Tennessee Oversize Permits

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

⚠ 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 ↗

Legal Maximum Dimensions (no permit required)

Width: 8.5ft (102in)
Height: 13.5ft (162in)
Max single-unit vehicle length: 45ft
Max kingpin to rear of load: 50ft
Gross Weight: 80,000 lbs
Single Axle: 20,000 lbs
Tandem Axle: 34,000 lbs

Tenn. Code Ann. 55-7-202: a motor vehicle, trailer or semitrailer whose height including any part of the load does not exceed 13 ft 6 in (162 in) may be operated on the federal and state highway system.

Official source for this height limit →

Tennessee sets NO maximum semitrailer length and NO overall combination length for a truck tractor + semitrailer. What it regulates instead is a 50 ft KINGPIN-TO-REAR-OF-LOAD distance — see the kingpin figures. ⚠️ TDOT's own FAQ headlines this as "Length: 50 feet for truck tractor + semi-trailer combination", which reads as a 50 ft COMBINATION limit and is absurd on its face (a tractor alone is about 20 ft). Publishing 50 ft as a trailer or combination length is wrong in BOTH directions: it flags legal 53 ft vans as oversize, AND it gives no warning at all to a legal-length trailer with a forward kingpin setting, which IS illegal here. ROAD CLASS: the tractor-semitrailer allowance is granted "over the federal and state highway system" while the 65 ft straight-truck-with-trailer limit applies "on any highway". ⚠️ KNOWN DISCREPANCY, resolved conservatively: commercial publishers render TCA 55-7-201(c) with 52 ft, but EVERY official Tennessee source reachable (TN Secretary of State compiled TDOT rule eff. 15 May 2018, the tn.gov 2017 rules PDF, and both current TDOT permit FAQs) says 50 ft, with 52 ft only as a livestock/automobile exception. We publish the official 50 ft — the lower, safer figure — and record the conflict here rather than adopting an unverifiable number.

⚠️ TENNESSEE MEASURES TO THE REAR OF THE LOAD, NOT THE REAR AXLE. TDOT rule 1680-07-01-.01: "the over length kingpin is measured from the kingpin to the rear of the trailer or overhang. If the kingpin is over 50 ft the vehicle or load is over length" and needs a permit. This 50 ft is NOT comparable to the 41-43 ft kingpin-to-rear-AXLE figures in other states. Over 48 ft from the point of attachment additionally requires kingpin-to-rear-axle of 41 ft or less. Exceptions: 52 ft for livestock/automobiles; 75 ft total for poles, logs or timber in single lengths.

Official source for these length limits →

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

These escort figures are route-dependent — they can change with road classification, lane width, two-lane vs multilane, and time of day. Confirm with the permit office before dispatching.

Front escort required over: 12.5ft wide
Rear escort required over: 12.5ft wide
Both escorts required over: 13.5ft wide
Height escort required over: 15ft tall

Per TDOT Rule 1680-07-01-.06/.10/.11/.12: Width 8'6"-10' = no escort. Width >10'-12'6" = escort only where 2-lane pavement <24' wide (1 escort precedes). Width >12'6"-13'6" = 1 escort (precede on 2-lane, follow on interstate/4-lane). Width >13'6"-16' = front + rear escorts on all highways. Width >16' = front + rear + route survey (superload). Height 13'6"-15'6" needs permit; height >=15' = front escort with vertical height indicator. Length >90'-120' = 1 rear escort; >120' = front + rear. Flagperson required at bridge structures where roadway width <20'. Law-enforcement escort at TDOT discretion for super-heavy/extra-overdimensional loads.

Travel Restrictions

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

OFFICIAL DEFAULT: continuous movement 24 hours/day, 7 days/week (Rule 1680-07-01-.04). Exception: loads exceeding 12'6" wide, 15' high, or 90' long may NOT move on the interstate 7-9 a.m. and 4-6 p.m. Mon-Fri in counties with population over 250,000. Holiday heavy-traffic restrictions may apply. Super-heavy/extra-overdimensional loads may receive additional time restrictions. Permits subject to inclement-weather restrictions. NOTE: many broker sites claim TN is 'daylight only, no Sunday' - that is SUPERSEDED by the 2018 rule; continuous movement is the official default.

Holiday blackouts: Heavy-traffic restrictions may apply: Easter (after 6 p.m. Thu before Good Friday through Easter Sunday); Memorial Day (after noon preceding Friday through Memorial Day); Independence Day (July 3-4, plus adjacent weekend days if applicable); Labor Day (after noon preceding Friday through Labor Day); Thanksgiving (after noon Wed before through Sunday after); Christmas/New Year's (Dec 24 through Jan 1, with weekend extensions).

See how Tennessee compares to every state ›

Superload Thresholds

Width over: 16ft
Height over: 15.6ft
Length over: 150ft
Weight over: 165,000 lbs

TDOT 'super heavy' = gross weight exceeding 165,000 lbs. 'Extra-overdimensional' = width exceeding 16' OR height exceeding 15'6". These require a route survey, traffic-control plan, and possible law-enforcement escort (Rule 1680-07-01-.12). Length is not part of TN's super-heavy/extra-overdimensional definition.

Estimated Permit Cost Verify before relying

$20–$30 by dimension + $20 + $0.06 per ton-mile weight

Typical processing: 3–10 days depending on complexity

Source: Tennessee DOT (rev. 07/16/2018) — verify current fee with the permit office before budgeting a move.

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://www.tn.gov/tdot/traffic-operations-division/oversize---overweight-permits/tntrips-login-.html
Phone: 615-741-3821

Planning a move through Tennessee?

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