Utah Oversize Load Permits, Regulations & Axle Rules

Utah's movement rules run on a four-quadrant framework: time of day and road type both shape what you can run, when, and with what escort. Daylight here means from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset, a bit more runway than a strict sunrise/sunset rule.

Any load wider than 10 feet, longer than 105 feet overall, or carrying more than 10 feet of front or rear overhang is daylight-only. That same 10' wide / 105' long / 10' overhang tripwire also fires Utah's weather restriction: no movement with any accumulation of snow or ice on the roadway, or when visibility drops below 1,000 feet. Night travel is not flat-out banned, but it comes with tighter caps: a maximum of 14 feet wide on interstates and freeways, 12 feet wide on two-lane secondary highways, and no more than 14'6" high on any road. Loads pushing into night movement at more than 10' wide, more than 105' long, or more than 10' overhang must carry a pilot escort.

The Wasatch Front adds a rush-hour curfew on top of the daylight rules. Any load wider than 12 feet, longer than 105 feet, or taller than 14'6" is banned from a defined corridor of Salt Lake, Davis, Weber, and Utah County highways Monday through Friday, 6:00 to 9:00 AM and 3:30 to 6:00 PM Mountain Time. The corridor covers I-15 from the Perry/Willard interchange south through most of Utah County, I-80 from Exit 140 to Exit 99 through Salt Lake, I-84 west of milepost 94, SR-68 north of milepost 16 in Utah County, and all connecting routes in those counties. LCVs, farm implements, tow truck operations, and unladen heavy-haul equipment are exempt from the curfew.

Utah blocks six holidays: Christmas, New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving. The blackout runs wider than the calendar day. Restrictions begin at 2:00 PM the day before the holiday and run to sunrise the day after. Monday holidays follow a split pattern: restrictions start at 2:00 PM the Friday before, normal travel resumes from sunrise Saturday through midnight Sunday, then the Monday restriction resumes at 12:01 AM and runs to Tuesday sunrise. A Memorial Day or Labor Day weekend can cost four to five days of movement for any load over 10' wide, 105' long, or 14'6" high. Utah sets no Sunday travel ban, which separates it from many neighbors. Permitted loads may run Sundays outside holiday blackout windows.

Convoys of two permitted vehicles are allowed with prior authorization, but each must stay within 12 feet wide and 150 feet overall, maintain 500 to 700 feet of separation, carry front and rear escorts, and stay on the freeway and interstate system. No continuous 24-hour movement is provided for any load type.

Utah gives several commodity categories meaningful dimensional relief or specialized permit structures.

Utility poles up to 120 feet overall, overhang included, may move on single-trip, semi-annual, or annual permits. Poles over 120 feet require a single-trip non-divisible oversize permit and must comply with all pilot escort, travel restriction, and marking requirements.

Hay operations, two rolls or bales hauled side by side, are permitted if combined width stays at or under 10 feet. These need a non-divisible oversize permit and may not run on double-trailer combinations longer than 61 feet cargo-carrying length.

Snow plow blades up to 12 feet wide need no oversize permit. Anything wider than 8'6" in blade width requires an amber rotating beacon. Blades must be angled to minimize width when traveling between jobs.

Special Truck Equipment (STE), meaning concrete pumper trucks, cranes with at least five tons of lift capacity, and well boring trucks, may be permitted for oversize or overweight dimensions and are eligible for a 50% reduction in the registration fee.

Special Mobile Equipment (SME) such as scrapers, loaders, off-highway cranes, and rock trucks (not tracked vehicles) may operate under single-trip permits on approved non-interstate routes, generally no more than 20 miles, daylight only, with a minimum of one pilot escort. The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) routes these moves before departure, and single-axle single-tire configurations are capped at 40,000 pounds.

Farm equipment and implements of husbandry are exempt from registration for incidental highway use up to 20 miles and must carry a slow-moving vehicle emblem on the rear.

Milk products vehicles may exceed the 80,000-pound GVW limit or the bridge formula weight with a non-divisible overweight permit.

Utah calls this tier a Super Load, the department's own term, signaling that a move needs hands-on processing by the UDOT Super Load Team rather than standard automated handling. There is no single formal classification threshold. Super Load processing triggers when a load exceeds any one of these: more than 17 feet wide on secondary (two-lane) highways, more than 20 feet wide on interstates or freeways, more than 17'6" high on any road type, or more than 300,000 pounds gross.

Applications crossing these thresholds are accepted only Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Mountain Standard Time, and carriers should plan for up to 14 days for approval, much longer than a standard permit. The carrier submits an online permit application with full dimensions and a proposed route; the Motor Carrier Division then contacts the corresponding UDOT region or district office for route authorization review. At minimum, the application must be submitted at least two business days before the planned move, but regional clearance typically requires the full 14-day window. Regional right-of-way offices check for non-UDOT construction, utility conflicts, and other factors before authorizing the route.

The carrier bears extra obligations: securing all utility company authorizations and clearances (the permit is not valid until those are received), absorbing all costs for certified police escorts, and for axle widths exceeding 10 feet (dual lane trailers) that do not pass bridge validation, obtaining clearance from the UDOT Structures Division, a process that takes at least 14 days and currently results in single-trip approvals only.

Height adds another layer. Loads exceeding 19 feet require a route survey (below), and the Super Load Team independently checks every structure on the proposed route for height clearance and construction-site conflicts before authorizing movement.

Before any Super Load moves, a coordination and planning meeting must be held. Drivers, pilot escorts, law enforcement officers, UDOT personnel, and utility representatives all attend, and permitted dimensions are verified by actual measurement at that meeting.

Utah's route review obligation is tied primarily to height and to axle configuration, and the status of the height survey is discretionary, not automatic.

Loads exceeding 19 feet in height may be required to submit a route survey. The word "may" is deliberate: UDOT makes the determination based on the load and route, not by the 19-foot mark alone. When a route survey is required, the Super Load Team verifies height clearances against every overhead structure on the proposed route, accounts for active construction zones, and transmits the route to the affected UDOT region offices for right-of-way review. Those regional offices check for utility work, non-UDOT projects, and other obstructions. If a problem is found, rerouting happens before any permit is issued. The process can take up to two weeks.

For loads on dual lane trailers with axle widths exceeding 10 feet that fail UDOT's automated bridge validation, the Structures Division performs a structure-by-structure clearance review. That review takes at least 14 days and currently produces single-trip approvals only. There is no multi-trip option for loads requiring Structures Division clearance.

On the utility side, the carrier is responsible for obtaining authorization from every utility company along the route. This is not a state-conducted survey; it is the permittee's obligation, and the permit is expressly invalid until all utility clearances are received. Escort drivers certified in Utah must complete training that includes routing techniques and pre-trip survey methodology, building survey competency into the escort system itself.

UDOT does not specify a formal length threshold that by itself triggers a route survey, and no weight-only route survey requirement appears in the sources beyond what is described above.

Law-enforcement escort in Utah is provided by the Utah Highway Patrol (UHP) and is codified. Specific dimensional breakpoints in Utah's Rule R909-2-14 (Table 3, effective October 2025) define exactly when police are required. The triggers vary by time of day, and the matrix is more granular than most states.

During daylight hours, police are required (two pilots plus at least two officers) when width exceeds 20 feet on interstates and freeways, width exceeds 17 feet on secondary highways, overall length exceeds 200 feet on any road type, or height exceeds 17'6" on any road type. During non-daylight hours those width thresholds tighten: police are required at widths above 18 feet on interstates, or above 15 feet on secondary highways. The non-daylight length trigger drops to 175 feet overall on any road type, and the height trigger stays at 17'6".

The dimensional triggers are fixed, but UHP has independent authority over how many officers actually deploy. The number is set by UHP based on the area, time of day, difficulty of travel, and applicable local rules and ordinances, so a move meeting the minimum two-officer threshold may end up with more.

Escorts are arranged by emailing UHP at uhp_wle@utah.gov at least 48 hours before the move. The carrier absorbs the cost: the minimum charge is $40, or the full cost of the officer's time, vehicle, and expenses, whichever is greater. The permit office does not schedule UHP for you. That contact is the carrier's responsibility after the permit application is filed. Police escort vehicles must carry a two-way communication device linking the officers and the transport vehicle, emergency lighting visible 360 degrees, and clear police escort markings. Officers must complete the Utah Law Enforcement Check List and Reporting Criteria Form and wear full uniform for the escort.

UDOT's division may also require additional pilot escorts beyond what Table 3 specifies on a case-by-case basis, independent of the police requirement.