Moving an excavator, a long beam or a wide piece of farm equipment in Virginia? Before it rolls, someone has to answer one question: is it bigger or heavier than the state allows? If yes, it needs a hauling permit from Virginia DMV. Here’s the whole thing in one page.
01Virginia’s legal limits
| Height | 13 feet 6 inches |
| Width | 8 feet 6 inches |
| Length, trailer | 48 feet (53-foot trailers allowed on the interstate system) |
| Length, truck + trailer combination | 65 feet |
| Overhang | 4 feet rear, 3 feet front |
| Single axle | 20,000 lb |
| Tandem axle | 34,000 lb |
Height is measured from the road, not the deck. On a flatbed with a deck around 5 feet off the ground, a machine taller than about 8½ feet already puts you over 13’6”. That’s why tall equipment goes on a step deck or lowboy. Try it:
Will it fit under 13’6”?
13’6” total: right at the limit
Deck heights are typical, not exact. Width limit: 8’6”. Weight limits apply too.
02When you need a permit
What the rule says
“If your vehicle configuration is reduced to its smallest dimensions possible and still exceeds the limitations identified below, you must obtain a hauling permit prior to traveling over Virginia’s highways. You cannot create an over-dimensional or overweight situation by hauling or towing multiple items.”
Virginia DMV, Hauling Permits
What it means for you
First, make it as small as you can: fold the mirrors, take the bucket off if it comes off, lower everything. Still over? Permit.
The second sentence closes a loophole: you can’t load two machines side by side to make an extra-wide load and then permit it. Permits are for loads that can’t be made smaller.
03Permit types and what they cost
| Permit | What it’s for | Cost |
| Single trip | One move, origin to destination | $20, + 30¢ a mile if overweight |
| Blanket | Multiple moves over a set period | $100 for 1 year, $200 for 2 years (+ $40 mileage and $360 damage fee a year if overweight) |
| Superload | Size or weight that needs engineering review | $30, + 30¢ a mile if overweight, + a damage fee by gross weight |
| Exempt | Specific commodities or services | Varies |
Each permit comes with its own route, travel rules and safety requirements. Blanket and exempt permit holders must also download VDOT’s Structure Exclusion List for their permit: the bridges and roads they can’t use.
04How to get one
Virginia now issues permits through EZ Haul, which replaced the old VAHPS system. DMV says it routes the trip automatically and issues most permits “in one day or less.” Questions go to DMV’s Hauling Permits office at (804) 786-2787 or haulingpermit@dmv.virginia.gov.
05If you’re the one shipping the equipment
Send your carrier the real numbers: width, height, length and weight from the spec sheet, plus attachments. A skid steer with a bucket is a different load from one without. The carrier works out the trailer, the permit and the route. Guess the numbers and you can lose a day at the scale house.
Bottom line
Under 8’6” wide, 13’6” tall and the axle limits, you just haul it. Over, after making it as small as possible, you need a DMV permit before you roll: $20 for a single trip, more if it’s heavy.
Need machinery moved in Virginia? See our equipment hauling or call 434-394-0605.
Sources
Rules quoted from the official text as of 24 October 2026. Rules change: check the source before you rely on it.