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    Apply for a Letter of Local Determination (LoLD)

    To avoid bonding for highways and roads, you need to apply for a Letter of Local Determination (LoLD).

    Contact Your District

    Apply for a Letter of Local Determination (LoLD)

    The Letters of Local Determination (LoLD) help struggling businesses and some local vehicles carry heavier loads without having to bond the roads.

    You can get LoLD applications via email or in person from any PennDOT District Office. We encourage haulers to apply for a LoLD at least three weeks in advance. PennDOT will review all completed applications and respond within 20 days. If your application is missing information, we'll send it back and explain what's needed. You have 15 days to fix it and send it back.

    Before you can get a Letter of Local Determination (LoLD), you need to finish all weight hauling permits as per the Excess Maintenance Agreement. If you already have an LoLD, it stays valid until the date mentioned in your Amendment Letter.

    Who Qualifies for an LoLD?

    1. At-risk businesses: The U.S. Census Bureau gives each company a code based on what they do. If a company hauls things for struggling industries listed by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, they can get a LoLD for certain routes. Companies can find their code online or give their ID number to PennDOT.

    2. Infrequent haulers: Haulers who won't damage the road much can get a LoLD. It depends on how many loads they plan to carry and how strong the road is. If the road can handle it, they can get approval for up to 10 loads per day.

    Haulers can apply for both an at-risk and an infrequent LoLD. 

    LoLD Restrictions

    1. LoLDs cannot be used on municipal routes.

    2. The LoLD is valid for up to 12 months.

    3. You must carry your LoLD with the bill of lading or shipping order.

    4. Hauling on routes is not allowed from Feb. 15 to April 15, unless approved by PennDOT.

    5. PennDOT may set additional depending on road conditions, weather, or emergencies.

     

    LoLD Haulers

    ​Local Traffic Criteria ​Exemption Status ​Examples
    ​Natural resource* extraction sites ​NOT LOCAL TRAFFIC
    • ​Gas or oil well sites during the development and drilling of the well. Once the well is in production and the hauling is reduced to a more maintenance function the Posting Authority may consider granting the User a local hauling letter
    • Log landings where the logs are extracted from the forest
    • Quarries
    • Coal Mines
    ​Traffic going to or from a permanent forest product mill along or only reachable via posted roadways ​LOCAL TRAFFIC
    • ​Hauling logs to or lumber from a permanent sawmill
    • Hauling to or from other timber processing operations such as pallet shops
    • Hauling to or from a log broker yard where logs are delivered, stored, and later moved out to other locations
    ​Traffic going to or from a permanent coal reprocessing or preparation plant located along or reachable via posted roadways not on the same roadway as the extraction site LOCAL TRAFFIC
    • ​Vehicles going to or from a coal processing plant (not a coal mine) along a posted roadway or only accessible by a posted roadway

    *Natural resources are defined as any material from natural sources having potential economic value including but not limited to timber, minerals, oil, gas, wind, and water. The term does not include food crops, animals, or animal products intended for human or animal consumption such as corn, wheat, and milk.

    Self-Certification

    Vehicles with destinations along posted routes or whose destinations cannot be reached without traveling posted routes may qualify as local traffic and do not have to bond these routes. 

    Local Traffic Criteria Example
    Emergency Vehicles Fire trucks, ambulances/EMS, police, etc.
    School buses N/A
    Vehicles making local deliveries or pickups Mail trucks, parcel delivery services (UPS, FedEX, etc.), and any other vehicle making a local delivery or local pickup
    Vehicles and combinations of governmental agencies and utilities or their contractors engaged in construction or maintenance on a posted roadway or in a location which can be reached only via a posted roadway Municipal vehicles, contracted municipal vehicles, and utility company vehicles performing maintenance or construction on a posted roadway or on another roadway that is only accessible by a posted road
    Vehicles and combinations going to or coming from a residence, commercial establishment, or farm located on a posted roadway, or which can be reached only via a posted roadway (self-certification could be required) Freight vehicles with an origin or destination that includes a residential address, commercial address, or farm located on a posted roadway or along another road that is only accessible by a posted road

    Municipal Local Traffic Letter

    LoLDs do not apply to municipalities. The municipality may issue a ‘Municipal Local Traffic Letter’ to haulers that satisfies criteria determined by the municipality. Issuing a Municipal Local Traffic Letter can be simpler than passing an ordinance to issue LoLDs. Municipal Local Traffic Letters are not subject to the same restrictions as LoLDs, and municipalities should only use them for internal tracking purposes. Examples of eligible haulers include a logger hauling five (5) loads from a log landing a quarter mile along the posted road or a gas company that pulls three (3) loads of brine a month from established wells. Visit the Municipal Posting and Bonding Page [Need to add AEM link to this page] to learn more about municipal postings.