Which category is your load?
Type your load. See the category, whether you need a permit, and the pilots, signs and travel times the Rule sets for it.
The HAULR app takes this further: live load tracking, alerts as you approach a structure we hold information for, saved routes and a pre-start checklist.
Join the waitlistChecked against the Land Transport Rule: Vehicle Dimensions and Mass 2016, as at 6 August 2026. Last full check: 10 October 2026. General information only. Your permit conditions, the Rule and road signs come first.
Tap the truck.
An oversize move, part by part. Tap a number to see the rules for that part.
Quick rules
The rules drivers ask about most, in plain English. Each one shows where it comes from.
More for operators
Travel times for every category
The categories side by side
Rules for your town
Days you can’t travel, coming up
Signs and markings
The required pilot vehicles on a load over 5 m wide run purple.
- Escort: at least one Class 1 and at least two Class 2 pilot vehicles, each with beacons on the roof (Rule 6.46(4)).
- By day: two amber flashing or revolving beacons on the right and two purple flashing or revolving beacons on the left.
- At night: one amber beacon on the right and two purple beacons on the left.
- The pilot furthest ahead also shows one pair of alternately flashing purple auxiliary lamps (Rule 6.46(6)), and may run one pair of alternately flashing low-beam headlamps by day (6.46(7)).
- If the rear beacons would not be clearly visible to following traffic, fit them to the rear of the pilot vehicle or its trailer (Rule 6.46(5)). Under a permit, the operator must notify the Director (NZTA) at least 30 minutes before the journey starts (Rule 6.54(2)).
Pilot pathway and checklists
Before you go
Pilots and convoys
Class 1 and Class 2 are not the same job.
- Class 2 is the entry level pilot qualification. Class 1 is the advanced qualification (Rule, note after 6.40).
- You need a Class 1 pilot for Category 3 and 4 loads, for Category 2 at night (unless an inspector has verified the vehicle’s swept path, 6.34(4)), for a load over 5 m wide, and to travel in the opposing lane on a median-divided road or at a controlled intersection, with road controlling authority permission (Rule 6.34, 6.35, 6.37, 6.46(4)).
- A Class 1 pilot vehicle must be substantially white, with a gross vehicle mass not over 3,500 kg, and clearly display an approved pilot logo or marking (Rule 6.41(5), 6.44(3)).
- The operator of a pilot vehicle must be an enforcement officer, or have completed a Class 1 or Class 2 pilot driver’s course approved by the Director (Rule 6.39).
- On-road supervisor: if more than one pilot is needed, by the Rule or by your permit, the operator must name an on-road supervisor (Rule 6.30(c)). They make sure the pilots and the load driver are briefed, the load is operated within the Rule, and any notice the Rule requires is given (6.31(2)). The supervisor, or the load driver if none is named, must also notify emergency services operating in the area if the load is likely to restrict a route in a way that would significantly delay them (6.11).
The required pilot vehicles on a load over 5 m wide run purple.
- Escort: at least one Class 1 and at least two Class 2 pilot vehicles, each with beacons on the roof (Rule 6.46(4)).
- By day: two amber flashing or revolving beacons on the right and two purple flashing or revolving beacons on the left.
- At night: one amber beacon on the right and two purple beacons on the left.
- The pilot furthest ahead also shows one pair of alternately flashing purple auxiliary lamps (Rule 6.46(6)), and may run one pair of alternately flashing low-beam headlamps by day (6.46(7)).
- If the rear beacons would not be clearly visible to following traffic, fit them to the rear of the pilot vehicle or its trailer (Rule 6.46(5)). Under a permit, the operator must notify the Director (NZTA) at least 30 minutes before the journey starts (Rule 6.54(2)).
Who can pilot, what a pilot vehicle must be, and how convoys work. Each one shows where it comes from.
Permits and weight
Which permit, what it must show, and the weight limits that apply without one.
Planning tools
When can I travel?
Pick your Category and area to see the next 7 days: the times you can and can’t travel, and the closure days. Rule 6.21 to 6.27.
Daylight and darkness
The Rule counts darkness as half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise, or any time you cannot clearly see a person or vehicle at 100 m. Times are worked out for the town you pick and are a guide only.
Key phone numbers
Test yourself
Flashcards from the plain-words guide. Tap a card to see the meaning.
Named routes and structures
The Rule in plain words
Plain-word summaries of the Rule as at 6 August 2026. The Rule’s own wording is what counts. Each one shows where it comes from.
Special cases
The exceptions and unusual loads that catch people out.