Every heavy-haul move above 80,000 lb gross combined weight needs permits — one per state the load crosses. That part is universal. What surprises new shippers is how the lead times stack.
A single-state permit in Texas clears in 1–3 business days. Pennsylvania takes 5–7. New York can take 7–14. On a Houston-to-Calgary RGN move crossing five US states and one Canadian province, the lead time isn't the longest individual state — it's the cumulative wait for the slowest permit on the chain.
Superloads are a different animal. Above roughly 200,000 lb or 16' wide, the permit process flips from paperwork to engineering. State DOTs run bridge inventories and check the load's axle math against every span on the candidate route. Police escorts get booked weeks ahead. Lead times jump to 2–6 weeks.
The reason we quote heavy-haul rates with permit cost rolled in is that this math has a real range. A "$3.50/mi flatbed rate" with TBD permits means a $4.50/mi load after permits clear. We do the lookups upfront so the rate you see is the rate you ship.