California oversize permit office
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), Office of Commercial Vehicle Operations - Oversize/Overweight Permits Office. Call (916) 322-1297, Office Hours are 8am-5pm, Mon-Fri (Closed on weekends and State Holidays). Pacific time.
From California's own pages, checked 2026-10-24. Fees and rules change: the state's page is the last word.
- How to get one
- Register and apply online in CTPS, build your route in CalRoute, then pay online by credit card or a Caltrans monthly billing account; fax and email applications are not accepted.
- Single trip fee
- Permit fees shall be $16.00 for a Single Trip permit or rider modifying any original permit, $90.00 for an Annual permit or a Repetitive Permit.Source
- Legal without a permit
- Width 8.5 feet · Height 14 feet · Length Combinations limited to 65 feet, or 75 feet, or may be unlimited depending on the route; kingpin-to-rear-axle (KPRA) length of 40 feet; single unit 40 feet · Weight 80,000 poundsSource
- Superloads
- Loads over 15'-0" wide, over 17'-0" high or over 135'-0" long need a Variance Permit; apply at least 30 days before the move.Source
When you can move
- Daylight
- Loads that need no pilot car may travel 24/7 unless the permit says "No Night Travel"; darkness means half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise (CVC 280). Loads with a pilot car: yellow routes 24/7 up to 16 ft wide; green routes daylight up to 15 ft; blue and brown routes daylight only, up to 15 ft (wider needs CHP, who set the hours).Source
- At night
- With a pilot car: yellow routes up to 16 ft wide, green routes up to 14 ft wide; no night travel on blue or brown routes.
- Weekends
- With a pilot car on blue and brown routes, Saturday and Sunday travel only from half an hour before sunrise to noon; yellow and green routes allow weekends.
- Holidays
- New Year's Day, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day. Only for loads that need a pilot car: no travel from 4 p.m. to midnight the day before, and from noon to midnight on the holiday and each day of the holiday weekend (Thanksgiving: Wednesday 4 p.m. through Sunday, afternoons only). Mornings (midnight or sunrise to noon) stay open. Next datesSource
- Rush-hour curfews
- 5 in California, such as San Diego and vicinity: Mon-Fri 7-9 a.m. and 4-6 p.m. (loads over 10 ft wide). All of them