Inspection of pavements in several states revealed that misalignment of dowels generally occurs regardless of the placement method. These inspections also reveled that slab cracking and other forms of distress may not always occus as a result of such misalignment. These guidelines were to address all forms and combinations of dowel misalignment. The guidelines provide a simple methodology to account for the effects of dowel misalignment in estimating pavement performance. The methodology uses an equivalent diameter concept in which dowel diameter is reduced to account for the effects of misalignment. The dowel diameter reduction factor depends on the type and level of misalignment. Equations for determining the reduction factor for different types of misalignments were developed based on the results of field, laboratory and finite element analysis. Pavement performance can then be estimated using pavement analysis predictions for the reduced dowel diameter