Pennsylvania Oversize / Overweight Permit Requirements
Legal-without-permit dimension limits, escort and pilot car thresholds, height pole rules, daylight-only windows, and holiday restrictions for Pennsylvania oversize moves.
Legal limits without a permit
In Pennsylvania, you can move a load without an OSOW permit up to these dimensions on the Interstate and designated highways. Anything over the limits requires a permit (and may require escorts — see below).
| Dimension | Without a permit | Permit required when |
|---|---|---|
| Width | 8′6″ (federal limit) | Anything wider |
| Height | 13′6″ | Anything taller |
| Combo length | 75′0″ | Anything longer |
| Gross weight | 80,000 lb | Anything heavier |
Escort and pilot car thresholds
When permitted, the following escort or movement-restriction rules apply in Pennsylvania. Thresholds are conservative — your specific permit conditions may impose tighter limits depending on the route.
| Trigger | Dimension | Threshold | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Police escort | Weight | 201,000 lb | PA State Police escort required for superloads over 201,000 lbs gross weight (67 Pa. Code § 179.4). |
| Police escort | Length | 160'0" | PA State Police escort required for overall lengths over 160' (67 Pa. Code § 179.4). |
| Rear pilot car | Length | 90'0" | Rear pilot car required for overall lengths over 90' on all routes (67 Pa. Code § 179.4). |
| Police escort | Width | 16'0" | PA State Police escort required for widths over 16' (67 Pa. Code § 179.4). |
| Rear pilot car | Rear overhang | 15'0" rear overhang | Rear pilot required when rear overhang exceeds 15' (67 Pa. Code § 179.4). |
| Front pilot car | Height | 14'6" | Front pilot car with high-pole required for heights over 14'6" on all routes (67 Pa. Code § 179.4). |
| Height pole | Height | 14'6" | Height pole required on lead pilot for loads over 14'6" high. |
| Front pilot car | Width | 13'1" | Front pilot car required for widths over 13'1" on 4-lane divided highways (67 Pa. Code § 179.4). |
| Rear pilot car | Width | 13'1" | Rear pilot car required for widths over 13'1" on 2-lane highways (67 Pa. Code § 179.4). |
| Daylight-only movement | Width | 8'6" | Non-urbanized: sunrise–sunset, Sat until noon; no Sunday travel. Urban areas may move 3:00am–sunrise with 2 escorts. |
| Weekend / holiday restriction | Width | 8'6" | No movement on New Year's, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas. Travel prohibited noon day-before through 9am day-after (67 Pa. Code § 179.4). |
Stop tracking these rules by hand.
OverSizeTMS encodes the per-state escort and dimension rules for every state plus DC. Enter the load dimensions and route, and the platform tells you which permits, escorts, and time windows apply automatically.
See how it works →Last updated 2026-06-06. Cross-checked against the state admin code.