Massachusetts Overweight and Oversize Permits
MassDOT OASIS permits, Mass Pike and Boston tunnel rules, pilot cars and the six no-move holidays
Quick answer
How do you get an overweight permit in Massachusetts?
Through OASIS, the online permitting and routing system of MassDOT's Highway Division Truck Permit Office in Weston. A non-divisible load over any legal size or weight pays $40 a trip or $400 a year, with no ton-mile charge. A super load over 130,000 lb pays $300 and needs detailed engineering calculations. Roads run by a city or town need that local permit too.
Updated October 2026 by the HTS Logistics broker team (FMCSA MC# 1178470).
Checked October 2026; the issued permit controls
Massachusetts charges the same $40 trip fee as New York's NYSDOT permit in our oversize permits by state comparison, but it splits its rules between 700 CMR 8.00 for state highways and 700 CMR 7.00 for the Mass Pike and the Metropolitan Highway System, which takes in the Boston tunnels. Most of the published escort and curfew detail sits in the Turnpike rule.
We order OASIS permits for the carriers we book on heavy haul moves into and out of Massachusetts. Permitted weight may not exceed a vehicle's registered weight or GVWR, with one exception for out-of-state carriers: MassDOT may permit carriers based outside Massachusetts above their registered weight (MGL c.85 s.30A; 700 CMR 7.07(2)(l)).
Legal limits in Massachusetts
Massachusetts sets its limits in MGL c.90 s.19 and s.19A, and the 13 ft 6 in height has a large local exception: the Callahan and Sumner tunnels in Boston clear only 12 ft 6 in (700 CMR 7.07(4) Table 7).
| Limit | Massachusetts | Federal baseline | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Width | 8 ft 6 in | 8 ft 6 in (102 in) on the National Network | Excludes mirrors, load-induced tire bulge and safety devices up to 3 in per side |
| Height | 13 ft 6 in | No federal limit | Includes the load |
| Semitrailer length | 53 ft | States must allow at least 48 ft | Semitrailer or trailer in a tractor-trailer unit, with no overall limit; other vehicle-trailer combinations 60 ft; truck 40 ft; 28 ft per trailer in a double |
| Gross weight | 80,000 lb | 80,000 lb | Vehicles or units with 3 or more axles; a 2-axle vehicle is limited to 46,000 lb |
| Single axle | 22,400 lb | 20,000 lb | 18,000 lb where axles are under 6 ft apart; Massachusetts has no separate 20,000 lb rule |
| Tandem axle | 34,000 lb | 34,000 lb | Two consecutive tandems may carry 34,000 lb each with 36 ft or more between the first and last axles; other groups follow the bridge formula |
Federal baseline: 23 CFR Part 658, eCFR as of 2026-10-14
When Massachusetts requires a permit and how to get one
MassDOT permits cover state highways and designated through routes (MGL c.85 ss.30, 30A) plus the Turnpike and the Metropolitan Highway System (700 CMR 7.00). Any other local way needs a permit from the board or officer in charge of it.
On the Turnpike and MHS, an irreducible load permit is good for one direction, through one tunnel or between named interchanges, and the applicant shows how many work hours it would take to dismantle the load (700 CMR 7.07(2)(h), (k)). The driver checks clearance through toll lanes, canopies and structures (7.07(4)(g)). A trip through more than one tunnel can therefore need more than one Massachusetts permit; how oversize permits work explains how permits stack up on a longer move.
Permit office
- Issuing office
- MassDOT Highway Division, Truck Permit Office
- Address
- 668 South Avenue, Weston, MA 02493 (westbound Mass Pike, next to the State Police barracks)
- Phone
- (857) 368-3690
- [email protected]
- Hours
- Monday–Friday, 7 AM–3 PM
- Roads covered
- State highways, designated through routes, the Turnpike and the MHS
Fees
| Permit | Fee |
|---|---|
| Irreducible (non-divisible) load, single trip | $40 |
| Irreducible load, annual | $400 |
| Super load over 130,000 lb, with detailed engineering calculations | $300 single trip |
| Reducible (divisible) load | $50 per 1,000 lb over the Federal Bridge Formula |
| Turnpike and MHS irreducible load | The same $40 or $400, on top of the regular toll |
| Turnpike tandem trailer, explosives or special fuel | $300 application, $75 first card, $25 each added card |
| Per-mile or ton-mile charge | None in the published tables |
The fee tables posted on mass.gov carry a 1/31/14 page date for 700 CMR 8.00 and Mass. Register #1467 (4/15/22) for 700 CMR 7.00.
Escort and pilot car rules in Massachusetts
MassDOT's published pilot car rules cover the Turnpike and the Metropolitan Highway System (700 CMR 7.07(4)(d)). For other state highways, statewide thresholds appear only in a secondary summary, not in a MassDOT document, so the OASIS permit sets the escorts there.
| Load | Escort requirement |
|---|---|
| Turnpike or MHS: over 12 ft and up to 13 ft 6 in wide, or over 90 ft and up to 100 ft long | 1 pilot car following (7.07(4)(d)1); the length trigger skips tandem units and semitrailer units with a semitrailer of 53 ft or less |
| Turnpike or MHS: overhang of 4 ft or more with poles, masts or booms; any overhang of 10 ft or more; drill rigs with booms, shovels or cranes; odd-shaped loads | 1 pilot car following (7.07(4)(d)1–2) |
| MHS (Boston tunnels, Central Artery, Boston Extension): over 12 ft wide, or over 80 ft and up to 95 ft long | 1 pilot car following (7.07(4)(d)2) |
| Turnpike: over 13 ft 6 in and up to 16 ft wide, or over 100 ft and up to 135 ft long. MHS: the same widths, or over 95 ft long | 2 pilot cars, one ahead and one behind (7.07(4)(d)4–5) |
| Turnpike or MHS: over 16 ft wide, over 135 ft long, or a vehicle the Chief Engineer believes cannot hold a safe minimum speed | Two Massachusetts State Police vehicles on top of the pilot cars (7.07(4)(d)7) |
| Convoy of two or more oversize vehicles (MassDOT discretion only) | One oversize vehicle may pilot another, but a separate pilot car follows the last one (7.07(4)(d)3) |
| Any public way: a crane or boom more than 15 ft past the bed or body | A vehicle follows directly behind; past 4 ft, a red light or flag marks the end (MGL c.90 s.19) |
A Turnpike or MHS pilot car is a two-axle, four-wheel truck or passenger vehicle with two flashing amber lights visible front and rear, 24 in by 24 in red flags at both rear corners and an Oversize Load sign; an oversize vehicle that needs no pilot car still shows an Oversize Load sign on the rear (7.07(4)(d)6, 8).
Travel times, curfews and holidays
MassDOT publishes travel days for state highways, but the official sources we checked give no daylight-only rule, so the hours printed on the OASIS permit govern.
- Days: MassDOT's height and weight page allows state-highway travel from Monday 12:01 AM to noon Saturday, and on Sunday from 12:01 AM to noon. The Sunday wording is unusual, so we confirm it with the permit office.
- Mass Pike between Interchange 11A (Westborough) and Interchange 24 (Boston): irreducible load permits are ordinarily not issued eastbound 7–10 AM or westbound 3–7 PM. The regulation still uses the old interchange numbers; the Pike now has mileage-based exits.
- Logan tunnels: no permits for the Sumner or Ted Williams tunnels heading away from Logan Airport 7–10 AM, or for the Callahan or Ted Williams heading toward Logan 3–7 PM (700 CMR 7.07(2)(h)).
- Suspensions: MassDOT may suspend permits or limit hours for commuter or holiday traffic, bad weather or construction (700 CMR 9.08(4)), and the State Police may suspend a permit for road, weather or traffic conditions (7.07(2)(g)).
- Seasonal limits: there is no statewide frost-law calendar. Under MGL c.85 s.30, the board or officer in charge of a road may restrict vehicles over 10,000 lb in any season by posted regulation, with MassDOT approval on through routes.
- Winter: reducible-load permittees may not move on hard-packed snow or ice or during a snowstorm, and they carry skid chains from Nov 1 to May 1 (700 CMR 8.06(1)).
| Holiday | No permit movements |
|---|---|
| New Year's Day | Noon Wed Dec 31, 2025 to noon Fri Jan 2, 2026 |
| Memorial Day | Mon May 25 |
| Independence Day | Noon Fri Jul 3 to noon Sun Jul 5 |
| Labor Day | Mon Sep 7 |
| Thanksgiving Day | Thu Nov 26 |
| Christmas Day | Noon Thu Dec 24 to noon Sat Dec 26 |
| New Year's Day 2027 | Noon Thu Dec 31, 2026 to noon Sat Jan 2, 2027 |
MassDOT bars movement on all six holidays and, for New Year's Day, Independence Day and Christmas, from noon the day before to noon the day after; the 2026 dates apply that rule to the calendar.
What catches carriers in Massachusetts
Storrow Drive is cars only
DCR's River Roads (Storrow Drive, Soldiers Field Road and Memorial Drive) are restricted to cars, with bridge clearances as low as 9 ft, and the CARS ONLY signs hang at about the height of the lowest bridges.
DCR press release, Aug 24, 2026
Paint the height on the truck
Any vehicle taller than 10 ft, not counting the load, must show its height in letters at least 4 in high on the side or front.
MGL c.90 s.19; 700 CMR 7.07(4)(f)
Posted bridges still bind the permit
A permit never authorizes crossing a bridge posted below the gross weight carried. Permitted gross weight does carry a 5% tolerance: up to 105% of the permit weight is not a violation.
700 CMR 8.05, 8.06(8); MGL c.90 s.19A
What the tunnels refuse
Tandem units (doubles) and double or triple saddlemount combinations may not use the Boston tunnels, and large tandem units with a trailer over 28 ft run only on the Turnpike under their own permit. Explosives are barred from every tunnel and from the Pike between Interchange 15 (Weston) and Interchange 24 (Boston), and hazardous materials and empty hazmat tank vehicles stay out of the tunnels.
700 CMR 7.06(4), 7.07(2)(m), 7.07(4)(e), 7.07(5), 7.08
Mass Pike and Boston tunnel limits
700 CMR 7.07(4) Table 7 sets the tunnel clearances, and without a special permit the Pike and MHS hold every vehicle to 8 ft 6 in wide, in the tunnels and on the open road (7.07(4)(a)1).
Tunnel heights
The Callahan and Sumner tunnels are limited to 12 ft 6 in; the Ted Williams, Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. (I-93), Prudential and CANA (City Square) tunnels to 13 ft 6 in; and the Turnpike itself to 13 ft 6 in.
Length outside the tunnels
On Turnpike and MHS roads other than the tunnels, the limits are 55 ft for vehicles with more than 2 axles, 45 ft for buses and 100 ft for vehicle combinations, with no overall limit for semitrailer units carrying a semitrailer of 53 ft or less.
Tobin Bridge
The Maurice J. Tobin Memorial Bridge has its own regulation, 700 CMR 11.00, which this guide does not cover, so it gets a separate check before a route uses it.
Crossing into a neighboring state
- West into New York: NYSDOT and the NYS Thruway each issue their own permit, both ordered in HOOCS, and the Thruway mainline tops out at 12 ft 6 in wide; details are in our New York permit guide.
- South into Connecticut: CTDOT's $30 single trip adds a $12 transmittal fee and runs over three daylight days, and the state's per-mile Highway Use Fee comes on top, as our Connecticut oversize and overweight permits page explains.
Massachusetts oversize permit questions
How much is an overweight permit in Massachusetts?
A non-divisible load over any legal size or weight pays $40 per trip or $400 a year under 700 CMR 8.05, with no ton-mile charge. A super load over 130,000 lb that needs detailed engineering calculations pays $300 per trip. Divisible loads pay $50 per 1,000 lb over the Federal Bridge Formula. On the Pike and in the Boston tunnels, the permit fee comes on top of the regular toll.
Can I apply for a Massachusetts oversize permit online?
Yes, MassDOT takes applications in OASIS, its Oversize Overweight Permitting and Routing Application, at oasis.massdot.state.ma.us. The Truck Permit Office at 668 South Avenue in Weston answers at (857) 368-3690 from 7 AM to 3 PM on weekdays, and by email at [email protected]. OASIS permits cover state highways, through routes, the Turnpike and the MHS.
When does a Massachusetts oversize load need a pilot car?
On the Turnpike and MHS, one following pilot car is needed over 12 ft wide or 90 ft long (80 ft in the MHS), two pilot cars over 13 ft 6 in wide or 100 ft long (95 ft in the MHS), and two State Police vehicles on top of them over 16 ft wide or 135 ft long. On other state highways, MassDOT publishes no official statewide table, so the OASIS permit lists the escorts.
Which days can oversize loads move in Massachusetts?
MassDOT's published travel days for state highways run from Monday 12:01 AM to noon Saturday, plus Sunday from 12:01 AM to noon, so weekend moves end at midday. That Sunday wording is MassDOT's own but unusual, and the permit office should confirm it. The six no-move holidays and any hours printed on the permit still apply.
How tall can a truck be in the Boston tunnels?
Only 12 ft 6 in at the Callahan and Sumner tunnels, 12 in below the 13 ft 6 in that Massachusetts allows elsewhere (700 CMR 7.07(4) Table 7). The Ted Williams, Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. (I-93), Prudential and CANA tunnels clear 13 ft 6 in. Nearby, Storrow Drive, Soldiers Field Road and Memorial Drive are cars only, with bridges as low as 9 ft.
Does Massachusetts have frost laws or seasonal weight limits?
Not as a statewide calendar. MGL c.85 s.30 lets the board or officer in charge of a road restrict vehicles over 10,000 lb during any season when they would cause more than ordinary wear, by posted regulation, with MassDOT approval on through routes. Permits never allow crossing a bridge posted below the weight carried, and reducible-load permittees carry skid chains from Nov 1 to May 1.
Sources
Facts on this page were checked in October 2026 against the sources below. Rules and rates change; we confirm current requirements on every move.
- eCFR 23 CFR Part 658: Truck Size and Weight (federal baseline)
- MassDOT: Commercial Truck Permits
- MassDOT: height and weight limitations for commercial truck permits (holiday rules)
- MassDOT: Massachusetts commercial trucking regulations index
- 700 CMR 8.00 (permits, fees, conditions)
- 700 CMR 7.00 (Turnpike and Metropolitan Highway System)
- 700 CMR 9.00 (Driving on state highways)
- MGL c.90 s.19 Dimensions
- MGL c.90 s.19A Weight limitations
- MGL c.85 s.30 Heavy vehicles, permits, seasonal restrictions
- MGL c.85 s.30A Permits on through routes
- MassDOT OASIS login
- DCR: Storrowing warning, River Roads cars only (Aug 24, 2026)
Shipping oversize into or out of Massachusetts?
Boston deliveries depend on tunnel heights and the Pike's rush-hour windows. With the dimensions, weight and delivery address, we can plan the OASIS permit and the carrier around them.
- FMCSA-licensed property broker, MC# 1178470
- Permits, escorts and route surveys arranged for each move
- Carriers checked for authority, insurance and safety record
- Commercial shippers, dealers, contractors and auction buyers
Prefer to talk? Call (631) 683-8275.
Request a Commercial Quote
Keep reading
- New York Oversize PermitsNYSDOT, Thruway, NYC DOT, MTA and Port Authority rules for oversize loads in New York.
- Connecticut Oversize PermitsCTDOT limits, fees, escorts and the highway use fee for trucks from 26,000 lb.
- Oversize PermitsLegal limits, permit fees, escort triggers and travel rules by state, from official sources.
- Legal Load LimitsLegal width, height, length and axle weights by state, plus night, weekend and 2026 holiday travel rules.
- Pilot Car RequirementsWhen each state requires escorts: width, length, height and overhang triggers, certification and police escorts.
- Frost LawsSpring thaw weight restrictions by state, with Michigan's 25% and 35% axle cuts, 2026 dates and how to check posted roads before a heavy move.