Wisconsin pilot car regulations
Certification: not required. No certification card. The escort driver must be at least 18 and carry a driver's license valid in Wisconsin, and must read the permit before the move.
From Wisconsin's own rules and pages, checked 2026-10-24. Rules change: the state's page is the last word.
- Minimum age
- 18
- Escort vehicle
- A car or a single-unit truck of no more than 16,000 lb, with a clear view front, back and both sides (mirrors on both sides count for the rear view).Source
- Sign
- "OVERSIZE LOAD" sign mounted above the roof, at least 5 feet wide and 12 inches high, black letters 10 inches high with at least 1.5 inch stroke on solid yellow or amber. It faces traffic ahead (lead escort) or behind (rear escort), and is shown only while escorting.
- Lights
- At least two amber warning lamps on or above the roof, flashing, pulsing or rotating 30 to 120 times a minute, visible at 500 feet and 360 degrees, mounted at the same height as far apart as possible. Low-beam headlamps on while escorting; amber lamps off when not escorting.
- Flags
- A lead escort may hand-flag at hazards with a clean, bright red or orange flag at least 18 inches square.
- Height pole
- Loads over 16 feet high need a pole vehicle, in addition to the other escorts (total private escorts including the pole car stays at two).
- Other equipment
- A two-way radio between escorts and the load driver when the permit requires it.