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Transport, travel and motoring

Do you need a permit?

What is a permit?

A heavy vehicle permit allows oversize and overmass vehicles and loads and Restricted Access Vehicles (RAV) to operate on roads. This also applies to roads that are either not part of the approved route network or outside the terms and conditions of an existing gazette notice.

Permits are legal documents that provide written authority for a vehicle to travel. They contain all terms and conditions and must be carried in the vehicle when operating.

Permits are issued:

for oversize and/or overmass vehicles/loads
to the registered owner of the vehicle, generally for a specific individual vehicle
after assessing the safe travel of the vehicle/load, safety of other road users and protection of the road infrastructure and environment.

Do you need a permit?

Follow these steps to find out if you need to apply for a permit for your vehicle.

Step 1: Check if your vehicle exceeds the mass and dimension limits for general access vehicles.

If your vehicle falls within these limits, you can use any road, except those restricted by signs such as:

load limit
bridge load limit
no trucks.

If your vehicle/load exceeds the limits you may be operating a Restricted Access Vehicle and may need special permission to operate on South Australian roads.

If you are carrying goods for export in shipping containers with a mass up to 32 tonnes, this may result in your vehicle being over the legal load limits. You may need to apply for an excess mass export permit.

Step 2: Check if your vehicle is eligible for a permit.

Permits may be issued for vehicles/loads and vehicle combinations that are oversize and/or overmass.

These Restricted Access Vehicles include:

oversize/overmass vehicle/loads:

articulated vehicles - eg prime mover and low loader combinations
special purpose vehicles - eg mobile cranes and agricultural vehicles.

general freight vehicle combinations:

long combination vehicles not approved to operate on a code of practice or gazette notice; including B-triples, AB doubles, 2AB road trains and rigid truck and trailer combinations
performance based standards vehicles.

The following general freight vehicles are approved to operate under a code of practice or gazette notice:

23/25/26 metre B-Doubles
double and triple road trains
19 metre truck trailers.

Step 3: Check if your planned route is approved for travel for your specific restricted access vehicle (RAV).

Check the approved vehicle routes and gazette notices to see whether your Restricted Access Vehicle is allowed to drive on existing gazetted route networks, under certain terms and conditions.

If your route is not currently available for your general freight RAV, you may need to apply for a new route assessment.

This process applies to the following vehicle types: