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Connecticut trucking rules

Fees, CDL costs, weight and size limits, chain laws and new bills for truckers and trucking companies in Connecticut. Updated 2026-10-24.

Must-know rules · Weight, oversize & chains · Fees · Bills

Must-know rules

Connecticut has no tolls, but it charges a per-mile Highway Use Fee on heavy trucks (26,000 lbs and up, FHWA Classes 8-13). It also has a strict 3-minute idling rule, parkways closed to commercial-plated vehicles, and town-level through-truck bans. I could not confirm chain or traction rules, weigh-station or port-of-entry specifics, hazmat tunnel restrictions, or IFTA/IRP details from official pages, so those are left out.

Researched by our AI agent from the linked sources on 2026-10-21. Always confirm with the source.

• Must knowHighway Use Fee (weight-distance tax)

  A vehicle with a gross weight of 26,000 lbs or more in FHWA Class 8 to 13 must register for a Highway Use Fee Permit. The fee runs from 2.5 cents per mile (26,000-28,000 lbs) to 17.5 cents per mile (over 80,000 lbs). It is based on the vehicle's weight and the miles driven in Connecticut.

  Highway Use Fee - CT Department of Revenue Services
• Must knowHighway Use Fee filing and registration

  Registered carriers must file a return for every quarterly period, even if they did not run in Connecticut that quarter. Registration is done online through the DRS portal, myconneCT. The DRS fact sheet from 2022 described monthly returns, so use the current DRS page for the schedule.

  Highway Use Fee - CT Department of Revenue Services

Weight limits, oversize permits and chain laws

Connecticut's limits are 8.5 ft wide, 13.5 ft high and 80,000 lb gross. Semitrailers are limited to 48 ft, or 53 ft on designated routes if the kingpin-to-rear-axle distance is 43 ft or less. A single-trip oversize/overweight permit is $30 plus a $12 electronic fee. I found no truck chain-carry or chain-control law, only a Nov 15–Apr 30 window for metal traction devices. I found no official frost-law or seasonal weight-restriction program.

Weight limits

80,000 lb gross, 22,400 lb single axle, 36,000 lb tandem
CTDOT's size and weight sheet lists 80,000 lb maximum on 5 axles with 51 ft between the first and last axle. Statute caps gross weight at 80,000 lb unless statute provides otherwise. An FHWA summary says Connecticut's bridge formula allows up to 84,000 lb on six axles when the first-to-last axle distance is 43 ft or more. That summary is a few years old, so verify it. By statute, a four-axle const
Under CT regulations, no overweight permits are issued for less than 80,000 lb on five axles. Single-trip OS/OW permits are mainly for indivisible loads. The base fee is $30 plus a $12 electronic fee, with an engineering analysis fee of $2 per 1,000 lb over 200,000 lb. Divisible loads need an annual permit at $9 per 1,000 lb, or a monthly permit. Connecticut-based construction-equipment carriers c Source

Legal size without a permit

8 ft 6 in wide, 13 ft 6 in high, 48 ft semitrailer
Single-trip oversize permit: $30 from CTDOT Oversize/Overweight Permit Office, 2800 Berlin Turnpike, Newington, CT, phone (860) 594-2880, [email protected]. Applications go through the CVO WebP
OFFICIAL: Weekend permits (Saturday and Sunday only, daylight to noon) are available on request for loads up to 12 ft wide. The CTDOT page text I could retrieve was cut off after that, so I could not confirm the other weekend limits on it. Third-party sites say weekend loads must also be no more than 13'6" high and 80 ft long, with a weight cap given as either 120,000 or 160,000 lb. Those sources Source

Chain law

No chain law for trucks (Nov 15 - Apr 30 (window when metal nonskid devices, including chains, are allowed on tires))
I found no Connecticut statute or CTDOT rule requiring trucks to carry chains or to chain up when signs are posted. CGS § 14-98 only permits tires with metal nonskid devices from November 15 to April 30, inclusive. Source

• Must know53-ft trailers and kingpin distance

  CTDOT lists 53 ft as the legal length only for trailers with a 43 ft kingpin distance. Statute otherwise limits the semitrailer portion to 48 ft and a single-unit vehicle to 45 ft. An older 2012 statute text restricts 53-ft trailers to designated US and CT routes. A third-party site reports a $750 fine for an over-43-ft kingpin 53-ft trailer without a permit; I could not verify that figure officially.

  CTDOT OSOW Frequently Asked Questions

Fees and DOT requirements

Class A and Class B CDLs cost the same in Connecticut: $70 for a first license and $70 for a four-year renewal. Registration for heavy trucks is weight-based, but I couldn't retrieve the exact 26,001 lb row of the official fee chart. Heavy combinations also owe a per-mile Highway Use Fee to the Department of Revenue Services (DRS), and in-state carriers over 18,000 lb GVWR need a Connecticut intrastate DOT number.

Class B CDL

$70 for 4 years (about $17.50 a year)
Commercial learner's permit $20; general knowledge test $16; each endorsement test $5; skills test $30; upgrade to a CDL $22; renewal late fee $25. Each CDL restriction costs $5. A four-year renewal with a public passenger endorsement costs $118. The first license is issued for 3.5 to 5 years, endin Source

Class A CDL

$70 for 4 years (about $17.50 a year)
Same fee schedule as Class B. Knowledge test $16, skills test $30, endorsement tests $5 each (the combination-vehicle knowledge test also carries a $5 add-on under the statute), CLP $20, new CDL $70, renewal $70 for four years, late fee $25. The statute adds a $5 fee for each combination vehicle kno Source

Registration, 80,000 lb combination

$326 a year Source

How registration is figured

Commercial registration fees are based on the gross vehicle weight rating the vehicle will be registered for. For fee purposes, gross weight is the vehicle's weight plus its rated load capacity as determined by the commissioner (CGS 14-47). The DMV publishes a weight-bracket Commercial Fee Chart.
26,001 lb: the official Commercial Fee Chart row for this weight was not retrievable, so it is null. 80,000 lb: the DMV fee page lists heavy-duty commercial registration over 55,000 lb gross weight at $326 for one year, and a CTDOT overweight permit is required. That page was last updated about 16 months ago. An older version of the chart showed higher fees for mid-weight brackets (for example $35 Source

Intrastate operating authority

Household goods carrier certificate of public convenience and necessity (or household goods motor contract carrier permi. one-time certificate; a secondary source reports annual per-.
The only for-hire intrastate authority I could confirm in the statute is for household goods movers. No one may operate as a household goods carrier without a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Commissioner of Transportation. I did not find a state authority requirement for other for-hire property carriers operating only in Connecticut. I also could not confirm that none exis Source

State DOT requirements

• Must knowIntrastate (Connecticut) DOT number

  The DMV Commercial Vehicle Safety Division issues intrastate DOT numbers to in-state carriers operating vehicles over 18,000 lb GVWR, hauling placardable hazmat, or carrying 15 or more passengers. Interstate carriers need a USDOT number at 10,001 lb GVWR or more.

  CT DMV International Registration Plan manual

See all 7 DOT requirements with full access

Fees change; confirm with the linked state source. Compare all states.

New Connecticut trucking bills

No new trucking bills found here recently. The agent checks every morning.