Colorado pilot car regulations
Certification: required. Pilot car drivers must be certified and carry the card. Colorado's class is online through U.S. Pilot Car. The first certificate lasts 4 years and can be renewed once by mail or online for 4 more. You need a clean 5-year driving record (no drug or alcohol convictions, no single 6-point ticket).
From Colorado's own rules and pages, checked 2026-10-24. Rules change: the state's page is the last word.
- Certification program
- Colorado Pilot Escort Certification Program (online classes through USPilotCar.com, linked by CDOT)Source
- Other states' cards
- Colorado accepts certification from Arizona, Florida, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Utah, Washington and the Specialized Carriers and Rigging Association.
- Minimum age
- 18
- Escort vehicle
- A passenger vehicle or two-axle truck, no more than 16,000 lb GVW, at least 60 inches wide, registered and within legal size. No trailers. No passengers under 16 during the move.Source
- Sign
- Top-mounted "Wide Load"/"Wide", "Long Load"/"Long" or "Oversize Load"/"Oversize" sign: at least 5 feet wide by 10 inches high with 8-inch black letters and 1-inch stroke, or up to 7 feet wide by 18 inches high with 10-inch letters and 1.41-inch stroke, on yellow. Readable by oncoming traffic (front car) or overtaking traffic (rear car). Company ID sign on both sides, readable at 50 feet. Cover or remove signs when not escorting.
- Lights
- One to three top-mounted flashing yellow/amber lights: either two AAMVA-approved 6-inch lights on each side of the sign (60 flashes a minute) or an AAMVA-approved rotating, oscillating or flashing beacon/light bar, visible 360 degrees for 500 feet. Headlights on while escorting.
- Flags
- At least two red or orange flags on top of the vehicle at about 45 degrees, no more than 6 inches past either side.
- Height pole
- Front escort for loads over 16 feet high must run a height pole with a non-conductive, flexible tip, no more than 6 inches above the load; compression fittings need a second securement. Lower or stow it when not escorting.
- Other equipment
- 18 or 24 inch STOP/SLOW paddle (24-inch for work-zone flagging); 3 reflective triangles; 8 red flares or glow sticks; 3 orange cones at least 18 inches with a 6-inch reflective collar; flashlight (1 1/2 inch lens) with spare batteries plus a red/orange cone wand; orange or white hardhat and Class 2/3 vest (Class 3 at night); 5 lb B:C extinguisher (10 lb A:B:C for hazmat); spare oversize sign; two-way radio reaching 1/2 mile plus 2 handheld radios; marked first aid kit; spare tire, jack and lug wrench. No red/blue lights or sirens.
- Insurance
- At least $1,000,000 combined single limit or $1,000,000 per occurrence commercial liability, and the certificate must say it covers pilot escort operations.Source