Quebec Oversize Load Permits, Regulations & Axle Rules

Quebec's standard legal envelope is 2.6 m wide, 4.15 m high, and 23 m for a typical tractor-semitrailer with a 2 m kingpin setback; anything past those numbers needs a special permit. The regime runs under the Highway Safety Code and two supporting regulations administered by the SAAQ and the Ministère des Transports (MTQ). French is the authoritative regulatory language for every rule in the province; this is an English-language summary for carriers and brokers planning a move through Quebec.

The night ban catches a wide range of loads: single units over 17 m, two-vehicle combinations over 27.50 m, three-vehicle combinations over 30 m, rear overhang past 4 m (trees and posts excepted), and anything over 3.75 m wide. The exception: widths up to 4.40 m may run at night on a divided autoroute, or for the final 8 km on a 100-series route to reach a destination. No permitted oversize load moves on Sundays or legal holidays. Travel also stops when visibility drops below 1 km or the road is not cleared of snow or ice.

Rush-hour curfews add another layer for loads over 3.75 m wide. Quebec City region: 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. on the Quebec and Pierre-Laporte bridges and autoroutes A-40, A-73, A-440, and A-540. Montreal region: 6:00 to 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 to 7:00 p.m. on named autoroutes and the Champlain, Honoré-Mercier, and Jacques-Cartier bridges. Neither curfew applies on Saturday. Cranes are exempt from the night, Sunday, and holiday restrictions. Class 6/7 loads can be released from these limits with prior authorization from the Minister.

Several load types travel under named permit classes with their own allowances. Cranes run under a Class 1 permit at up to 21 m long with 4 m of front overhang, and they are exempt from the night, Sunday, and holiday bans. Prefabricated buildings move on a Class 2 permit at up to 4.30 m body width, 4.60 m at the roof of a whole building, or 5.05 m at the roof of a sectional building (wider still on a specific permit), 30 m overall length, and 5 m rear overhang; the escort requirement is waived on a divided autoroute when the building carries four flashing amber lights visible for 300 m. Swimming pools run under a dedicated Class 3 permit.

Trees loaded lengthwise and posts get 6 m of rear overhang, are exempt from the night length and overhang restrictions, and skip the "D" oversize-board requirement, but must carry flags every 2 m and a rear red light. Vehicle and boat carriers run to 25 m and 4.3 m high.

On the agricultural side, grain trailers may reach 3.75 m wide and farm machines 7.5 m wide off the autoroute network, and a farm tractor with two trailers may run to 23 m. Snow- and ice-removal vehicles carry elevated axle limits and 4 m of front overhang.

Quebec's elevated tier is the Class 6 and Class 7 special permit, sitting above the routine Class 1 through Class 5 range. A Class 6 is needed when the load configuration falls outside the permit schedule, when axle load or total mass exceeds the Class 5 ceilings (roughly 66,000 kg for a five-axle combination, 72,000 kg for six axles, 74,000 kg for seven), when a posted sign prohibits the vehicle, or when movement is barred during a spring thaw period. A Class 7 applies when the load exceeds the Class 1 envelope: over 4.40 m wide (5 m on a specific permit), over 4.30 m high (5 m specific), or past the Class 1 length and overhang limits.

Both permit classes require an MTQ expert feasibility report and carry the additional Schedule 3 conditions the department attaches to make the move work. A Class 7 load over 5 m high must also file an agreement with the public-utility companies to move wires along the route, or an affidavit that none cross it.

In-depth applications can take up to 15 business days to process, so file these moves well ahead.

For Class 6 and Class 7 permits, the route-survey equivalent is the MTQ expert feasibility report (the *rapport d'expertise*), certifying the planned transport is feasible. It is mandatory for both permit classes, so any load that needs a Class 6 or Class 7 automatically needs the feasibility report on file before moving.

The discretionary structural conditions ride in Schedule 3, tailored per bridge. A load may be required to cross alone, hold the centre lane exactly, crawl at 10, 25, or 40 km/h, avoid sudden braking, or use steel pontoons on specified bridges in the presence of an MTQ representative. The permit holder is responsible for verifying that the highway system can accommodate the dimensions and load mass; Quebec's registry of weight-limited bridges and viaducts is the reference for that check.

The permit also requires notifying the road or bridge authority at least 48 hours before departure.

Quebec separates civilian escorts from sworn police escort. Civilian pilots handle the ordinary oversize range: following a load over 3.75 m wide on a multi-lane road or preceding it on a single-lane road, preceding loads over 4.50 m high, following loads past the length and rear-overhang limits, and doubling to two escorts when a single-lane load exceeds 4.40 m wide.

Police escort is a separate tier provided by the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), the provincial force. It is not tied to a fixed dimension; instead it attaches as a Schedule 3 condition on Class 6 and Class 7 loads when the department decides the move requires it. It is mandatory on autoroutes carrying two or more lanes in the direction of travel, where the SQ holds exclusive enforcement jurisdiction. A municipal police force may hold that jurisdiction on an autoroute running through its own municipality.

Departure timing on these moves is set in consultation with the police force, so the escort is coordinated as part of processing the elevated permit rather than booked separately afterward.