Louisiana Pilot Car Requirements
When does an oversize or overweight load need a pilot car or escort in Louisiana? Here are the width, height, length and weight thresholds that trigger an escort, a height pole, or a police escort.
Escort & pilot car requirements
- Police / law-enforcement escortover 18 ft width
Width over 18 ft: 2 State Police escorts required on both 2-lane and 4+-lane highways.
- Police / law-enforcement escortover 16'1" width
Width 16'1"–18': 1 State Trooper escort required on both 2-lane and 4+-lane highways. THRESHOLD CORRECTED 2026-09-14 from FT(16,1) to FT(16) so the rule fires AT 16'1", the first width in its own band; it previously emitted nothing until 16'2". BAND EDGES UNVERIFIED — LADOTD primary text was not reachable for this pass.
- Lead (front) pilot carover 12 ft width
Width 12 ft up to 16 ft: 1 front civilian escort on 2-lane highways; 1 rear civilian on 4+-lane.
- Chase (rear) pilot carover 12 ft width
Width 12 ft up to 16 ft: 1 rear civilian escort on 4+-lane highways; 1 front on 2-lane.
- Police / law-enforcement escortover 125 ft length
Length over 125 ft: State Police escort required.
- Chase (rear) pilot carover 90 ft length
Length 90–125 ft: 1 rear escort on both 2-lane and 4+-lane highways. BAND EDGE UNVERIFIED — our table writes this band's lower bound as a round 90 ft and the rule is encoded exclusively, so it does not fire until 90'1". If the state's own text reads "90 ft or more" the trigger is one inch lower. Threshold deliberately NOT moved without primary text (reviewed 2026-09-14); confirm the band edge with the state permit office.
- Height-pole escortover 15'10" height
Height over 15'10" off interstate: front escort with height pole required.
Travel restrictions
- Daylight-only travelover 12 ft width
Oversize loads must travel daylight hours only unless the permit specifically authorizes nighttime movement.
- Weekend / holiday restrictionover 12 ft width
No travel New Year's, Thanksgiving, Christmas. Mardi Gras areas subject to additional restrictions.
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Informational only. These thresholds are compiled from published Louisiana DOT references and are not legal or operational advice. Permit conditions can differ from the general tables, and rules change — always verify with the Louisiana permit office before you move a load.
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