Legal limits, escort triggers, permit fees, the superload line and the police escort position for Louisiana — every figure carrying the state document behind it.
14 source documents on fileoldest revision 1994-04-01last retrieved 2026-09-0319 escort rules in effect1 source conflictsFree · no account needed
The short version: a Louisiana single-trip permit starts at $0 before bands, overweight and the transaction charge; an escort is first required at over 12' wide; and the load becomes a superload at over 254,000 lb. Everything below carries the Louisiana document it came from, that document's own revision date, and the date we read it.
Legal limits
1. Louisiana legal limits
Anything over one of these needs a permit. Every value links to the document that sets it.
R.S. 32:387(H)(2)(c) prints a flat fee per cell of a table with ten gross-weight rows and five distance columns. It is neither a pure weight step nor a per-mile rate: the amount is banded on BOTH, so 120,000 lb over 40 miles is $135.00 and the same load over 210 miles is $622.50.
A separate fee for the use of the State Police vehicle, banded by the distance the ESCORT VEHICLE travels: 0–49 mi $100; 50–99 mi $125; 100–199 mi $150; 200–299 mi $175; 300 mi and over $200. Paid to Louisiana State Police on top of the officer's time. It is banded on the escort vehicle's own distance, which includes travel to and from the troop area, and not on the load's in-state miles.
One hour of travel time is added for a move beginning and ending in the same Troop area; travel across troop boundaries follows the Travel Time Remuneration Chart, which is not a published dollar figure.
The mover must provide the officer a room when the move runs more than one day. No cancellation charge is published — that is unknown here, not zero.
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.
Who issues it
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.
Source conflicts
10. Where the sources disagree
Two official documents, both in effect, giving different answers. Neither has been adopted.
La. Admin. Code tit. 73, §I-1901 — Escort vehicle requirements (last amended August 2016) — Cornell Legal Information Institute, reproducing the Louisiana Administrative Code — escort positioning (D)(9); the overweight-escort discretion (13); "it is strongly recommended that a clearance bar of some design be attached"; the $10 out-of-state registration rev. 2016-08-01 · read 2026-09-03
La. Admin. Code tit. 73, §I-303 — Permit fees and restrictions — Justia, reproducing the Louisiana Administrative Code — "The fee is $8 for a single trip if the trip lasts less than one day or $8 for a single day if the trip lasts more than one day."; current through Register Vol. 51, No. 06 rev. 2025-06-20 · read 2026-09-03
La. Admin. Code tit. 73, §I-309 — Permit restrictions (last amended April 1994) — Cornell Legal Information Institute, reproducing the Louisiana Administrative Code — "The DOTD District Maintenance Engineer must approve all movements over 18 feet wide"; the 4 ft rear-overhang warning-flag rule in (E)(2) rev. 1994-04-01 · read 2026-09-03
La. Admin. Code tit. 73, §I-701 — General permit provisions (undated) — Cornell Legal Information Institute, reproducing the Louisiana Administrative Code — "All costs incidental to permits, such as, telephone charges, wire service charges, insurance, or escort fees must be borne by the applicant." undated document · read 2026-09-03
La. Admin. Code tit. 73, §I-711 — Maximum permit weights allowed (last amended February 1996) — Cornell Legal Information Institute, reproducing the Louisiana Administrative Code — "Gross Vehicle Weight-238,000 pounds ... Since railroads and navigable waterways are adequate for the movement of loads in excess of 238,000 pounds, these facilities must be used instead of highways" rev. 1996-02-01 · read 2026-09-03
La. Admin. Code tit. 73, §I-716 — Overheight load notification — Justia, reproducing the Louisiana Administrative Code — "All loads exceeding 16 feet 5 inches in height that are moving on state highways are required to notify the DOTD district office where the move originates." rev. 2025-06-20 · read 2026-09-03
La. Admin. Code tit. 73, §I-717 — Houses or buildings over 18 feet high (last amended February 1996) — Cornell Legal Information Institute, reproducing the Louisiana Administrative Code — "Movers of houses, buildings, or loads that exceed 18 feet in height must contact the DOTD district office where the move originates for procedures to be followed before a permit will be issued" rev. 1996-02-01 · read 2026-09-03
La. Admin. Code tit. 73, §I-723 — Escorts, cancellations and periodic permits (undated) — Cornell Legal Information Institute, reproducing the Louisiana Administrative Code — the private-escort and state-police escort triggers; "Class II ($500 per year)"; "Pleasure Craft ($5 Fee for 30 Days)"; the $5 cancellation retention undated document · read 2026-09-03
La. R.S. 32:380 — Width of vehicles (via Justia) — Justia, reproducing the Louisiana Revised Statutes — "A. The width of any vehicle shall not exceed one hundred two inches, exclusive of safety devices."; subsection D, the secretary designates the qualifying highway system rev. 2025 · read 2026-09-03
La. R.S. 32:381 — Height of vehicles (via Justia) — Justia, reproducing the Louisiana Revised Statutes — 13 ft 6 in generally; 14 ft for a vehicle operating EXCLUSIVELY on the interstate system with one road mile of access rev. 2025 · read 2026-09-03
La. R.S. 32:382 — Length of vehicles and projecting loads (via Justia) — Justia, reproducing the Louisiana Revised Statutes — 45 ft single vehicle; 59 ft 6 in semitrailer; 4 ft front and 8 ft rear projection; 15 ft for poles and piling and 20 ft for forest products rev. 2025 · read 2026-09-03
La. R.S. 32:386 — Weight of vehicles (via Justia) — Justia, reproducing the Louisiana Revised Statutes — 80,000 lb gross; 20,000 lb single and 34,000 lb tandem on low-pressure pneumatic tires; 88,000 lb and 83,400 lb tridum/quadrum allowances; the bridge formula in subsection H rev. 2025 · read 2026-09-03
La. R.S. 32:387 — Special permits for excessive size and weight (via Justia) — Justia, reproducing the Louisiana Revised Statutes — subsection H — the $10 oversize fee, the three overweight schedules, the 232,001 lb route restriction and the over-254,000 lb ton-mile formula with its structural evaluation fees rev. 2025 · read 2026-09-03
Louisiana State Police Policy Order P.O. 1107 — Escorts — Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections — "Fees for off-duty escorts are $75.00 per hour with a two-hour minimum."; the travel-time and $150.00 minimum rules; the lodging obligation rev. 2024-01-15 · read 2026-09-03
Common questions
Questions
How much is an oversize permit in Louisiana?
The single-trip base is $0, before the dimension bands, the overweight component and the transaction charge. The base alone is rarely what is paid.
When does Louisiana require a pilot car?
The first width trigger is over 12'.
What is a superload in Louisiana?
Louisiana's published gross-weight superload line is over 254,000 lb. It is not 80,000 lb; that is the federal legal gross limit, not a superload threshold.
Do Louisiana's own documents contradict each other?
Yes, in 1 place(s) we hold both documents for. They are set out in full above, each with its pinpoint citation, and none of them has been adopted.
