Florida Bridge Law: 41-Foot Kingpin Rule and Tandem Limits

Florida applies the federal bridge formula and the 80,000-lb gross cap, adds a 41-foot kingpin-to-rear-axle-group rule for trailers over 48 feet, and keeps a separate, more generous axle table for roads off the Interstate. Know which system you're on before you trust a number.

By Avery Schwartz · Former CDL-A driver, 3 years OTR · Updated 2026-09-15

The numbers at a glance

Limit	FL	Where it comes from
Gross weight	80,000 lb	F.S. 316.535, "including all enforcement tolerances"
Single axle	20,000 lb	F.S. 316.535
Tandem axle	34,000 lb on the Interstate	Higher on non-Interstate roads under Florida's own table — verify with FDOT
KPRA / wheelbase	41 ft, kingpin to center of rear axle group	F.S. 316.515(3)(b); trailers over 48 ft up to 57 ft
Bridge formula applies?	Yes	316.535 has an Interstate table and a non-Interstate table

Legal limits change and enforcement varies by road. Confirm anything you're betting a ticket on with FDOT / FHP.

How Florida applies the bridge law

Florida's weight statute, F.S. 316.535, sets a 20,000-lb single-axle limit and an 80,000-lb gross ceiling that explicitly includes all enforcement tolerances. On the Interstate it applies the federal bridge formula, so a five-axle tractor-trailer is on the familiar 34,000 / 34,000 footing. For non-Interstate roads the statute carries a second table that is more generous on closely spaced axles; trucking references commonly report 40,000 lb on a tandem there, rising to 44,000 with Florida's 10% scale tolerance. Those non-Interstate figures are widely quoted but we could not confirm the exact table entries from the statute text, so treat them as "verify with FDOT" numbers and plan on 34,000 anywhere near an Interstate.

Geometry is simpler. Under F.S. 316.515(3)(b), a semitrailer longer than 48 feet (up to 57) is legal when the distance from the kingpin to the center of the rear axle or rear axle group does not exceed 41 feet. Because it is measured to the center of the tandem, a 53-foot van has more room than in California — but a driver who slid the tandems deep in Texas for a nose-heavy load can still be over 41 by the time they hit I-10 at Pensacola.

Florida also stands out for permitting: FDOT's Motor Carrier Size and Weight office issues "10% permits" for divisible loads up to the statutory limits plus 10%. If you regularly run heavy intrastate, that program is worth reading about.

How to slide your tandems for Florida

Set the tandems so the kingpin-to-tandem-center distance is 41 feet or under, then fix the weight. If your drives are heavy, sliding forward helps both problems at once. If your tandems are heavy and the only fix is sliding back past 41 feet, the load needs rework, not more holes.

Worked example. You scale at the first CAT after the shipper: steer 11,800, drives 35,300, trailer tandems 31,900, gross 79,000. Gross is legal; the drives are 1,300 over. Sliding the tandems forward (toward the cab) moves weight from the drives to the trailer axles. On a trailer with 4-inch hole spacing, a hole is worth roughly 250 lb, so 1,300 lb needs six holes: drives about 33,800, tandems about 33,400. Both groups are under 34,000 with a few hundred pounds of margin, and the gross hasn't changed. Now check the geometry for Florida using the row in the table above — and if you'll cross into a stricter state, set for that one instead. The Tandem Slide Calculator does the hole math for your trailer's actual rail spacing and tells you which direction to move.

Common tickets in Florida

Based on the statutes above and what drivers commonly report; citation practice varies by officer and county, so treat this as a watch list, not a fine schedule.

KPRA over 41 feet on a 53-foot van, most often reported at the I-10 and I-95 agricultural/weigh stations on drivers coming from no-KPRA states.
Tandem over 34,000 on the Interstate by a driver relying on the non-Interstate table.
Failure to stop at a weigh station — Florida requires trucks over 10,000 lb to stop at open scales; verify current rules with FDOT MCSAW.

Florida bridge law FAQ

How is Florida's 41-foot kingpin distance measured?

From the kingpin to the center of the rear axle or rear group of axles (F.S. 316.515(3)(b)). On a tandem, that is the midpoint between the two axles — roughly two feet more forgiving than California's rearmost-axle measurement.

Is Florida's tandem limit 34,000 or 44,000?

On the Interstate, the federal 34,000 lb applies. Off the Interstate, Florida's own table in 316.535 is more generous on tandems; the commonly quoted 40,000 (44,000 with the 10% tolerance) figure should be verified with FDOT before you rely on it.

Does Florida apply the bridge formula?

Yes. Section 316.535 uses a bridge-formula table for consecutive axle groups on both Interstate and non-Interstate roads, with an 80,000-lb overall cap on both.

What is a Florida 10% permit?

A divisible-load permit issued by FDOT that allows operation up to the statutory weight limits plus 10%. It is a permit, not a tolerance, and it has its own route and fee rules.

Sources

This page is a driver's summary, not legal advice. Statutes are quoted or paraphrased from the sources listed; where we couldn't verify a figure from an official source we've said so.