The first dimension that requires an escort
The number a dispatcher is actually looking for, as one column per measurement: the lowest value at which any published rule in that state puts a pilot car on the load. Where the winning rule is also conditioned on the road class, the cell says so — because the same state can require an escort two feet earlier on a two-lane road.
| State | Width | Height | Length | Rear overhang | Gross weight | Rules on file |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | over 12'rev. · read · varies by road class | over 15'6"rev. · read | over 90'rev. · read | over 5'rev. · read | over 300,000 lbundated document · read | 28 |
| Alaska | 10'6" or morerev. · read | over 17'rev. · read | 85' or morerev. · read | 20' or morerev. · read | None published | 16 |
| Arizona | over 10'rev. · read | over 15'rev. · read | None published | over 20'rev. · read | None published | 13 |
| Arkansas | over 12'rev. · read · varies by road class | over 15'rev. · read | 100' or morerev. · read | None published | None published | 11 |
| California | over 10'rev. · read · varies by road class | 17' or morerev. · read · varies by road class | over 85'rev. · read · varies by road class | over 25'rev. · read | None published | 23 |
| Colorado | over 8'6"rev. · read · varies by road class | None published | over 85'rev. · read · varies by road class | over 25'rev. · read | over 200,000 lbrev. · read | 27 |
| Connecticut | over 12'rev. · read · varies by road class | over 14'undated document · read | over 80'undated document · read | None published | None published | 15 |
| Delaware | over 13'rev. · read | 15' or morerev. · read | 90' or morerev. · read | 15' or morerev. · read | over 120,000 lbrev. · read | 16 |
| District of Columbia | None published | None published | None published | None published | None published | 4 |
| Florida | over 12'rev. · read | over 14'6"rev. · read | over 95'rev. · read | None published | None published | 19 |
| Georgia | over 12'rev. · read · varies by road class | 15' or moreundated document · read | over 75'undated document · read | None published | None published | 15 |
| Hawaii | over 12'rev. · read | None published | None published | over 4'rev. · read | None published | 5 |
| Idaho | over 8'6"rev. · read | over 16'rev. · read | None published | None published | None published | 6 |
| Illinois | over 14'6"rev. · read | over 14'6"rev. · read | over 110'rev. · read | None published | None published | 8 |
| Indiana | over 12'4"rev. · read | over 14'6"rev. · read | over 110'rev. · read | None published | over 200,000 lbundated document · read | 9 |
| Iowa | over 12'rev. · read | over 14'6"rev. · read | over 120'rev. · read | None published | None published | 13 |
| Kansas | over 14'rev. · read · varies by road class | over 18'rev. · read · varies by road class | over 126'rev. · read · varies by road class | None published | over 150,000 lbrev. · read · varies by road class | 10 |
| Kentucky | over 12'rev. · read · varies by road class | None published | over 75'rev. · read · varies by road class | over 10'undated document · read | None published | 26 |
| Louisiana | over 12'undated document · read | None published | over 90'undated document · read | None published | None published | 19 |
| Maine | 12' or moreundated document · read | over 15'undated document · read | 80' or moreundated document · read | over 5'undated document · read | None published | 11 |
| Maryland | over 12'rev. · read · varies by road class | 14'6" or morerev. · read | over 85'rev. · read | None published | over 120,000 lbrev. · read | 14 |
| Massachusetts | None published | None published | None published | None published | None published | 2 |
| Michigan | None published | None published | None published | None published | None published | 9 |
| Minnesota | None published | None published | over 110'rev. · read · varies by road class | None published | None published | 11 |
| Mississippi | 13' or morerev. · read · varies by road class | 15'9" or morerev. · read | None published | None published | None published | 20 |
| Missouri | over 12'6"undated document · read · varies by road class | over 15'6"rev. · read | over 110'undated document · read · varies by road class | None published | over 160,000 lbundated document · read · varies by road class | 31 |
| Montana | over 12'6"rev. · read · varies by road class | over 17'rev. · read | over 150'rev. · read · varies by road class | None published | None published | 13 |
| Nebraska | 12' or morerev. · read | None published | 125' or morerev. · read | None published | None published | 9 |
| Nevada | over 12'rev. · read · varies by road class | over 15'6"rev. · read | over 110'rev. · read | over 25'rev. · read | None published | 9 |
| New Hampshire | 12' or morerev. · read | over 14'rev. · read | 90' or morerev. · read | 15' or morerev. · read | None published | 9 |
| New Jersey | over 14'undated document · read | None published | over 100'rev. · read | None published | None published | 10 |
| New Mexico | 14' or morerev. · read | None published | over 110'1"rev. · read | None published | None published | 8 |
| New York | over 12'rev. · read | 14' or morerev. · read | 80' or morerev. · read | over 10'rev. · read | 200,000 lb or morerev. · read | 10 |
| North Carolina | over 12'rev. · read | over 14'5"rev. · read | over 110'rev. · read | 15' or morerev. · read | over 149,999 lbrev. · read | 14 |
| North Dakota | over 16'rev. · read · varies by road class | None published | over 120'rev. · read | None published | over 200,000 lbrev. · read | 12 |
| Ohio | 13' or morerev. · read | 14'6" or morerev. · read | over 90'rev. · read | None published | None published | 9 |
| Oklahoma | over 12'rev. · read · varies by road class | 15'9" or morerev. · read | over 80'rev. · read · varies by road class | None published | None published | 22 |
| Oregon | over 8'6"rev. · read · varies by road class | over 14'6"rev. · read | over 95'rev. · read · varies by road class | None published | None published | 26 |
| Pennsylvania | over 13'rev. · read | over 14'6"rev. · read | over 90'rev. · read | over 15'rev. · read | None published | 7 |
| Rhode Island | 12' or moreundated document · read | None published | 80' or moreundated document · read | 15' or moreundated document · read | None published | 6 |
| South Carolina | over 12'rev. · read · varies by road class | 16' or morerev. · read | 125' or morerev. · read | over 15'rev. · read | None published | 20 |
| South Dakota | over 10'rev. · read | None published | None published | None published | None published | 5 |
| Tennessee | over 10'rev. · read · varies by road class | over 15'rev. · read | over 90'rev. · read | None published | None published | 26 |
| Texas | 14' or moreundated document · read | over 17'undated document · read | 110' or moreundated document · read | over 20'undated document · read | None published | 10 |
| Utah | 12' or morerev. · read · varies by road class | over 16'rev. · read · varies by road class | over 105'rev. · read · varies by road class | over 20'rev. · read · varies by road class | None published | 20 |
| Vermont | 12' or morerev. · read | None published | 80' or morerev. · read | 15' or morerev. · read | None published | 10 |
| Virginia | over 12'rev. · read · varies by road class | over 14'5"rev. · read | over 90'rev. · read · varies by road class | over 15'rev. · read | None published | 21 |
| Washington | over 11'rev. · read · varies by road class | over 14'6"rev. · read | None published | over 20'rev. · read · varies by road class | None published | 22 |
| West Virginia | 10'6" or morerev. · read · varies by road class | over 15'rev. · read | 75' or morerev. · read · varies by road class | over 10'rev. · read | None published | 20 |
| Wisconsin | over 16'rev. · read | None published | None published | None published | None published | 10 |
| Wyoming | 14' or morerev. · read · varies by road class | over 17'rev. · read | 110' or morerev. · read · varies by road class | 25' or morerev. · read | over 117,000 lbrev. · read | 8 |
The states without a jurisdiction file are listed here rather than dropped, and their cells say "not yet covered" rather than carrying a number from a secondary source. A table titled "every state" that quietly covers half is the weakness we are competing against; matching it would forfeit the only advantage this page has. What coverage means here →
Escorts are a cost, not a footnote
On a long lane a single pilot car above roughly seventy-seven cents a mile costs more than the entire state permit total. Escorts are also a feasibility gate before they are a price — an operator who is not certified in the next state cannot take the load at any rate. Neither the permit calculator nor these tables price a civilian pilot car, because the two commercial sites that publish market rates disagree by nearly a factor of two on the same service.
Published police escort rates, and the fifteen states with none →
Looking for a pilot car operator? Browse the pilot car & escort directory — operators listed by service area.
How this is sourced
Every covered cell above is a value plus the document it came from. Two dates travel with it and they are not the same thing: rev. is the date the source document itself carries — a rule's stated effective date, a PDF's footer — and read is the date we retrieved it. A document downloaded this morning can still be five years old, and a single "last updated" stamp would hide exactly that.
Where two official documents that are both in effect give different answers, the cell says sources disagree and shows both, because neither has been adopted. That is not an omission; it is the finding. Where a state publishes no such limit at all, the cell says none published — also a finding, and a different one from not yet covered, which is our gap and nobody else's.
Questions
When do I need a pilot car?
At the first dimension in your state's column above — but read the road-class note. Many states set a lower trigger on a two-lane road than on a divided highway, and some classify individual highway segments on a published map, so the segment decides the answer rather than the lane count.
Does "none published" mean no escort is ever required?
No. It means the state publishes no numeric trigger on that measurement in the documents we hold. Several states also require escorts on a judgement call — mirror visibility, lane obstruction — that no number can express, and those never resolve to "no escort" here; they resolve to "cannot tell" and go to review.
Why does one state show a width trigger a foot lower than its neighbour?
Because the states genuinely differ, and because the trigger shown is the FIRST one — the lowest width at which any road class in that state requires an escort. On a divided highway the same state may not require one until considerably higher.
Is a pilot car certification from my state valid in the next one?
Often not. Reciprocity is a directed relationship, not a mutual one: at least one state accepts certifications from three neighbours who do not accept its own, and two states accept nobody at all and require their own certification regardless of residency. We are not publishing a reciprocity table until every row is verified against a primary source.