Legal size & loaded measurements
Width on 12′+ lanes
8′6″For roads with lanes at least 12′ wide. Confirm narrower-road width and permit conditions with ALDOT.
Loaded height
13′6″Ordinary vehicle-and-load limit; listed exceptions and actual route clearances apply.
Axles, weight & bridges
Interstate weight uses the federal axle/tandem/bridge-formula regime and 80,000-pound cap; non-Interstate law uses other statutory tables and may include a 10-percent enforcement tolerance. Tolerance is not permission, does not apply on Interstate routes, and never replaces exact axle, spacing, exception, registration, route, or posting review.
Legal size & loaded measurements
Title 32 contains named farm/agricultural, trailer, commodity, apparatus, alternative-fuel/APU, automobile-transporter, and other treatments. Apply one only after every statutory condition is verified; do not combine favorable parts of different provisions.
Loaded height
The current statute and Rule 450-3-1-.02 state a general legal height of 13 feet 6 inches; actual clearance, posted limits, vehicle class, and exceptions remain route-specific.
Width on roads with 12′ or wider lanes
On roads with lanes at least 12′ wide, the vehicle-and-load width limit is 8′6″, excluding approved mirrors and safety devices. Confirm the applicable width and permit conditions with ALDOT before using narrower roads, including the approach to the pickup or delivery site.
Permits, routes & larger loads
The permit authority
ALDOT's Chapter 450-3-1 program implements § 32-9-29 for nondivisible oversize/overweight movement on the State Highway System. A permit covers no more than a two-vehicle combination and only the ALDOT route printed or attached to it.
Roads & authorities
ALDOT permits are not valid on city streets or county roads. Identify every route owner; obtain local approvals separately. For a superload, city or county engineer approval is expressly required on those roads.
Permit products
ALDOT publishes single-trip and VIN-specific 12-month annual permits, with separate annual rows for equipment, mobile homes, modular/sectional houses, portable buildings, boats, sealed containers, construction projects, and emergency towing. Never reuse one row's envelope for another product.
Larger-load review
ALDOT's superload trigger is strict: over 16 feet wide, over 16 feet high, over 150 feet long, or over 300,000 pounds gross. Exact threshold values do not trigger this label; other specialist review or permit limits can still apply below them.
Engineering & route preparation
Superload feasibility remains an agency output: justification, dimensional and axle drawings, route survey, weight-related special-work bridge analysis, potential utility notice over 16 feet 6 inches, a mandatory bucket truck strictly over 16 feet 5 inches, at least two police/trooper escorts, local approvals, lighting, insurance, district coordination, schedule, and issued conditions.
State permit fees
Single-trip agency fee example
$20 for this Alabama planning example: a nondivisible load measuring 8′7″ wide, 13′ high and 70′ overall, at 72,000 lb gross on a five-axle rig with a 48′ trailer. The example uses 100 in-state miles. Change the load details in the calculator for your move.
What the agency estimate includes
The calculator applies Alabama's maintained single-trip permit schedule to the loaded vehicle and the supplied fee inputs. It itemizes the supported state charges, including weight or distance charges where applicable. Annual permits, special products, local permissions and payment-method charges need their own applicable schedule.
AL / Permit worksheet
Price your Alabama movement.
Enter the complete loaded vehicle. Get estimated agency fees and escort requirements before sharing your contact details.
The numbers behind your next move.
Your result will show the agency fee breakdown, potential pilot-car requirements, and the rules used to calculate them.
- 01 State agency fee subtotal
- 02 Escort & survey considerations
- 03 Sources & pricing assumptions
Single-state pricing uses the mileage you enter. For a proposed route and intermediate states, use the route calculator.
About the example equipment
The samples use ODPermit’s editable 48 ft flatbed · 5 axles planning profile. Loaded dimensions, gross weight, 100 state miles and Texas registration are example inputs, not a capacity rating or a route approval. Replace them with your actual setup.
Great Dane Freedom trailer specifications — 48 ft platform; the illustrated 40 in drop deck and 20 in drop support a 60 in upper-deck planning height. Combined tare and tractor geometry are editable ODPermit assumptions.
Pilot cars, height poles & surveys
14′6″-wide load example
Example: 14′6″ wide × 13′ high, 75′ overall, 72,000 lb gross, zero overhang or rear projection, ordinary nondivisible freight in daylight. All road types: 1 front and 1 rear pilot cars.
17′6″-high load example
Example: 9′ wide × 17′6″ high, 75′ overall, 72,000 lb gross, zero overhang or rear projection, ordinary nondivisible freight in daylight. All road types: 1 front (height pole required) pilot car.
Travel hours & road restrictions
Daylight travel
Ordinary permitted movement is daylight only and not on Sunday. The current rule text grants no half-hour shoulder before sunrise or after sunset. Compute actual sunrise/sunset for the route and date, then apply the verified permit and local restrictions.
Weather & visibility
Stop when visibility is under 500 feet or other weather makes travel hazardous; move only to the first safe place off the roadway. Weather, closure, detour, bridge posting, and construction restrictions must be checked before departure and during movement.
Signs, flags & safety equipment
Signs & markings
For a verified permitted move, display the transport vehicle's 360-degree/500-foot amber light; front and rear 7-foot-by-18-inch yellow OVERSIZE LOAD signs with 10-inch black letters; and 18-inch fluorescent orange or red flags at all four corners or length extremities.
Current route restrictions
Maintain one-half mile between permitted vehicle-loads; pull off for impeded/congested traffic; obey posted and permit bridge/highway limits; remove separable appurtenances; and stop safely for an impassable route until ALDOT authorizes an alternate.
Route maps
ALDOT's posted-bridge, design-load, tow, and superload district maps are visual reference captures, not certified route geometry or permission. Use current ALPASS/engineering output, on-site signs, and the verified issued route.
What the driver needs
Prepare the driver packet
Carry the annual routing authorization whenever advance routing applies; it temporarily becomes part of the annual permit. Preserve single-trip routing, ALPASS output, attachments, bridge/utility approvals, and every child-authority approval.
Special-load paperwork
Special programs add exact document duties: sealed-container bill of lading plus equipment interchange/inspection report; construction permit before/at the pre-construction conference and a copy in each equipment item; correct Tow + Straight Truck or Tow + 18 Wheeler Authorized Route Map kept in the hauling-truck cab; plus superload, house, utility, and declaration records. Match the exact product before emitting a duty.
Special equipment & permit programs
Other permit products
Special treatments include house/site-built buildings, mobile/modular/sectional/portable buildings, boats, sealed containers, ALDOT construction-project equipment, emergency towing, derailment response, declared utility emergencies, refractory-grade-bauxite equipment, and qualifying farm/agricultural movements. Each remains scope-locked.
House & structure moves
House over 28 feet wide or 16 feet 6 inches high needs preapproval; the route is limited to 50 miles; over 17 feet high needs route survey and utility notice; district approval/notice applies; urban moves may require local and law-enforcement coordination. Site-built buildings have a separate statute and railroad-crossing notice.
Sealed-container permits
Do not merge sealed-container products. Single trip uses Rule .08(1)(a)-(f): port-to-port, 100,000-pound maximum, five load-bearing axles, 20,000 pounds per axle, legal dimensions, documents, and 24/7 normal-condition movement. Annual incorporates only (1)(a)-(c), is not restricted to a specified route, and separately has Rule .09/application rows including the application's 8-foot-6-inch width and 13-foot-6-inch height.
Construction-project equipment
Construction-project annual permits cover one VIN-identified equipment item only inside ALDOT-approved project travel limits, end at the earlier of 12 months or project completion, permit continuous movement in normal weather, and require ordinary permitting outside those limits. Obtain them before and show them at the pre-construction conference; each contractor/subcontractor must hold and keep a copy in each permitted equipment item.
BEFORE THE TRUCK ROLLS
Turn the estimate
into a permitted move.
Confirm the loaded measurements, carrier details, travel dates and exact pickup and delivery. We can help coordinate permits, escorts and route surveys around those facts.
THE SOURCE RECORD
Official references.
Read the rule behind each requirement. These are dated references; current restrictions and the issued permit control your move.
- 01Code of Alabama 1975, Title 32, Chapter 9 — Trucks, Trailers, and Semitrailers
§ 32-9-20
Source record: - 02Ala. Admin. Code r. 450-3-1-.04 — Conditions Attached to Issuance of Permits
Ala. Admin. Code r. 450-3-1-.04(1)-(10) · Page 1
Source record: - 03
- 04Code of Alabama 1975, Title 32, Chapter 9 — Trucks, Trailers, and Semitrailers
§ 32-9-29
Source record: - 05Act 2025-272 (SB110 Enrolled) — Amendments to Sections 32-9-20 and 32-9-31
Act 2025-272, §§ 1-2 · Page 1
Source record: - 06Ala. Admin. Code r. 450-3-1-.02 — Definitions
Ala. Admin. Code r. 450-3-1-.02(1)-(16) · Page 1
Source record: - 07Alabama Legislature — Act 2025-272, SB110 Enrolled
Section 32-9-20(a)(4); printed pages 10–11; effective October 1, 2025
Source record: - 08
- 09
- 10Ala. Admin. Code r. 450-3-1-.03 — Permits
Ala. Admin. Code r. 450-3-1-.03(1)-(2) · Page 1
Source record: - 11ALDOT Oversize/Overweight Permit Frequently Asked Questions
Permit Ordering FAQ — Free Form Entry · Page 5
Source record: - 12
- 13Ala. Admin. Code r. 450-3-1-.09 — Annual Permit Procedure and Fees
Ala. Admin. Code r. 450-3-1-.09(1)-(5) · Page 1
Source record: - 14Ala. Admin. Code r. 450-3-1-.10 — Single Trip Permit Procedure and Fees
Ala. Admin. Code r. 450-3-1-.10(1)-(7) · Page 1
Source record: - 15
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- 18ALDOT Permit Fee Schedule, revised March 11, 2025
ALDOT Permit Fee Schedule, revised March 11, 2025
Source record: - 19Alabama Rule 450-3-1-.05 — escort requirements
Alabama Rule 450-3-1-.05 — escort requirements
Source record: - 20Alabama Rule 450-3-1-.05 — escort requirements
Alabama Rule 450-3-1-.05 — escort requirements
Source record: - 21Oversize/Overweight Rules and Regulations Presentation
Rules and Regulations Presentation · Page 15
Source record: - 22
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- 24
- 25
- 26
- 27ALDOT Oversize/Overweight Permit Frequently Asked Questions
Permit Ordering FAQ — Annual Permits and Routing Authorizations · Page 7
Source record: - 28Ala. Admin. Code r. 450-3-1-.07 — Houses
Ala. Admin. Code r. 450-3-1-.07(1)-(9) · Page 1
Source record: - 29Ala. Admin. Code r. 450-3-1-.08 — Sealed Ocean-Going Containers
Ala. Admin. Code r. 450-3-1-.08(1)(a)-(f), (2) · Page 1
Source record: - 30Ala. Admin. Code r. 450-3-1-.20 — Construction Project Equipment Annual Permit
Ala. Admin. Code r. 450-3-1-.20(1)(a)-(h), (2)-(3) · Page 1
Source record: - 31Emergency Tow Annual Permit Memorandum
Emergency Tow Annual Permit Memorandum · Page 1
Source record: - 32Movement of Utility Vehicles Responding to Emergency Declarations
Emergency Declaration Utility Movement · Page 1
Source record: - 33Code of Alabama 1975, Title 32, Chapter 9 — Trucks, Trailers, and Semitrailers
§ 32-9-29.1
Source record: - 34Construction Project Equipment Annual Permit Memorandum
Construction Annual Permit Memorandum · Page 1
Source record: