Road Permits and Fees

A county permit is required for certain types of road-related activities. Please note that the county provides permits for activities on County Roads only. Contact your local municipality if you intend on using local roads.

An administration fee and, in some cases, a deposit is also required.

**Please be advised that any holiday administration office hours may delay the processing of permits**

NOTE: A Certificate of Insurance naming the County of Essex as an additional insured must be submitted with a moving permit application. The certificate should state a minimum of $5,000,000 auto and general liability coverage, including a cross liability clause and a 30-day cancellation notice. This insurance certificate must meet the County of Essex requirements before the permit can be approved.

Purchase Permits:

Purchase a Moving Permit

Purchase an Entrance Permit or Miscellaneous Work Permit

Purchase a Building or Setback Permit

Types of County Road permits:

Building and Setback Permits

A Building and Setback Permit must be issued prior to the construction of a new building or an addition to an existing building that is located on a County Road. Information including location of the proposed structure and a description of the existing drainage system will be required.

Entrance / Other Miscellaneous Works Permits

An entrance / other miscellaneous works permit is required to construct a new entrance (driveway) or alter an existing entrance onto a County Road. Information including a description and location of the property and a description of the existing drainage system will be required.

An entrance and other miscellaneous works permit must be issued prior to the construction or alteration of any driveway or passway or other access for any purpose whatsoever over to or from any public highway within the jurisdiction of the County of Essex.

An entrance and other miscellaneous works permit must be issued prior to the breaking up of, or alteration of, any earth, gravel, curb, sidewalk, shoulder, or any surface of any public highway within the jurisdiction of the County of Essex.

Moving Permits

A moving permit is required when the weight or dimensions of a vehicle exceeds the normal limits permitted by the County of Essex. Permits can be issued as:

Single Trip
Superload
Project Permit (Multiple Trip)
Annual (Blanket)

Oversize loads:

Wider than 2.6 metres (8.5 ft)
Longer than 12.5 metres (41 ft) for Single Vehicles
Longer than 14.65 metres (48 ft) for Semi-Trailers
Higher than 4.15 metres (13.5 ft)

Overweight loads:

Exceeds the maximum allowable unit weight (36,364 kg or 80,000 lbs)

Superloads:

Any loads that are in excess of 120,000 kg (264,000 lbs), gross vehicle weight, and/or 6 metres in width, and/or 45.75 metres in length, are considered to be "superloads".

Note: "Superloads" are not considered to be routine applications and will require additional time for processing and will be subject to a thorough review.

The following information must be supplied to the County when applying for any moving permit:

A copy of the Applicant's Liability Insurance
The item/product to be moved
The overall dimensions of the load (including vehicle)
The exact route the Applicant proposed to take and final destination
The date of the move (min. 3 days notice required or expedited fees will apply)
An axle spacing and Loading sketch if the load exceeds the max. allowable weight.

Load limit policy and by-law

There are some County roads that restrict axle loading to a maximum of 5 tonnes per axle to protect them from damage. The load restrictions apply only when the signs are displayed during the Load Restriction period including but not restricted to the period of March 1 to April 30, inclusive in each and every year. When planning your route, please refer to our map of County Roads with Load Restrictions.

By-law 2021-08 regulates traffic and parking on highways within the Essex County roads system.

Schedule K provides a list of roads where seasonal load limits apply.

Schedule L provides a list of roads with year-round load limits.

Type of Fee	Name of Fee	Unit	Description / Special Notes	Cost Per Unit	Deposit Per Unit
Moving Permit	Event Specific - Single Trip Permit	each	single trip moving permit	$150.00	$-
Moving Permit	Product Specific - Multiple Trips Permit	per product	multiple trips - one product	$300.00	$-
Moving Permit	Blanket Permit - Annual Trips	each	multiple trips & product	$300.00	$-
Moving Permit	Superload Moving Permit	each	Fee is charged as opposed to the normal permit fee	$500.00	$-
Moving Permit	Expedited Moving Permit	each	Fee is charged as opposed to the normal permit fee	$500.00	$-
Moving Permit	Additional Fleet Vehicles Permit	per vehicle	Fee for each additional vehicle listed on a permit	$30.00	$-
Moving Permit	Permit Amendments	each	Amendments to permits after processed	$25.00	$-
Access Management	Altering an existing entrance fee	each		$75.00	$1,000.00
Access Management	Constructing a new entrance (Permanent) fee	each		$250.00	$1,000.00
Access Management	Constructing a new entrance crossing a Municipal Drain (Permanent) fee	each		$150.00	$1,000.00
Access Management	Constructing a new entrance (Temporary) fee	per entrance / yr.		$150.00	$1,000.00
Access Management	Constructing a new entrance (Temporary Industrial) fee	per entrance / yr.		$250.00	$1,000.00
Access Management	Paving an existing entrance (Residential) fee	each		$75.00	$500.00
Access Management	Closing-in a County-owned roadside ditch (Single Lot) fee	per lot		$500.00	$1,000.00
Access Management	Closing-in a County-owned roadside ditch (Multiple Lot) fee	per lot		$450.00	$1,000.00
Access Management	Installation of private underground hydro service fee	each		$150.00	$1,000.00
Access Management	Installation of private storm sewer/drainage outlet or water supply across roadway fee	each		$150.00	$1,000.00
Access Management	Construction of a public road intersection (design and inspection provided by a consulting engineer) fee	each		$1,500	$2,500.00
Administration	Work Permit	each		$150.00	$-
Sign	All signs fees (initial permit)	each		$150.00	$-
Sign	Annual signs fees (annual renewal)	each		100.00	$
Sign	Installation of New Tourism Oriented Destination Signs (TODS) sign fee	each		$500.00	$-
Sign	Annual TODS sign fee	each		$350.00	$-
Sign	Encroachment of Wayfinding Sign fee	each		$150.00	$-
Sign	Detour Route & Detour Sign Permit	each		$450.00	$-
Land Use	Setback Permit	each		$150.00	$1,000.00
Transportation Planning	Fee for review of Transportation Impact Studies	each		$500.00	$-
Transportation Planning	Fee for most current Traffic Data	each		$50.00	$-
Transportation Planning	Fee for historical Traffic Data	each		$250.00	$-
Transportation Planning	Fee for hard copy Tender Packages including applicable drawings	each		$50.00	$-
Transportation Planning	Fee for copies of Special Studies and Reports	each		$250.00	$-
Transportation Planning	Fee for copies of Transportation Planning Maps	each		$50.00	$-