A part of France's national network of autoroutes, it is 427 kilometres (265 mi) long.

The operating companies are ASF between Cressensac and Montauban, DDE in the department between Vierzon and Nespouls.

The road crosses the following departments Cher, Indre, Creuse, Haute-Vienne, Corrèze, Lot, Tarn-et-Garonne The motorway was proposed to reduce the travel time along the RN20 and to avoid congestion during holiday periods at Châteauroux, Argenton-sur-Creuse, Saint-Benoît-du-Sault, Limoges, Uzerche, Brive, Souillac, Cahors and Montauban.

The motorway is managed by the respective DDE in Cher, Indre, Creuse, Haute-Vienne, of Corrèze and Lot.

In the long term, a new by-pass for Limoges is proposed (The A20bis project), in order to return the section of the A20 motorway which crosses the Limoges conurbation to its original planned use as a major urban road.