Georgia oversize permit requirements
Everything that moves through the south-east eventually meets Atlanta, and Georgia writes its permit rules around that fact. I-285 is the constraint the state is really managing: no oversize movement inside the perimeter between seven and nine in the morning or four and six in the afternoon, Monday to Friday. A load coming up from Florida bound for Tennessee is not planning around Georgia so much as around one ring road.
Georgia is also stricter about daylight than most states, and in a way that is easy to misread. Where Alabama and Texas extend the window half an hour past sunrise and sunset in both directions, Georgia pulls it in: movement runs from half an hour *after* sunrise to half an hour *before* sunset. That is a full hour less driving per day than the neighbouring states, on the same calendar. Sundays are closed outright. Against that, a load within legal dimensions and under a hundred and twenty-five thousand pounds can request continuous travel, which is the state quietly acknowledging that a heavy but ordinary-shaped load is not a traffic problem.
The routine permit limits are unusual in what they omit. Georgia publishes no maximum length for a routine permit — width is capped at fifteen feet six inches and height at sixteen feet, but length is treated as a routing question rather than a threshold. Poles and structural steel are legal to seventy-five feet, which is longer than the general overall limit and reflects how much fabricated steel moves through the state. Turbine blades over twelve feet have to be angled rather than carried square.
One piece of Georgia paperwork has no equivalent elsewhere: the state requires its own light decal for flashing amber lights. A carrier who has run amber lights legally in five other states will still be non-compliant in Georgia without it, and it is the kind of detail that turns into a roadside stop rather than a permit rejection — discovered at the worst possible moment, by the worst possible person.
Legal dimensions
At or under these figures, no oversize permit is required in Georgia.
- Width
- 8′6″
- Height
- 13′6″
- Gross weight
- 80,000 lb
- Single axle
- 20,340 lb
- Tandem
- 34,000 lb
Routine permit limits
Above legal dimensions and up to these figures, Georgia issues a permit as routine business. Beyond them the load becomes a superload, reviewed case by case.
- Length
- No published maximum — treated as a routing question
- Width
- 15′6″
- Height
- 16′
- 5 axles
- 100,000 lb
- 6 axles
- 125,000 lb
- 7 axles
- 148,000 lb
- 8 axles
- 150,000 lb
- Single axle
- 23,000 lb
- Tandem
- 46,000 lb
- Tridem
- 60,000 lb
- Quad
- 92,000 lb
Escort requirements
A load reaching any of these figures needs an escort in Georgia — the figure is the first size that requires one, so a load measuring exactly this much already needs it.
- Width
- 12′1″
- Height
- 15′0″
- Length
- 75′1″
When the load may move
Permit validity. Trip permits are valid for ten days.
Operating time. Half an hour after sunrise to half an hour before sunset — a narrower window than neighbouring states, which extend past both. Loads within legal dimensions and under 125,000 lb may request continuous travel.
Restricted travel. No movement on Sundays. No movement inside the I-285 perimeter in Atlanta between 7–9 AM and 4–6 PM, Monday to Friday. No travel on major holidays.
Worth knowing
- Georgia requires its own light decal for flashing amber lights — compliance in another state does not carry over.
- Poles and structural steel are legal to 75′ — longer than the general combination limit.
- Overhang is counted within the overall length limit rather than published separately.
- Blades over 12′ must be carried angled rather than square.
- Legal width drops to 8′ on some non-designated routes, and overall length to 60′.
- Tridem allowances vary with axle spacing, to a maximum of 20,340 lb per axle.
Georgia permits, answered
When can an oversize load travel through Atlanta?
Any time outside 7–9 AM and 4–6 PM, Monday to Friday, inside the I-285 perimeter. Those four hours a day are closed to oversize movement, and they shape most routes through the south-east.
What are Georgia travel hours for an oversize load?
Half an hour after sunrise to half an hour before sunset — narrower than Alabama or Tennessee, which run half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset. That is an hour a day less driving on the same route.
Can an oversize load move on a Sunday in Georgia?
No. Sundays are closed to oversize movement, as are major holidays.
Do I need a Georgia decal for amber warning lights?
Yes. Georgia requires its own light decal for flashing amber lights, and running legally in other states does not satisfy it. It is usually found at a roadside stop rather than during permitting.
Is there a maximum length on a Georgia routine permit?
None published. Georgia caps width at 15′6″ and height at 16′ but treats length as a routing question, so the answer depends on the route rather than a threshold. Poles and structural steel are legal to 75′.
Crossing more than Georgia?
A permit is per state. If the route leaves Georgia, these are the states it most likely enters.
Get a permit quote for Georgia
Enter the load once and the estimator prices every state on the route, flags where an escort is required, and turns the quote into an order.
Price a permit for Georgia →Compiled from published state DOT sources. Regulations change — confirm the current rules before dispatch. Last reviewed 2026-07-30.