Alberta permits
Alberta Oversize Permit Rules
Legal limits, TRAVIS permits, pilot and trail vehicles, wire and bridge rules, weekend and holiday rules for oversize and overweight loads in Alberta, with metric sizes and feet and inches added, plus the border basics for loads coming in from the USA.
Last checked: Oct 2, 2026
This page is general information only, not legal advice and not a permit. Rules change often and each state's or province's permit and official rules are the final word. Always confirm limits, escorts, routes and travel times with the provincial permit office before moving a load. Reliable Transport LLC is not responsible for decisions made using this information.
- Legal size
- 2.6 m (8'6"W), 4.15 m (13'7"H)
- Permits
- TEC, through TRAVIS
- Border
- eManifest 1 hour before arrival
Hauling through other states? Use our permit map and route planner
Open the route plannerTEC permits
How Alberta sizes up a heavy load
Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors (TEC) issues oversize and overweight permits for provincial highways through TRAVIS, its online permit system, and through accredited TRAVIS agents. Alberta sizes are metric, so every number here has feet and inches added. These are the rules we plan Alberta loads with, from the TEC permit pages and weights and dimensions guide and the Commercial Vehicle Dimension and Weight Regulation.
Check your load
Enter your width, height, length and weight in our permit tool to see the rules for every US state on your route, each with its official source. Our permit tool covers US states only; the Alberta rules are on this page.
Alberta limits
Alberta legal limits and permit thresholds
Over these limits, a load needs a TEC permit for provincial highways and the road authority's approval for city streets.
Alberta legal size, weight and permits
Official sources linkedEscorts
Alberta escort requirements
Alberta sets pilot vehicles (ahead) and trail vehicles (behind) by width and the number of lanes. Over 3.85 m (12'8"W), the regulation sets the escorts unless the permit says otherwise.
Alberta escorts by load size
Official sources linkedEvery escort vehicle carries a dimensional sign that can be seen from the front and the rear. (Commercial Vehicle Dimension and Weight Regulation, AR 315/2002 (sections 15 and 16, Schedule 6), Alberta Transportation, Escort Vehicle Operator's Handbook, version 2.1 (March 9, 2020))
Height and routes
Routes, height and the border
The wire, bridge and route rules for Alberta loads, and what a load from the USA needs at the Canadian border.
Utility wires
An over height load may not move under wires until the owner of the wires has given consent. Only the utility company measures or lifts its lines. (Commercial Vehicle Dimension and Weight Regulation, AR 315/2002 (sections 15 and 16, Schedule 6), Alberta Transportation, Escort Vehicle Operator's Handbook, version 2.1 (March 9, 2020))
Bridges and structures
The load may not exceed the usable or posted dimensions of any bridge, power line or other structure, and the permit can add bridge crossing weight and height limits, utility approvals and railway crossing escorts. (Commercial Vehicle Dimension and Weight Regulation, AR 315/2002 (sections 15 and 16, Schedule 6), Alberta Transportation, Escort Vehicle Operator's Handbook, version 2.1 (March 9, 2020))
High Load Corridor
Alberta's High Load Corridor is a set of designated highways with the overhead utility lines raised for loads up to 9 m (29'6"H), moved under a High Load Corridor permit. (TEC, High Load Corridor, Alberta Transportation, Escort Vehicle Operator's Handbook, version 2.1 (March 9, 2020))
eManifest
The highway carrier's cargo and conveyance data must be received and validated by the Canada Border Services Agency no later than 1 hour before arrival at the first port of arrival. (CBSA Memorandum D3 4 2, highway carrier and cargo reporting, Reporting of Imported Goods Regulations, SOR 86 873 (section 19))
Customs broker
Importers and customs brokers can file release documents through the Pre Arrival Review System (PARS), before or after arrival. (CBSA Memorandum D3 4 2, highway carrier and cargo reporting, CBSA Memorandum D17 1 4, release of commercial goods)
Bonded moves
Goods moving inland before release need a CBSA bonded carrier, or a single trip bond for a non bonded carrier. (CBSA Memorandum D3 4 2, highway carrier and cargo reporting, CBSA Memorandum D3 1 1, policy on the importation and transportation of goods)
Travel times
Travel hours, nights, weekends and holidays
When a permitted load may move in Alberta.
Fridays
Loads over 3.85 m (12'8"W) do not move from 3 p.m. to midnight on Fridays or on the day before a statutory holiday. (Commercial Vehicle Dimension and Weight Regulation, AR 315/2002 (sections 15 and 16, Schedule 6), Alberta Transportation, Commercial Vehicle Safety Compliance, Module 4 (2022))
Sundays and holidays
Loads over 3.85 m (12'8"W) do not move on Sundays or statutory holidays. (Commercial Vehicle Dimension and Weight Regulation, AR 315/2002 (sections 15 and 16, Schedule 6), Alberta Transportation, Commercial Vehicle Safety Compliance, Module 4 (2022))
Spring
Allowed axle weights drop in spring under the Seasonal Axle Weight Program, and road bans cut axle weights on banned roads by a set percentage. (Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors, Oversize and overweight permits (TRAVIS), TEC, Alberta Commercial Vehicle Weights and Dimensions Guide (September 15, 2026))
Superloads
Alberta superloads
Alberta sets the route, escorts and travel conditions for its largest loads in the permit, and permits that TRAVIS Web does not offer come from the Central Permit Office. Permit conditions can include bridge crossing weight and height limits, utility approvals and railway crossing escorts, and no over height load may move under wires until the owner of the wires agrees. Alberta's High Load Corridor is a set of designated highways with the overhead utility lines raised for loads up to 9 m (29'6"H), moved under a High Load Corridor permit. (Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors, Oversize and overweight permits (TRAVIS), TEC, Obtaining Permits for Overweight and Over dimensional Vehicles (May 4, 2026), Commercial Vehicle Dimension and Weight Regulation, AR 315/2002 (sections 15 and 16, Schedule 6), Alberta Transportation, Escort Vehicle Operator's Handbook, version 2.1 (March 9, 2020), TEC, High Load Corridor)
See how we plan the biggest loads on our Superload Transport page.
Our moves
Heavy loads we have moved
150,000 lb transformer
A 150,000 lb transformer from Pocatello, ID to Akron, OH.
Read the move →207,000 lb dryer drum
A 207,000 lb dryer drum from Louisville, KY to Richmond, VA.
Read the move →Moving a load in Alberta?
Send the dimensions, weight and border crossing. We plan the TRAVIS permit, escorts and customs paperwork.
Request a quote →See every move on our Moves page.
Sources
Official Alberta sources
Every rule on this page is taken from the TEC permit pages and guide, the Commercial Vehicle Dimension and Weight Regulation and the CBSA memoranda and regulations below and confirmed by a second source. Where we could not confirm a rule twice, we left it off this page. Rules change, and the permit itself always decides. Last checked: Oct 2, 2026.
- Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors, Oversize and overweight permits (TRAVIS)
- TEC, Obtaining Permits for Overweight and Over dimensional Vehicles (May 4, 2026)
- TEC, Alberta Commercial Vehicle Weights and Dimensions Guide (September 15, 2026)
- Alberta Transportation, Commercial Vehicle Safety Compliance, Module 4 (2022)
- Alberta Transportation, Escort Vehicle Operator's Handbook, version 2.1 (March 9, 2020)
- TEC, High Load Corridor
- Commercial Vehicle Dimension and Weight Regulation, AR 315/2002 (sections 15 and 16, Schedule 6)
- Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety, interprovincial weights and dimensions MOU summary (October 2025)
- CBSA Memorandum D3 4 2, highway carrier and cargo reporting
- Reporting of Imported Goods Regulations, SOR 86 873 (section 19)
- CBSA Memorandum D17 1 4, release of commercial goods
- CBSA Memorandum D3 1 1, policy on the importation and transportation of goods
Questions
Alberta permit questions
What are the legal size limits in Alberta?
2.6 m (8'6"W), 4.15 m (13'7"H) and 23 m (75'6"L) for a tractor semitrailer. Anything bigger needs a TEC permit.
Who issues oversize permits in Alberta?
Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors (TEC), through TRAVIS Web, accredited TRAVIS agents or its Central Permit Office.
When does Alberta require escorts?
Over 3.85 m (12'8"W). On two lane highways a pilot vehicle, and a pilot and a trail vehicle over 4.45 m (14'7"W).
Can oversize loads move on weekends in Alberta?
Loads over 3.85 m (12'8"W) stop at 3 p.m. on Fridays and do not move on Sundays or statutory holidays.
Is an Alberta permit good on city streets?
Not without the city's approval. TEC permits do not cover city streets on their own.
What does a load need at the Canadian border?
The carrier's eManifest data must reach CBSA no later than 1 hour before arrival, and a customs broker can file release documents through PARS.
Keep planning
More for your Alberta move
Permit rules in other provinces
Hauling through other states? Use our permit map and route planner
Open the route plannerReliable Transport LLC | Reliable Heavy Haul
Ready to move it?
We haul oversize and overweight loads across the USA and Canada from our home base at 7660 W Third St, Dayton, OH 45417. Send your load details and we will plan the TEC permit, route, escorts and border crossing.
This page is general information only, not legal advice and not a permit. Rules change often and each state's or province's permit and official rules are the final word. Always confirm limits, escorts, routes and travel times with the provincial permit office before moving a load. Reliable Transport LLC is not responsible for decisions made using this information.