How to read an Alabama oversize permit

An Alabama single trip permit is one page: permit number and dates, company, load, sizes and axle weights, then the route in two short lines. There is no turn-by-turn table: 'AUTHORIZED ROUTE' just lists the highways (ours: I-20, I-65, I-22) between two state lines, and you change roads where one meets the next.

Issued by the Alabama Department of Transportation through AL-PASS. Written from a real permit we read.

The route section of a real Alabama oversize permit, with road names highlighted in yellow.
The route on a real Alabama permit, page 1. Names and numbers are blacked out. Highlighted: the road names Honk reads. Tap to enlarge.

How to read the route

The route is two lines. 'ROUTE FROM' and 'TO' say where you enter and leave Alabama: here the Georgia state line and the Mississippi state line. 'AUTHORIZED ROUTE' lists the highways split by commas, in the order you drive them on our permit: I-20, then I-65, then I-22. There are no miles, exits or turn directions. You switch from one highway to the next where they meet.

What's on each page

  1. Page 1: Everything: permit number and valid dates, company, vehicle and load, sizes, axle weights and spacing, ROUTE FROM and TO, AUTHORIZED ROUTE, the load's origin and destination, Special Requirements, and the approval and signature lines.

Road names on Alabama permits

On the permitMeans
I-20Interstate 20
I-65Interstate 65
I-22Interstate 22
GA STATE LINEThe Georgia-Alabama state line
MS STATE LINEThe Mississippi-Alabama state line

Where the route starts and ends

Both ends are written as a neighboring state line in capitals, after 'ROUTE FROM' and 'TO': 'GA STATE LINE' and 'MS STATE LINE'. The permit does not say which highway crosses each line; match it to the first and last road in AUTHORIZED ROUTE (I-20 at the Georgia line, I-22 at the Mississippi line). The separate ORIGIN and DESTINATION fields below are the load's overall pickup and delivery towns, which can be in other states.

Conditions to watch for

No Sundays or holidays

The permit is not valid on Sundays or legal holidays.

“NOT VALID SUNDAYS OR LEGAL HOLIDAYS.”

Travel time

Daylight moves only.

“MUST BE A DAYLIGHT MOVE.”

Signature

The electronic original needs no signature. A printed original must be signed.

“**PRINTED ORIGINAL PERMIT REQUIRES A SIGNATURE”

State highways

The permit lets your truck and load move on state highways, under Title 32 of the Code of Alabama and its rules.

“AUTHORIZATION TO OPERATE OR MOVE UPON STATE HIGHWAYS A VEHICLE OR COMBINATION OF VEHICLES AND LOADS”

Easy to miss

  • There is no turn-by-turn table. 'AUTHORIZED ROUTE' is only a list of highways; the interchanges between them are not written out.
  • ORIGIN and DESTINATION are not your Alabama start and end. On our permit they were the load's pickup and delivery towns in other states. The Alabama part is ROUTE FROM ... TO.
  • The route does not say which road crosses each state line. Match 'GA STATE LINE' to the first highway in the list and 'MS STATE LINE' to the last.
  • 'Valid' gives a date range, but Special Requirements still rule out Sundays and legal holidays inside that range.

Questions

Can I move an oversize load on Sunday in Alabama?

Not on this permit. Its Special Requirements say 'NOT VALID SUNDAYS OR LEGAL HOLIDAYS. MUST BE A DAYLIGHT MOVE.'

Do I have to sign my Alabama oversize permit?

Only a printed one. The permit says the electronic original does not require a signature, but a printed original requires one.

Why doesn't my Alabama permit show turn-by-turn directions?

This Alabama single trip permit lists the authorized highways in one line, like 'I-20, I-65, I-22', between two state lines. It gives no miles or exits, so you find the interchanges where one listed highway meets the next.

Your permit is the legal document; follow everything it says. Permits change, and yours may differ from the ones we read.Last checked October 2026.