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Which states require a route survey?

A route survey is a physical drive of the route, measuring every bridge, wire and signal the load will pass under. Here is the height and width at which each state requires one.

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

The table

50 of 51 states publish a route survey trigger. The most common height trigger is 16 ft (13 states) and the most common width trigger is 16 ft (16 states). The strictest: New Hampshire at 13 ft 6 in high, Massachusetts at 13 ft 8 in high, Connecticut at 14 ft high.

State	Survey above (height)	Survey above (width)	Superload lead time
Alabama	16 ft	16 ft	~5 days
Alaska	16 ft 6 in	14 ft	~7 days
Arizona	16 ft	16 ft	~5 days
Arkansas	17 ft	16 ft	~5 days
California	17 ft	null	~30 days
Colorado	17 ft 6 in	null	~14 days
Connecticut	14 ft	16 ft	~5 days
Delaware	15 ft	15 ft	~14 days
Florida	18 ft	22 ft	~5 days
Georgia	null	null	~15 days
Hawaii	null	14 ft	~21 days
Idaho	16 ft	18 ft	~10 days
Illinois	16 ft	16 ft	~3 days
Indiana	17 ft	18 ft	~3 days
Iowa	16 ft	16 ft	~5 days
Kansas	null	null	~5 days
Kentucky	15 ft 6 in	16 ft	~5 days
Louisiana	16 ft 5 in	18 ft	~28 days
Maine	null	20 ft	~5 days
Maryland	14 ft 6 in	null	~5 days
Massachusetts	13 ft 8 in	13 ft	~7 days
Michigan	15 ft	16 ft	~10 days
Minnesota	16 ft	20 ft	~14 days
Mississippi	15 ft 7 in	17 ft	~5 days
Missouri	16 ft	16 ft	~10 days
Montana	15 ft	16 ft	~5 days
Nebraska	16 ft	null	~10 days
Nevada	18 ft	20 ft	~5 days
New Hampshire	13 ft 6 in	null	~2 days
New Jersey	14 ft 6 in	14 ft	~5 days
New Mexico	15 ft 6 in	null	~5 days
New York	14 ft	16 ft	~14 days
North Carolina	15 ft	16 ft	~10 days
North Dakota	null	null	~5 days
Ohio	14 ft 10 in	14 ft 6 in	~2 days
Oklahoma	null	null	~5 days
Oregon	16 ft	16 ft	~10 days
Pennsylvania	14 ft 6 in	14 ft	~15 days
Rhode Island	null	null	~5 days
South Carolina	16 ft	null	~5 days
South Dakota	null	null	~5 days
Tennessee	15 ft	16 ft	~14 days
Texas	18 ft 11 in	20 ft	~21 days
Utah	19 ft	null	~5 days
Vermont	14 ft	14 ft	~10 days
Virginia	16 ft	18 ft	~10 days
Washington	16 ft	16 ft	~30 days
West Virginia	null	null	~5 days
Wisconsin	16 ft	16 ft	~5 days
Wyoming	17 ft	18 ft	~5 days

District of Columbia publish no fixed trigger and require surveys case by case with the permit. Several states also require a survey for any superload regardless of dimension. A load over the trigger in any one state on the route needs a survey for that state's miles.

What the survey changes

Lead time. The survey has to be done before the permit is issued, and it takes a day or two of driving plus a report. It is the long pole on a superload schedule. Permit lead times by state →
Route. The surveyor often finds the obstruction that forces a detour, an escort change or a utility lift. That is the point: better on paper than under a wire.
Cost. Surveys are priced flat or per mile depending on the state and the surveyor. What a route survey costs →

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.