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Oversize load holiday restrictions

Most states stop oversize movement on major holidays, and many extend the blackout from noon the day before to noon the day after. Here is which holidays, and where.

Updated September 2026 · Figures from FreightDeck's audit of 51 US jurisdictions and its monthly market-rate check

The holidays that stop oversize loads

Holiday	States with a blackout
Memorial Day	45 of 51
Labor Day	45 of 51
New Year's Day	44 of 51
Independence Day	42 of 51
Christmas Day	24 of 51
Thanksgiving Day	23 of 51
Thanksgiving	20 of 51
Christmas	20 of 51
July 4th	4 of 51
Veterans Day	3 of 51
Good Friday	2 of 51
Day after Thanksgiving	2 of 51
Presidents Day	2 of 51
Patriots' Day	2 of 51
Martin Luther King Jr. Day	2 of 51
Columbus Day	2 of 51
Martin Luther King Jr Day	1 of 51
Juneteenth	1 of 51
Indigenous Peoples Day	1 of 51
Thanksgiving Friday	1 of 51
Holiday periods per list compiled by Hauling Permits Unit each calendar year (COMAR-specified); typical: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving (day of & after), Christmas	1 of 51
Memorial Day and Friday before	1 of 51
Labor Day and Friday before	1 of 51
Thanksgiving Day and Wednesday before	1 of 51
Memorial Day weekend	1 of 51
Labor Day weekend	1 of 51
MLK Jr. Day (moves allowed)	1 of 51
Victory Day (2nd Mon Aug)	1 of 51
Election Day even years (moves allowed)	1 of 51
Fourth of July	1 of 51
Inauguration Day	1 of 51
Emancipation Day (April 16)	1 of 51

Kansas, Kentucky, South Dakota publish no fixed holiday blackout and set restrictions per permit. The exact window varies: some states stop movement on the holiday only, many from noon the day before through noon the day after, and a few for the whole holiday weekend. Each state page lists its list.

Planning around them

Thanksgiving and Christmas are the long ones. Several states treat the Wednesday before Thanksgiving through the Sunday after as blocked, which turns a two-day move into a week.
State lines multiply it. A move crossing four states is blocked on the union of their holiday lists.
Superloads often lose the whole week. Police escorts and engineering staff are off; a superload scheduled for a holiday week usually slips.

Price the whole move, not just the permit

FreightDeck estimates permits, escorts, police, route surveys, engineering and the truck rate for your exact load and route, across 50 states and Canada.

Price a load free →

Questions

Can oversize loads move on holidays?

Generally no. 45 states stop oversize movement on Memorial Day, often from noon the day before to noon the day after.

Which states have no holiday restriction on oversize loads?

Kansas, Kentucky, South Dakota publish no fixed blackout list; restrictions are set per permit.