California Oversize Permit, Wide and Heavy Haul Information

Summary:

• Any load exceeding 10 feet wide is limited to travel Monday through Friday.
• Signs and flags are required for vehicles over 8 feet and six inches wide, 80 feet long, or with 10-foot overhangs.
• Travel is restricted on the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge from 6:30 to 9 a.m. and 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Operating Hours, Restricted Travel, and Holiday Restrictions

Travel is allowed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but travel must be requested at the time of order unless a load exceeds a two-vehicle configuration or requires an escort. If the weight exceeds the green loading limit or a detour is in effect, the loading is restricted to a half-hour before sunrise and a half-hour after sunset.

Any load exceeding 10 feet wide is limited to travel Monday through Friday. For the Sacramento, San Francisco, and San Diego areas, transit hours are restricted from 7-9 a.m. and 4-6 p.m. The Los Angeles area prohibits oversize loads transiting from 6-9 a.m. and 3-6 p.m. Additionally, travel is restricted on the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge from 6:30-9 a.m. and 3:30-6:30 p.m. Loads over 12 feet wide are restricted to 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Overheight or over 11-foot-wide loads require a highway patrol escort. 

Holiday travel restrictions in California only apply to larger loads. Oversize loads cannot travel on the following holidays:

• New Year’s Day
• Memorial Day 
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Day 

Signs, Flags, and Lights Requirements

For the safety of others on the road, signs, flags, and lights may be required when moving oversize loads or superloads.

Signs

Signs and flags are required for vehicles over 8 feet and six inches wide, 80 feet long, or with 10-foot overhangs. In addition, signs are required for loads that are overweight only.

Flags

For night travel, amber marker lights are required on the front corners of the load. An additional amber light is required on the leftmost portion of the load, which must be visible from both the front and sides. Finally, red lights are needed at the rear corners and must be visible from the rear and sides.

Los Angeles County required amber lights at all protrusions and at five-foot intervals around the load. The rear of the load should have red lights no higher than five feet from the ground. If the rear overhang exceeds four feet, it must have at least two lights or a rear light bar. If the load obscures the signals and brake lights, a rear light bar is required during the daytime. 

Amber marker lights are required on the front corners of a load for night travel. An additional amber light is required on the leftmost portion of the load, which must be visible from both the front and sides. Finally, red lights are needed at the rear corners and must be visible from the rear and sides.

Additionally, Los Angeles County requires amber lights at all protrusions and at five-foot intervals around the load. The rear of the load should have red lights no higher than five feet from the ground. If the rear overhang exceeds four feet, it must have at least two lights or a rear light bar. If the load obscures the signals and brake lights, a rear light bar is required during the daytime.

Obtaining a Permit

Single-trip permits are valid for seven days and are usable on loads within the maximum dimensions of 15 feet wide, 17 feet high, and 135 feet in length. Annual permits are available for specific vehicles on specific highways or for specific envelope loads. Repetitive permits are valid for up to 90 days for single-trip permits on the same load and the same route.

Variance permits are for loads wider than 15 feet wide, 17 feet tall, or 135 feet long. These are also allowed for special hauling equipment that exceeds the State Department’s standard method of weight classification, pending special processing. Written route surveys are required from applicants with loads that are greater than 17 feet in height.

Permits can be obtained at the California website. For more information, contact the DMV Motor Carrier Service Branch at (916) 657-8153.

Partnering with a Logistics Company

If you are interested in streamlining the oversize permit process in California, consider partnering with a modular logistics company. Contact our experts to ensure a seamless wide and heavy haul experience for your project. 

Read more:

• Over-Dimensional and Heavy Haul Permitting 101
• What You Need to Know About State Oversize Permits for Over-Dimensional, Wide, and Heavy Haul Trucking
• State Oversize Permit & Wide Load Regulations: Simplified

Stream Logistics is a transportation logistics company specializing exclusively in High Stakes Freight® , or freight where there is significant risk in moving your product. We help you transport freight when there are projects with timelines and delivery sequences, shipments with high complexity, and shipments with unique constraints.