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Massachusetts Oversize Permits

Legal size/weight limits, escort thresholds, travel restrictions, and permit office contact for Massachusetts.

⚠ REFERENCE ONLY — NOT A PERMIT. VERIFY WITH THE STATE BEFORE YOU TRAVEL.

These figures are a reference summary of publicly published state rules, not a substitute for a state-issued permit and not legal advice. Rules change — always confirm current limits and requirements directly with the state permit office before you plan or run a move. Last verified: 2026-07-16. Oversize Ops is NOT responsible and CANNOT be held liable for decisions made from this reference. Official source ↗

Data confidence: Medium. We could not fully corroborate every figure on this page against a primary official source. Treat these numbers as a starting point and confirm with the permit office before you plan a move.
Legal limits, pilot-car/escort thresholds, State Police thresholds, and superload weight are HIGH confidence from verbatim 700 CMR 7.07. Medium overall because (1) 700 CMR 7.07 governs the Turnpike/MHS/tunnels; general state highways are under 700 CMR 8.00 + permit-office practice; (2) travel-time + holiday values from the official mass.gov page which returned HTTP 403 (read via search summaries). legal_max_gross_lbs 99000 (5+ axles). legal_max_length_ft 53 semitrailer (config-specific). escort_height/escort_weight null (no official threshold).

Legal Maximum Dimensions (no permit required)

Width: 8.5ft (102in)
Height: 13.5ft (162in)
Max semitrailer length: 53ft
Gross Weight: 80,000 lbs
Single Axle: 22,400 lbs
Tandem Axle: 34,000 lbs

MGL c.90 §19A: the legal gross limit is 80,000 lb for a vehicle with three or more axles (46,000 lb for a two-axle truck). ⚠️ This corrects a previously published 99,000 lb, which is a PERMIT figure — combinations of five or more axles may run to 99,000 lb only under a permit issued with a sticker under §19D. Massachusetts assesses overweight penalties per pound, so the distinction is expensive.

MGL c.90 §19: no vehicle shall exceed a height of 13 ft 6 in (162 in), except under a special permit issued by the board or officer having charge of the ways. Width, length and height are all INCLUSIVE of the load and load-holding devices. (Note: c.85 §30 is weight and road-surface damage, not height.)

Official source for this height limit →

MGL c.90 s.19: "no overall length limitation shall apply ... when the trailer or semi-trailer does not exceed 53 feet." Lengths are inclusive of load-holding devices and exclusive of safety devices.

Official source for these length limits →

Escort / Pilot Car Thresholds (see glossary for terms, certification requirements for the driver)

This jurisdiction does not publish statewide escort thresholds — requirements are set as conditions on each individual permit. The figures below are the best available secondary-source indication, not the regulation. You must confirm with the permit office before dispatching.

Both escorts required over: 13ft wide

MassDOT does not publish statewide private pilot/escort width or height thresholds on an official page; escort requirements are set as conditions on each individual permit by the Highway Division — confirm with the MassDOT truck-permit office. For reference, on the Mass Turnpike / Metropolitan Highway System / tunnels, 700 CMR 7.07 requires: ONE rear pilot over 12 ft wide (to 13'6") or over 90 ft long; a FRONT + REAR pilot over 13'6" wide (to 16 ft) or over 100 ft long; and TWO Massachusetts State Police vehicles over 16 ft wide or over 135 ft long. Those figures govern the Turnpike/MHS/tunnels only, not all state highways, so structured statewide escort-width thresholds are intentionally left unset here.

Travel Restrictions

Night travel: Generally allowed
Weekend travel: Generally allowed
Sunday travel: Generally allowed

Standard oversize loads (not over 12 ft wide, not over 14 ft high) may travel continuously on state highways from Monday 12:01 a.m. through Saturday noon, and Sunday 12:01 a.m. through noon (night + weekend-morning travel permitted). Larger loads (12-14 ft wide, over 13'11" high, or over 80 ft long up to 114 ft) are daylight-only Monday-Friday, with NO travel 7:00-9:00 a.m. or 3:30-7:00 p.m. For the Sumner and Ted Williams Tunnels, MassDOT ordinarily will not issue an irreducible-load permit for travel away from Logan Airport between 7:00 and 10:00 a.m. No movement when large areas of hard-packed snow or ice.

Holiday blackouts: New Year's Day, Independence Day, Christmas Day (noon the preceding day through noon the following day, per the official MassDOT page; some secondary sources add Memorial Day/Labor Day/Thanksgiving but those are NOT confirmed officially).

See how Massachusetts compares to every state ›

Superload Thresholds

Width over: 14.9ft
Length over: 120ft
Weight over: 130,000 lbs

MassDOT defines a 'Super Load' by weight: gross weight over 130,000 lb requires detailed engineering calculations and carries a $300 single-trip fee on the Turnpike/MHS (700 CMR 7.07, Table 5). No dimensional superload definition, but the top-tier thresholds requiring two State Police escorts are width over 16 ft (192 in) and length over 135 ft.

Estimated Permit Cost Not available

We could not find a citable, official fee figure for Massachusetts — rather than guess, contact the permit office directly (see below) for current pricing.

Permit fee only — does not include escort/pilot-car service costs (market-rate, arranged separately) or third-party permit-service fees. This is an estimate for planning purposes, not a quote.

Get a Permit

Online portal: https://oasis.massdot.state.ma.us/
Phone: 857-368-3690

MA has strict size limits and complex urban routing. Many routes restricted due to historical bridge network.

Planning a move through Massachusetts?

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