The short version: a California single-trip permit starts at $16 before bands, overweight and the transaction charge; an escort is first required at over 10' wide; and the load becomes a superload at a gross weight the state does not publish. Everything below carries the California document it came from, that document's own revision date, and the date we read it.
1. California legal limits
Anything over one of these needs a permit. Every value links to the document that sets it.
| Measure | Legal limit |
|---|---|
| Width | 8'6"rev. 1988-09-28 · read 2026-09-02 |
| Height | 14'undated document · read 2026-09-02 |
| Semitrailer length | Not yet covered |
| Overall length | None published |
| Kingpin to rear axle | 40'undated document · read 2026-09-02 |
| Front overhang | None published |
| Rear overhang | None published |
| Gross weight | 80,000 lbundated document · read 2026-09-02 |
| Single axle | 20,000 lbundated document · read 2026-09-02 |
| Tandem axle | 34,000 lbundated document · read 2026-09-02 |
2. When California requires an escort
| Measurement | First escort trigger | First police escort trigger |
|---|---|---|
| Width | over 10'rev. 2021-06-01 · read 2026-09-02 · varies by road class | None published |
| Height | None published | None published |
| Length | over 85'rev. 2021-06-01 · read 2026-09-02 · varies by road class | None published |
| Rear overhang | over 25'rev. 2005-09-01 · read 2026-09-02 | None published |
| Gross weight | None published | None published |
Every escort rule on file, in full23 rules
- Yellow route (multilane freeway/expressway), over 12 ft up to 15 ft wide — one pilot car, following — pilot-car table by route colour; CHP escort table; Note 1 ("Until width exceeds 15' 0", the maximum number of pilot cars is one"); Note 2 rev. 2021-06-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Yellow route, over 15 ft up to 16 ft wide — two pilot cars, one leading and one following — pilot-car table by route colour; CHP escort table; Note 1 ("Until width exceeds 15' 0", the maximum number of pilot cars is one"); Note 2 rev. 2021-06-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Green route (two-lane, 12 ft lanes with a 4 ft or wider shoulder), over 12 ft up to 14 ft wide — one pilot car, leading — pilot-car table by route colour; CHP escort table; Note 1 ("Until width exceeds 15' 0", the maximum number of pilot cars is one"); Note 2 rev. 2021-06-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Green route, over 14 ft up to 15 ft wide — two pilot cars, one leading and one following — pilot-car table by route colour; CHP escort table; Note 1 ("Until width exceeds 15' 0", the maximum number of pilot cars is one"); Note 2 rev. 2021-06-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Blue route (two-lane, 12 ft lanes with a 0–4 ft shoulder, or multilane with substandard lanes), over 11 ft up to 13 ft wide — one pilot car, leading — pilot-car table by route colour; CHP escort table; Note 1 ("Until width exceeds 15' 0", the maximum number of pilot cars is one"); Note 2 rev. 2021-06-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Blue route, over 13 ft up to 15 ft wide — two pilot cars, one leading and one following — pilot-car table by route colour; CHP escort table; Note 1 ("Until width exceeds 15' 0", the maximum number of pilot cars is one"); Note 2 rev. 2021-06-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Brown route (two-lane with 11 ft or 10 ft lanes), over 10 ft up to 12 ft wide — one pilot car, leading — pilot-car table by route colour; CHP escort table; Note 1 ("Until width exceeds 15' 0", the maximum number of pilot cars is one"); Note 2 rev. 2021-06-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Brown route, over 12 ft up to 15 ft wide — two pilot cars, one leading and one following — pilot-car table by route colour; CHP escort table; Note 1 ("Until width exceeds 15' 0", the maximum number of pilot cars is one"); Note 2 rev. 2021-06-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Two pilot cars are required by the table at this width, but the legend’s own Note 1 caps the count at one below 15 ft — pilot-car table by route colour; CHP escort table; Note 1 ("Until width exceeds 15' 0", the maximum number of pilot cars is one"); Note 2 rev. 2021-06-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Yellow or green route, over 120 ft long — one pilot car — pilot-car table by route colour; CHP escort table; Note 1 ("Until width exceeds 15' 0", the maximum number of pilot cars is one"); Note 2 rev. 2021-06-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Blue route, over 100 ft long — one pilot car — pilot-car table by route colour; CHP escort table; Note 1 ("Until width exceeds 15' 0", the maximum number of pilot cars is one"); Note 2 rev. 2021-06-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Brown route, over 85 ft long — one pilot car — pilot-car table by route colour; CHP escort table; Note 1 ("Until width exceeds 15' 0", the maximum number of pilot cars is one"); Note 2 rev. 2021-06-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Rear overhang over 25 ft — one pilot car, following, on every route colour — "The pilot car follows the escorted vehicle on conventional highways having four or more lanes" rev. 2005-09-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Red route — movement is restricted and governed by the Red Route Summary Table — pilot-car table by route colour; CHP escort table; Note 1 ("Until width exceeds 15' 0", the maximum number of pilot cars is one"); Note 2 rev. 2021-06-01 · read 2026-09-02
- CHP escort required — over 16 ft wide on yellow, over 15 ft wide on green/blue/brown, over 185 ft long on yellow/green, over 135 ft long on blue/brown, or 17 ft or higher on blue/brown — pilot-car table by route colour; CHP escort table; Note 1 ("Until width exceeds 15' 0", the maximum number of pilot cars is one"); Note 2 rev. 2021-06-01 · read 2026-09-02
- CHP escort is also required whenever opposing lanes are used or the load slows while crossing a structure — pilot-car table by route colour; CHP escort table; Note 1 ("Until width exceeds 15' 0", the maximum number of pilot cars is one"); Note 2 rev. 2021-06-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Over 14 ft wide or over 135 ft long — Caltrans bills a $50.00 per hour special service charge whose hours are not knowable in advance — §1411.3(a) permit fees; (b)–(d) the $50/hour special service charge; subsection (a) amended filed 1-12-93, operative 2-15-93 (Register 93, No. 3) rev. 1993-02-15 · read 2026-09-02
- Heavy or side-by-side configurations also draw the $50 per hour charge, and the configuration is not collected on a quote — §1411.3(a) permit fees; (b)–(d) the $50/hour special service charge; subsection (a) amended filed 1-12-93, operative 2-15-93 (Register 93, No. 3) rev. 1993-02-15 · read 2026-09-02
- California does not require a height pole at any height — overhead clearance is the permittee’s own responsibility — "Height poles will not be a Caltrans requirement."; route-colour definitions rev. 1990-02-23 · read 2026-09-02
- Over 17 ft high — the applicant must supply a written route survey — Q2 fee table; Q7 CHP scheduling; Q11 permitted axle maxima; Q14 variance processing and the >17 ft route survey rev. 2026-05-01 · read 2026-09-02
- Over 10 ft wide — weekday curfews apply in the Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and San Francisco areas — item 6 (permittee checks clearances); item 18 (over-10 ft curfews); item 19 (warning signs) rev. 2025-12-01 · read 2026-09-02
- A pilot car is also required on dashed routes when the kingpin-to-rear-axle distance exceeds 38 ft, and which segments are dashed is a property of the district map — pilot-car table by route colour; CHP escort table; Note 1 ("Until width exceeds 15' 0", the maximum number of pilot cars is one"); Note 2 rev. 2021-06-01 · read 2026-09-02
- California’s 40 ft kingpin limit drops to 38 ft for a single-axle semitrailer, and a city or county may restrict it to 38 ft on its own highways — §35400(b)(4) KPRA 40 ft / 38 ft; §35401.5(a)(1) STAA semitrailer 48 ft in exclusive combination and 53 ft with the KPRA condition; §35401(e)–(f) and §35401.1 on local restriction of KPRA to no less than 38 ft undated document · read 2026-09-02
3. California single-trip permit fees
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Single-trip base | $16rev. 2026-05-01 · read 2026-09-02 |
| Transaction / card | 2.3% of the totalrev. 2025-04-16 · read 2026-09-02 |
| Route analysis review | Not yet covered |
| Route with no bridges | Not yet covered |
4. How California prices overweight
The Caltrans FAQ fee table lists one single-trip price and no weight-dependent row. FAQ Q11 gives the permitted axle maxima — single axle 20,000 lb generally and never over 30,000 lb, tandem up to 46,725 / 58,406 / 60,000 lb by spacing, tyres and width, tridem 51,450 / 52,500 lb — as ALLOWANCES, not as fee steps.
5. California's superload threshold
Above one of these, the state stops issuing over the counter and prices the move after an engineering review.
6. Route survey and bridge review
The dimensions at which California triggers a physical route inspection or an engineering review, and what the agency charges to review it.
| Measurement | Inspection / review trigger |
|---|---|
| Width | Not yet covered |
| Height | over 17'rev. 2026-05-01 · read 2026-09-02 |
| Length | Not yet covered |
7. Police escorts
Charges exist and no schedule is published. No CHP hourly or per-mile escort rate exists in chp.ca.gov, dot.ca.gov or 21 CCR. The $50 per hour in 21 CCR §1411.3(c)(4) is Caltrans traffic-operations staff — a different agency and a different service — and must not be read as a trooper rate.
This is a positive finding: we searched and there is nothing to quote. It is not the same as "no police escort is ever required here".
8. When you can move it
Holiday, curfew and night-travel windows are not yet encoded for California.
California spring thaw restrictions →
Why those windows are absent rather than estimated
They are not guessed at here. What we do publish is the seasonal weight-restriction picture, with the date we last read each state's own bulletin — a curfew invented from a plausible pattern is worth less than an honest gap, because a reader cannot tell the two apart on the page.
9. Permit office
The agency behind each figure above is linked from that figure. We publish no per-state permit-office phone number.
Why there is no phone number here
We are not publishing per-state permit-office phone numbers yet, and the reason is worth stating: the two seed lists available for them are both demonstrably stale — the federal one gives two different states the same phone number — and a wrong number on a page like this costs somebody a morning. The agency behind each figure above is linked from that figure, which is the part we can stand behind today.
11. What this does not include
Named rather than gestured at, because each of these can exceed the permit itself. Every item is listed; open one for why it is excluded.
Line haul, fuel and driver time
This is a permit fee, not a freight rate.
Civilian pilot car rates
We hold no rate data, and the two commercial sites that publish market rates disagree by nearly a factor of two on the same service.
Route-survey engineering
The agency's review fee is shown where the state publishes one; the engineer's own fee is a private cost with no schedule.
Bonds and escrow
Set per move by the agency, and in at least one state the escort is billed at actual cost against it.
Utility coordination and line lifts
Arranged with each utility, priced by each utility.
Second-issuer permits
A toll, bridge or city authority inside the same state issues its own permit, and a state total that omits it is missing a whole permit.
12. Every source behind this page (15)
Every document behind California15 sources
- 21 Cal. Code Regs. §1411.3 (via Cornell LII — SECONDARY source) — Cornell Legal Information Institute, reproducing 21 CCR — §1411.3(a) permit fees; (b)–(d) the $50/hour special service charge; subsection (a) amended filed 1-12-93, operative 2-15-93 (Register 93, No. 3)
rev. 1993-02-15 · read 2026-09-02 - Cal. Veh. Code §35100 (via Justia — SECONDARY source) — Justia, reproducing the California Vehicle Code — "The total outside width of any vehicle or its load shall not exceed 102 inches"; Stats. 1988, Ch. 1452
rev. 1988-09-28 · read 2026-09-02 - Cal. Veh. Code §35400 (via Public.Law — SECONDARY source) — Public.Law, reproducing the California Vehicle Code — §35400(a) 40 ft single-vehicle cap; §35400(b)(4) the kingpin-to-rearmost-axle exemption; §35400(c) "effective January 1, 1987"
undated document · read 2026-09-02 - Cal. Veh. Code §35550 (via California Public Law — SECONDARY source) — Public.Law, reproducing the California Vehicle Code — "any one axle of a vehicle shall not exceed 20,000 pounds"
undated document · read 2026-09-02 - Caltrans — Apply for a Single Trip Permit — California Department of Transportation — "Single trip permits are $16 for each trip completed."
undated document · read 2026-09-02 - Caltrans — CTPS Credit Card Payment Instructions (PDF) — California Department of Transportation — "there is a 2.3% charge for all transactions"
rev. 2025-04-16 · read 2026-09-02 - Caltrans — Legal Truck Access: Height (CVC §35250) — California Department of Transportation
undated document · read 2026-09-02 - Caltrans — Legal Truck Access: Vehicle Lengths (CVC §§35400–35401) — California Department of Transportation — §35400(b)(4) KPRA 40 ft / 38 ft; §35401.5(a)(1) STAA semitrailer 48 ft in exclusive combination and 53 ft with the KPRA condition; §35401(e)–(f) and §35401.1 on local restriction of KPRA to no less than 38 ft
undated document · read 2026-09-02 - Caltrans — Legal Truck Access: Weight Limitation (CVC §§35550–35558) — California Department of Transportation
undated document · read 2026-09-02 - Caltrans — Single Trip Pilot Car Map Legend, June 2021 (PDF) — California Department of Transportation — pilot-car table by route colour; CHP escort table; Note 1 ("Until width exceeds 15' 0", the maximum number of pilot cars is one"); Note 2
rev. 2021-06-01 · read 2026-09-02 - Caltrans — Special Conditions for Pilot Cars (PDF, September 2005) — California Department of Transportation — "The pilot car follows the escorted vehicle on conventional highways having four or more lanes"
rev. 2005-09-01 · read 2026-09-02 - Caltrans — Transportation Permit Conditions, December 2025 (PDF) — California Department of Transportation — item 6 (permittee checks clearances); item 18 (over-10 ft curfews); item 19 (warning signs)
rev. 2025-12-01 · read 2026-09-02 - Caltrans — Transportation Permits — California Department of Transportation — "Variance Permit - vehicles greater than 15'-0" wide, 17'-0" high, and 135'-0" long"
undated document · read 2026-09-02 - Caltrans — Transportation Permits FAQ — California Department of Transportation — Q2 fee table; Q7 CHP scheduling; Q11 permitted axle maxima; Q14 variance processing and the >17 ft route survey
rev. 2026-05-01 · read 2026-09-02 - Caltrans Transportation Permits Manual, Appendix 19 (PDF, 1990) — California Department of Transportation — "Height poles will not be a Caltrans requirement."; route-colour definitions
rev. 1990-02-23 · read 2026-09-02
Questions
How much is an oversize permit in California?
The single-trip base is $16, before the dimension bands, the overweight component and the transaction charge. The base alone is rarely what is paid.
When does California require a pilot car?
The first width trigger is over 10', and it varies by road class — the figure shown is the lowest across classes.
What is a superload in California?
California publishes no gross-weight superload threshold in the documents on file — see the superload section, which shows the dimensional triggers it does publish.