By Haul Handbook editorial team· Updated Oct 4, 2026
The DOT&PF Commercial Vehicle Customer Service Center in Anchorage sells every oversize and overweight permit through the State-Wide Oversize Overweight Permitting system (akswoop.com, myAlaska log-in), with fees fixed in 17 AAC 25.380 and operating conditions in the Administrative Permit Manual (April 2023) that 17 AAC 25.320(b) adopts by reference. Legal limits are 102 inches wide and 15 feet high (17 feet between the Fox Weigh Station and Prudhoe Bay on the Dalton and Elliott Highways). No flat gross-weight cap applies: gross weight is set by the Bridge Gross Weight Formulas, with axle-group and tire limits on top. A single-move permit costs $40 for oversize or overweight alone and $70 for both, plus $25 or $35 surcharges for excess width or height and a $25 surcharge at a gross of 150,000 pounds or more. Extended-period permits run from $85 for 30 days to $1,100 for 12 months.
Who issues what in Alaska
The permit pages
Alaska-specific requirements
Alaska is one of only two states in neither IFTA nor IRP, and it sells no intrastate operating authority. The DOT&PF Division of Measurement Standards and Commercial Vehicle Compliance writes and enforces the size, weight and safety rules in 17 AAC 25, sells oversize permits through SWOOP, and sells 30-day temporary registrations to out-of-state trucks; the DMV registers vehicles; and the Department of Revenue collects fuel tax from wholesalers. The federal USDOT number is the only carrier identifier, required for intrastate-only carriers too.
No IRP: 30-day temporary registrations
Alaska does not participate in IRP, so out-of-state trucks buy a 30-day Alaska temporary registration ($350 power unit, $10 trailer) instead of carrying Alaska on an apportioned cab card.
No IFTA license to buy
Alaska does not appear in IFTA's member jurisdiction directory, so there is no Alaska IFTA license, decal or quarterly return. The Alaska IFTA page covers how Alaska-based carriers handle fuel tax in member jurisdictions.
Fuel tax collected at wholesale
Alaska's per-gallon highway fuel tax and refined fuel surcharge are collected mainly from wholesalers and distributors licensed as qualified dealers, who file monthly returns through Revenue Online. The Alaska IFTA page lists both current rates.
Registration checkpoint at Tok
All commercial vehicles entering Alaska need Alaska registration or a TRT; the TRT is sold at the Tok Weigh Station and Tok DMV as well as online, and unregistered vehicles that continue past Tok face citations.
No state authority to apply for
The Alaska Transportation Commission Act and the Alaska Motor Freight Carrier Act chapters of Title 42 are listed with no sections, so there is no state operating authority to apply for.
Intrastate USDOT number required
Intrastate-only carriers must file the federal motor carrier identification report and receive an intrastate USDOT identification before operating, and must update the report every 24 months.
Split-limit intrastate insurance
Intrastate carriers meet AS 19.10.300: $500,000 for bodily injury or death and $200,000 for property damage in a single occurrence, rather than the federal $750,000 combined figure (bulk hazardous materials carriers have a separate rule, covered on the Alaska intrastate authority page).
15-foot legal height, 17 feet on the haul road
Legal height is 15 ft statewide and 17 ft between the Fox Weigh Station and Prudhoe Bay on the Dalton and Elliott Highways.
Gross weight by formula, not a flat cap
17 AAC 25.013 sets no 80,000 lb figure; gross weight comes from the Bridge Gross Weight Formulas (with a 3,000 lb bonus for vehicles without drive-group lift axles), axle-group limits of 20,000 / 38,000 / 42,000 / 50,000 lb, and 600 lb per inch of tire width.
Flat permit pricing
A single-move permit is $40 (oversize or overweight) or $70 (both) plus fixed surcharges; there is no per-mile or per-ton overweight formula.
Summer-only triples
Triple-trailer LCVs up to 120 ft may run Anchorage to Fairbanks on the Glenn and Parks Highways only from May 1 through September 30, by permit.
Winter traction weight shifting
From October 1 to April 15, drive axles may carry up to 2,000 lb more per axle without a permit on the highways between North Pole and Prudhoe Bay, within legal gross weight.
Three holiday shutdowns, 84 hours each
Permitted loads stop for 84 hours around Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day.
Fairbanks north winter exception
From October 1 to April 15, the normal weekend travel restriction for large loads does not apply north or east of the Fox Weigh Station, and some pilot cars can be dropped north of Coldfoot on the Dalton.
Intrastate CMV threshold at 14,000 lb
For intrastate commerce, a commercial motor vehicle starts at 14,000 lb (AS 19.10.399) rather than the federal 10,001 lb.
Fishing-operator exemption
Licensed commercial and sport fishing operators running vehicles of 26,000 lb or less outside Anchorage and Fairbanks, with no placarded hazmat and 15 or fewer people, are exempt from 17 AAC 25.210, the intrastate safety and USDOT rule.
Roads off the highway grid
Vehicles used only on roads not connected to the land-connected state highway system or a highway averaging more than 499 vehicles a day are exempt from registration.
The Alaska permit system
- Apply or log in (SWOOP online permitting at akswoop.com; customers sign in with a myAlaska account. Customers can self-issue single-trip permits up to 100 ft long, 16 ft high, 12 ft wide, 125 percent of legal weight and 10 ft overhang, and extended-period permits up to 85 ft long, legal height, 10 ft 6 in wide, 125 percent weight and 10 ft overhang; larger loads go to the permit office.)
- akswoop.com
More Alaska rules that catch carriers out
- State carrier number: detail
- Alaska issues no state carrier number; 17 AAC 25.210(d) requires an intrastate-only carrier to obtain an intrastate USDOT identification from FMCSA before starting operations and to display it.
- Weight distance tax: note
- Alaska levies no weight-distance or highway-use tax. Its road-use charges are vehicle registration under AS 28.10.421, the 30-day temporary registration under AS 28.10.152, oversize and overweight permit fees under 17 AAC 25.380, and the motor fuel tax collected from dealers under AS 43.40.
- ELD intrastate adoption: regulation
- 17 AAC 25.220 (hours of service, adopting 49 CFR Part 395 as revised March 15, 2023)
- ELD intrastate adoption: summary
- Alaska adopts 49 CFR Part 395, including the ELD rule, for drivers and companies operating commercial motor vehicles on Alaska highways, with a static adoption date of March 15, 2023. Intrastate commercial motor vehicles of 26,000 lb or less are exempt from the ELD provisions (49 CFR 395.20 to 395.38) unless they carry placarded hazmat or are designed or used to carry more than 15 passengers (25.220(d)).
- ELD intrastate adoption: exceptions
- Intrastate vehicles of 26,000 lb or less run by licensed commercial or sport fishing operators furthering fishing operations, outside the Municipality of Anchorage and the City of Fairbanks and not carrying placarded hazmat or more than 15 people, are exempt from the hours-of-service rules altogether (25.220(c)). A carrier must return the certification portion of a Driver/Vehicle Examination Report to the division within 15 working days (25.220(b)(3)).
- Intrastate driver age: detail
- 17 AAC 25.210(b)(2) rewrites 49 CFR 391.11(b)(1) for intrastate driving: a driver of a commercial motor vehicle over 26,001 lb needs a CDL under AS 28.33.100(a)(1) to (5) or a permit under AS 28.15.051(f); a driver of a vehicle over 14,000 but under 26,001 lb needs a license under AS 28.15.111(a) and 2 AAC 90.210(b)(2)(A) and must be at least 18. In both cases a driver under 21 may not carry placarded hazardous materials or drive a vehicle designed or used to carry more than 15 passengers including the driver.
- Intrastate driver age: note
- The rule text sets an age floor of 18 only for the 14,001 to 26,000 lb class; for the heavier class it ties eligibility to holding the listed license or permit rather than stating an age.
- UCR participation: summary
- 17 AAC 25.400 requires motor carriers, private carriers, freight forwarders, brokers and leasing companies in interstate commerce to register annually in the federal Unified Carrier Registration program and pay through the UCR National Registration System; an enforcement officer may stop a vehicle until the registrant shows proof of payment. UCR questions go to the Commercial Vehicle Customer Service Center at 907-365-1200 (editor's note in the division's 17 AAC 25 compilation).
- Temporary commercial registration: summary
- Out-of-state commercial vehicles that are not registered in Alaska must buy a 30-day certificate of temporary registration (TRT): $350 for a truck, truck tractor or commercial bus, $10 for a trailer or other commercial vehicle, not refundable, and a new one can be issued after an earlier one expires. The vehicle needs current registration elsewhere and a USDOT number updated within 24 months. Buy it at my.alaska.gov, the Tok Weigh Station, or the Tok DMV; unregistered vehicles that go past Tok are cited.
- Long combination vehicles: summary
- 17 AAC 25.014 allows long combination vehicles on named routes without a permit: doubles with up to 95 ft of cargo-carrying length (each trailer up to 48 ft, lead trailer up to 53 ft between Anchorage and Fairbanks) on the Sterling, Seward, Glenn, Parks, Richardson, Alaska and Tok Cutoff highways and the Kenai Spur Highway to Nikishka Dock; up to 95 ft overall on the Haines and Klondike highways, the Glenn to Glennallen, and the North Slope Haul Road from Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay. Triples up to 120 ft overall, each unit up to 28.5 ft, with at least 400 horsepower, may run the Glenn and Parks Highways between Anchorage and Fairbanks only from May 1 through September 30, by permit, with notice to municipalities along the route. LCVs must stop in inclement weather, display an OVERSIZE or LONG LOAD sign, and run with headlights on.
- Traction weight shifting: summary
- From October 1 to April 15, drive-axle groups of power vehicles may carry up to 2,000 lb more per axle than the legal axle weight without an overweight permit on the Steese, Elliott, Dalton and Richardson Highways between North Pole and Prudhoe Bay or MP 30 of the Steese; legal gross weight still applies, and the shift is not allowed for a vehicle already on an overweight permit (17 AAC 25.013(d)).
- Snow and ice allowance: summary
- From October 1 through April 30, weight enforcement grants an extra 1,500 lb for snow and ice build-up when evidence of it exists. Vehicles more than 1,000 lb over the gross limit after that allowance are directed to unload the excess (17 AAC 25.335(b)).
- Seasonal weight restrictions: summary
- DOT&PF may impose weight restrictions on highways at risk of damage, after public notice, stated as a percentage of legal axle weights (85, 75 or 50 percent; steering axles stay at 100 percent). A regular overweight permit does not satisfy the restriction unless the department approves. Vehicles already en route get seven days at full legal axle load unless the restriction was announced 30 days ahead (Weight Restriction Bulletin; 17 AAC 25.013(e) and 25.100). Notices and regional contacts are posted on the division's Weight Restrictions page.
- Explosives advance notice: summary
- A carrier moving Class 1, Division 1.1, 1.2 or 1.3 explosives must notify the division at least 24 hours in advance with the date, route, class and quantity, and a contact phone; the division may deny the move or assign another date or route. Lost or stolen shipments of materials listed in 49 CFR 385.403 must be reported to the department immediately (17 AAC 25.200(c) to (e)).
Size and weight permits
A load over legal width, height, length or weight needs a SWOOP permit for that power unit, applied for online with a myAlaska login or through the permit office. Customers can issue many single-trip and extended-period permits themselves; larger loads go to permit staff. Most requests clear the same business day, while superloads need several working days' notice.
Extended-period permits cover unlimited moves for a set term inside a smaller size envelope. Our oversize and overweight page covers the charges, escorts and travel windows.
Temporary registration for out-of-state trucks
Alaska is not in IRP, so a cab card from another state does not cover Alaska. A truck registered elsewhere buys an Alaska temporary registration, online through myAlaska or in person at the Tok Weigh Station or Tok DMV. The truck needs current registration elsewhere and a recently updated USDOT record. Trucks that continue past Tok without one are cited.
An empty truck making one continuous trip can move on a short special permit instead.
No fuel permit to buy
Alaska sells no fuel trip permit. It taxes motor fuel when dealers sell it, so the tax is in the price at the pump. A carrier heading into IFTA jurisdictions deals with fuel tax there, under their rules.
Compare beyond Alaska
Running multi-state loads? The trucking permits by state table shows which permit families and issuing offices apply in every jurisdiction, the oversize permit costs by state table compares limits and fees across all 51 jurisdictions, and the permit cost estimator prices a specific load per state.