North Carolina Weigh Stations & Ag Inspection

When North Carolina makes you pull in

Haul 10,001 lb GVWR or more and you must enter an open permanent scale or temporary site when signs or your transponder send you in (G.S. 20-118.1). Refusing to stop or be weighed is a Class 2 misdemeanor, not a tag violation, carrying up to 60 days (penalty class per G.S. 20-176). Watch the lit OPEN sign on I-95, I-40, I-85, and I-77. WIM sensors pre-screen, and Motor Carrier troopers run portable scales between the fixed stations.

Stations, bypass, and inspection

• Who must stop: Over a weight threshold
• Where the stations are: Main fixed scales sit on I-95 (near Kenly and toward the SC line), I-85, I-40, I-26, and I-77, many with weigh-in-motion pre-screening. They run variable hours behind lit OPEN/CLOSED signs. State Highway Patrol Motor Carrier Enforcement also works portable scales and rovers, so a dark booth isn't a free pass.
• Bypass: PrePass (windshield transponder) and Drivewyze (app/ELD) both operate in North Carolina. Drivewyze runs bypass at Asheville on I-40 westbound and other sites; PrePass covers fixed scales on the I-95, I-85, and I-40 corridors. Green means stay on the mainline at speed; red or no signal means pull in and stop.
• Ag / border inspection: No agricultural or border produce inspection stations. NCDA&CS inspects nurseries and plants off-road, not at mandatory roadside truck checkpoints.
• Fine for passing an open station: Failing to stop, permit weighing, or remove an overload is a Class 2 misdemeanor (G.S. 20-118.1, penalty class set by G.S. 20-176), carrying up to 60 days and a court-set fine. The overweight itself is penalized separately by the pound.

More for North Carolina