet 6 inches (102 inches); height 13 feet 6 inches (162 inches), with no clearance guarantee; motor vehicle 40 feet subject to exceptions; single semitrailer 53 feet with 41 feet kingpin-to-rear-axle-group; qualifying doubles 28 feet 6 inches each. There is no generic ordinary tractor-semitrailer overall-length cap in these provisions.
Loaded width
The general maximum width is 102 inches, subject to the vehicle, load, safety-device, and statutory-operation exceptions in current Title 75.
Loaded height
The general maximum height is 162 inches (13 feet 6 inches); the Commonwealth does not guarantee that structures provide that clearance.
Gross and axle weight
Legal weight is the lesser applicable result of the general gross ceiling, configuration table, registered/rated limits, axle and adjacent-group rules, bridge formula and spacing, tire/wheel limits, and posted route restrictions. Section 4941(d) allows a qualifying primarily natural-gas or battery-electric vehicle up to 2,000 pounds above its otherwise applicable section 4941 gross limit, equal only to the proven system-weight difference; it does not waive the other cumulative limits. Above 73,280 pounds, current law uses a 20,000-pound single-axle maximum plus the federal bridge formula; two tandem pairs may each reach 34,000 pounds only when at least 36 feet apart. Ordinary wheel loading is no more than 800 pounds per inch of tire width.
Permits, routes & larger loads
Permit validity
An ordinary single-trip permit is one direction; a return exists only when shown. It expires after five authorized weekdays as specified on the permit. Do not calculate the expiry date from a start date because authorized weekdays and the issued wording control.
Emergency moves
An authorized agency may give oral authorization after an emergency or accident, with written application due within 72 hours. A user calling a load an emergency is not enough; current agency authorization is required.
Permits, routes & larger loads
M-936AS review is triggered by any gross over 136,000 pounds, axle over 27,000 pounds, group beyond Table 8-2 up to 27,000 per axle, steer over 20,000 unless excused, Table 8-1 Column I-through-II condition, or any route bridge posted BRIDGE LIMITED TO ONE TRUCK. One form is for one truck. Special mobile equipment wheel loading over 800 through 1,000 pounds per tire-inch belongs in this review. A live route/posting check is mandatory; the published envelope is not approval.
Larger-load review
Super-load candidate thresholds are strictly over 201,000 pounds gross, over 160 feet total length, or over 16 feet total width, subject to statutory exclusions. Height alone is not a super-load trigger. APRAS/CPO may require M-936AS, motor-drawn-combination details, a current M-936ARS route survey (21 days), city/local permission, bond or letter of credit, and escort planning; never treat the checklist as approval.
The permit authority
PennDOT authority covers only the specified state-highway route on its issued permit. Follow the APRAS route and deviate only under police direction or amended/current authority.
State permit fees
Single-trip agency fee example
$46 for this Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania'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.
PA / Permit worksheet
Price your Pennsylvania 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. Notify affected utilities at least 24 hours before the move if wires must be relocated. All road types: 1 front (height pole required) pilot car.
Travel hours & road restrictions
Continuous travel
Twenty-four-hour movement requires every condition: an effective issued permit that allows it, gross no more than 135,000 pounds, total width no more than 10 feet, no legal-height or legal-length excess, ability to maintain prevailing speed, and no inclement weather. Equality at 135,000 pounds and 10 feet remains within the numeric envelope; one pound or one thousandth of an inch over does not.
Weather & visibility
Do not move in inclement weather or contrary to a current winter-event/511PA restriction. Query the current route and issued permit at trip time; the static capture is provenance, not a live clearance.
Signs, flags & safety equipment
Signs & markings
Statutory baseline for any rear load projection over 4 feet: red flag or cloth at least 12 inches square by day, replaced by a red light during darkness. For a permitted oversize movement, M-938 separately specifies an 18-inch red or fluorescent-orange flag, plus yellow 7-foot-by-18-inch oversize signs with 10-inch letters/2-inch stroke and 5-foot-by-1-foot pilot signs with 8-inch letters. Apply the correct layer; do not make M-938's enhancement a condition of legal unpermitted travel.
What the driver needs
Permit & M-938 driver set
Driver set for a PennDOT-permitted move: the issued permit and Form M-938 carried with the vehicle and open to inspection, plus every application/permit-specific document and condition. Single-trip return authority exists only when printed on the permit.
Superload application documents
Super-load support may include one-truck M-936AS, motor-drawn-combination data, an M-936ARS survey no older than 21 days, city/local approvals, bond or letter of credit, utility coordination, escort plan, and issued bridge conditions. Use the live APRAS/CPO checklist; not every item applies to every route.
Special equipment & permit programs
Other permit products
Pennsylvania has separate permit provisions for quarry and construction equipment, manufactured housing, containers, agricultural products, structural materials, cranes and other named loads. Match the commodity and vehicle to an active statute and the current APRAS permit product; some entries in the statutory chapter have been repealed.
Program-specific conditions
Each named program has its own eligibility, route, weight, document, duration, and fee conditions. Confirm current APRAS product availability and let the issued product control rather than borrowing a favorable condition from another program.
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.
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- 04
- 0567 Pa. Code Chapter 179 — Oversize and Overweight Loads and Vehicles
67 Pa. Code § 179.10
Source record: - 06Form M-938 — General Conditions and Special Vehicle-Load Restrictions
§ 179.10 paragraphs (1), (5), (9), and (17) · Page 1
Source record: - 07
- 08
- 09Form M-936AS — Supplemental Application for Overweight Special Hauling Permit
Excessively Overweight Vehicles or Combinations · Page 2
Source record: - 10
- 11
- 12Form M-936SLCA — Super Load City Approval Application
Super Load City Approval Application and City List · Page 1
Source record: - 13
- 14
- 15PennDOT hauling permit fees, effective July 1, 2025
PennDOT hauling permit fees, effective July 1, 2025
Source record: - 1675 Pa.C.S.1942 — registered gross-weight basis
75 Pa.C.S.1942 — registered gross-weight basis
Source record: - 17PennDOT M-938, section 179.10(13) — pilot cars
PennDOT M-938, section 179.10(13) — pilot cars
Source record: - 18PennDOT M-938, section 179.10(13) — pilot cars
PennDOT M-938, section 179.10(13) — pilot cars
Source record: - 19
- 20
- 21Form M-938 — General Conditions and Special Vehicle-Load Restrictions
§ 179.10 paragraphs (14)-(20) · Page 2
Source record: - 22
- 23
- 24Automated Permit Routing and Analysis System login boundary
APRAS authentication boundary
Source record: