How does an Overweight or Oversize Permit Work in Texas?
Vehicles for oversize load transportation need an oversized/overweight (OS/OW) permit and route from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) to travel on Texas roads. TxDMV is a government permit-granting body. However, there are many companies that issue permits as well. Reliable Permit Solutions, LLC is a non – government permit company with experienced agents who will help you get the best rates when acquiring your trucking permit.
Trucking permits are valid for a specific duration; this may be a single trip for one movement or one way, annually for a year, or a month to a few days.
There are several permit options:
- General Single Trip: This is a single-trip permit for the movement of vehicles and loads exceeding 80,000 pounds, 8’ 6” wide, 14’ high or a combined vehicle and load length exceeding 59’.
- Manufactured Housing Trip: For manufactured housing trips, a single trip permit is issued by TxDMV for the movement of manufactured housing or industrialized buildings/housing when transported on any returnable undercarriage or temporary chassis system. This can be used once, timings specified on the permit, from the point of origin to the destination.
- Portable Building: A single trip permit is issued to transport portable buildings and portable building-compatible cargo. To qualify for this trucking permit, the vehicle and load must be no greater than 14’ high and 80’ long.
- Super Heavy: These single trip permits are issued for heavy loads exceeding 254,000 pounds total gross weight.
- Intermodal Shipping Container Port Permit: For intermodal shipping containers, a port permit is issued annually and transported in the state of Texas within 30 miles of select port authorities.
- Crane & Well Service Unit Mileage: These are single-trip, mileage-based permits for the movement of self-propelled and trailer-mounted cranes and well-servicing units exceeding legal Texas size and weight limits.
- Self-Propelled Off-Road Equipment: TxDMV issues a single-trip permit for the movement of self-propelled off-road equipment exceeding Texas legal size and weight limits.
- Temporary Registration: Temporary vehicle registration allows brief movement of a vehicle under specific circumstances, including when the car is not registered or registered in a state that does not have a reciprocity agreement with Texas. Four types of temporary registration permits are available to motor carriers: 72-hour, 144-hour, one-trip, and 30-day.
- Company Specific Envelope: annual envelope permit granted to companies transporting non-divisible loads exceeding Texas legal size and weight limits.
- Fluid Milk, Husbandry, and Hay transport permit: For the overweight transport of fluid milk, an annual license is issued on routes approved by the Texas Department of Transportation. A yearly permit is usually issued to transport cylindrical hay bales, which allows the loading of bales of hay side by side up to 12 feet wide. Husbandry trucking permit is annual and includes transportation of farm implements, machinery, and tools used in tilling the soil, towed vehicles that transport to the field and spread fertilizer or agricultural chemicals, and motor vehicles designed and adapted to deliver feed to livestock.
- Annual Timber Permit: TxDMV issues annual timber permits for the movement of rough timber, wood chips, woody biomass, and equipment used to load lumber onto the vehicle.
- Federal Disaster Relief Permit: The Federal Disaster Relief Permit is for the transportation of divisible commodities consisting of emergency relief supplies and is only available during national emergencies declared by the President of the United States.
Safety is essential while transporting an oversize load and must be done following the locality’s laws. Even though there might be some general guidelines, the requirements for oversize or overweight load permits differ by locality. Contact us and get your trucking permit from Reliable Permit Solutions, LLC, we specialize in overweight/oversize load permitting and will get you on the road promptly.