Operator licence and HGV compliance costs: the full UK guide

This guide covers Great Britain. Northern Ireland runs its own rules. Every figure links to the government page, statutory document or dataset that sets it, and was checked against that page on 17 September 2026.

The short answer

• Licence fees: £658 to get a goods vehicle operator licence. That is £257 to apply and £401 to issue, then £401 every five years to continue it. An interim licence costs £68 and a major change costs £257.
• Financial standing: £8,000 for the first vehicle and £4,500 for each additional one on a standard licence, or £3,100 and £1,700 on a restricted licence. These rates have applied since 1 January 2021. It is money you must show, not a fee: five lorries on a standard licence means £26,000.
• Annual test (the HGV MOT) for a two-axle lorry: £112 at a DVSA test centre, or up to £161 at an authorised testing facility (ATF). The ATF figure is the £91 DVSA test fee plus a maximum £70 service charge.
• An articulated lorry with a three-axle tractor unit and a three-axle trailer: £228 at a DVSA centre, or up to £297 at an ATF, because the unit and the trailer are tested and charged separately. The workings are in the annual test section.
• What changed this year: the maximum ATF service charge rose from £55 to £70 for a lorry and from £40 to £50 for a trailer from 6 July 2026, the first change since 2010. From 1 July 2026, drivers' hours rules and smart tachographs also reach vans over 2.5 tonnes on international journeys, with an exemption for some own-account work.

The larger commitments are the capital you must hold and the work the licence requires: safety inspections, tachograph downloads and a transport manager's time. Government publishes no prices for those, so this guide counts them rather than pricing them. THRIVE tracks the fees on its operator licence cost and HGV MOT cost data pages.

Do you need an operator licence

The Traffic Commissioners' guide sets the basic test: "You will usually need a goods vehicle operator's licence if you use a goods vehicle of over 3.5 tonnes gross plated weight or (where there is no plated weight) an unladen weight of more than 1,525kg, to transport goods for hire or reward or in connection with a trade or business" (Goods vehicle operator licensing guide).

That covers own-account operators as well as hauliers: a business carrying its own goods in a lorry needs a licence too. What differs is the type of licence.

Trailers and combinations

GOV.UK's guide for goods vehicle operators says you need a licence if the gross plated weights of the vehicle and trailer total more than 3,500 kg, or their combined unladen weight is more than 1,525 kg. It adds: "You do not need an operator's licence if your trailer's unladen weight is less than 1,020 kg and you only carry your own goods."

Vans on international work

A standard international licence is needed to carry goods for hire or reward in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland in vans with a maximum authorised mass over 2,500kg and up to 3,500kg, or vans and cars towing trailers in the same gross train weight band. No licence is needed for these vehicles if they are used only in the UK or not for hire or reward.

Since 1 July 2026, assimilated drivers' hours rules apply to light goods vehicles over 2.5 tonnes on international transport, including cabotage but not AETR journeys. A full smart 2 tachograph must be fitted to goods vehicles over 2.5 tonnes used for international journeys for hire and reward.

Exemptions, including heavier electric vans

Exemptions include vehicles using public roads for less than 6 miles a week between premises owned by the same person, snow clearing and gritting, funerals and recovery vehicles. Returning a repaired vehicle to a customer is not recovery and needs a standard licence.

Alternative-fuel vans have their own exemption. The law exempts a vehicle "fuelled entirely by alternative fuel" with a maximum laden weight not exceeding 4.25 tonnes, used for goods in Great Britain and not used for goods outside it. Alternative fuel means electricity, hydrogen, natural gas including biomethane, or liquefied petroleum gas. Two GOV.UK pages give the limit as 4,520 kg; this guide uses the 4.25 tonnes in the legislation and the Traffic Commissioners' guide.

Zero emission goods vehicles in the same weight band get two more allowances. They have a national derogation from drivers' hours rules between 3.5 and 4.25 tonnes in Great Britain only. They also take the class 7 MOT rather than the HGV test, at a maximum fee of £58.60 for 3,501 kg to 4,250 kg design gross weight.

Licence types and fees

There are three types of goods vehicle operator licence:

Licence	What it allows	Transport manager
Restricted	Your own goods, but not other people's goods	Not required
Standard national	Your own goods in the UK and internationally; other people's goods in the UK	Required
Standard international	Your own and other people's goods, in the UK and on international journeys	Required

Choosing between restricted and standard can be "a question of fact and degree", according to the Traffic Commissioners' guide. It lists three questions. A yes to them suggests a standard licence is likely to be needed: is carrying the goods a predominant part of the service, do you rely on insurance covering carriage of goods for reward, and does the carrying produce direct or indirect payment for the vehicle's owner or user.

The fees are the same whichever type you hold:

Goods vehicle licence action	Fee
Application for a licence	£257
Issue of a licence	£401
Continuation of a licence after 5 years	£401
Issue of an interim licence	£68
Major change to a licence	£257

Source: DVSA, Apply for a vehicle operator licence. The page does not give a date from which these fees apply.

Growth adds costs. Each of Great Britain's 8 traffic areas where you have an operating centre needs a separate licence. Adding vehicles is free up to the authorised maximum, but raising the maximum is a major variation at £257. Upgrading from restricted to standard carries no fee if granted, but needs proof of professional competence, good repute and financial standing.

Financial standing

Financial standing "is not a fee that must be paid for a licence, it is resources that must be available for the duration of the licence", says the Traffic Commissioners' guide. The amounts per vehicle:

Licence	First vehicle	Each additional vehicle
Restricted, heavy goods	£3,100	£1,700
Standard national, heavy goods	£8,000	£4,500
Standard international, heavy goods	£8,000	£4,500
Standard international, light goods	£1,600	£800

A standard international licence that includes lorries and vans uses the lorry rate for the first vehicle. GOV.UK's guidance on vans in Europe puts it at £8,000 for the first vehicle, plus £4,500 per additional HGV and £800 per additional van. The Senior Traffic Commissioner's guidance says that for operators with more than one licence, the first-vehicle rate applies only once.

Worked amounts by fleet size

THRIVE's arithmetic from the rates above: first-vehicle rate plus the additional-vehicle rate for every vehicle after the first.

Vehicles	Standard (heavy goods)	Per vehicle	Restricted (heavy goods)	Per vehicle	Standard international (vans only)
1	£8,000	£8,000	£3,100	£3,100	£1,600
2	£12,500	£6,250	£4,800	£2,400	£2,400
5	£26,000	£5,200	£9,900	£1,980	£4,800
10	£48,500	£4,850	£18,400	£1,840	£8,800
20	£93,500	£4,675	£35,400	£1,770	£16,800

The sum covers the whole planned fleet, not only the vehicles running on day one: an operator planning to expand must prove enough money for all the vehicles you're planning to operate.

What counts as evidence

According to the Senior Traffic Commissioner's summary of the finance guidance:

• Commissioners usually check the average balance over three months for existing licences. New applicants show 28 days of statements.
• Accepted: audited accounts under 18 months old, bank statements, formal overdraft, credit card or invoice finance agreements, and savings that can be drawn within one month.
• Not accepted: undocumented cash, children's accounts, property, plant or machinery, bank letters other than formal overdrafts, and aged debt registers.
• Evidence must be in the applicant's name, so a limited company cannot use a director's personal account.
• A standard licence holder that falls short can ask for a period of grace of up to six months. Restricted licence holders cannot.

The transport manager

A standard licence, national or international, must have a transport manager. That person needs the Transport Manager Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC), and does not need a driving licence. A restricted licence needs no named transport manager, but the Traffic Commissioners' guide says the holder must still have the knowledge to comply.

Internal and external

The Traffic Commissioners' guide defines two types:

• Internal: resident in the UK, with a genuine link to the operator such as being an employee, director or owner, and able to manage the transport effectively and continuously. One person can be an internal part-time transport manager for more than one operator.
• External: hired in under a contract that names them and sets out their tasks. They can work for a maximum of 4 operators with no more than 50 vehicles in total across all of them.

Recommended hours

The traffic commissioners set recommended weekly hours by fleet size. Fewer hours must be explained, and trailers may mean more.

Vehicles	Recommended hours per week
2 or fewer	2 to 4
3 to 5	4 to 8
6 to 10	8 to 12
11 to 14	12 to 20
15 to 29	20 to 30
30 to 50	30 hours to full time
More than 50	Full time, and another staff member needed

GOV.UK publishes no cost for a transport manager, and for the CPC exam says to check with the exam provider. Commissioners may ask for evidence of up-to-date knowledge when a qualification is more than 10 years old. Van operators relying on transport managers with acquired rights had to replace them by 20 May 2025, when those rights expired.

Maintenance and the annual test

Safety inspections

When you apply, you declare how often vehicles will be inspected and who inspects them. DVSA's Guide to maintaining roadworthiness says the frequency "would normally range between 4 to 13 weeks":

Operating conditions	Inspection frequency
Lightly loaded vehicles, easy operating conditions	10 to 13 weeks
General haulage, trunking	6 to 10 weeks
Arduous work, constant heavy loads	4 to 6 weeks
Off road, difficult conditions	4 weeks
Vehicle or trailer 12 years or older	6 weeks

The guide expects a brake performance assessment at every inspection and, without electronic brake monitoring, at least four laden brake tests a year, which can include the annual test. Inspection records and defect reports must be kept for at least 15 months, and drivers must do a walkaround check before first driving each day. DVSA publishes no price for a safety inspection.

The annual test

Lorries and trailers must be tested every year. The first test is due 12 months after first registration, and a trailer's is due one year after it was first sold or supplied. The fee depends on the type of test and the number of axles, not on weight. A 7.5-tonne lorry with two axles pays the two-axle fee.

At an ATF, a privately owned site where DVSA assessors test, you pay the DVSA fee plus a service charge. A DVSA test centre adds no service charge, but 99.88% of these tests in 2023/2024 took place at ATFs, according to DVSA.

Vehicle	ATF test fee	Maximum ATF service charge	ATF total at maximum	DVSA test centre
2-axle lorry	£91	£70	£161	£112
3-axle lorry	£113	£70	£183	£144
4 or more axle lorry	£137	£70	£207	£177
1-axle trailer	£41	£50	£91	£51
2-axle trailer	£54	£50	£104	£70
3-axle trailer	£64	£50	£114	£84

Sources: DVSA fees at ATFs and DVSA fees at DVSA test centres, both updated on 15 July 2026. The ATF totals are THRIVE's sums. Neither page gives the date the test fees themselves took effect.

For articulated lorries, with the maximum charged on each unit, a two-axle tractor with a three-axle trailer is £275 at an ATF (£161 plus £114) or £196 at a DVSA centre (£112 plus £84). A three-axle tractor with a three-axle trailer is £297 (£183 plus £114) or £228 (£144 plus £84).

The service charge change on 6 July 2026

After a consultation that drew 634 responses, DVSA set the maximum service charge at £70 for HGVs, £50 for trailers and £90 for buses and coaches from 6 July 2026. The previous caps of £55 and £40 dated from 2010. DVSA put the maximum rise in an HGV's total test cost at 9%, and said "not all ATFs will charge the full amount".

Retests

At an ATF, a retest within 14 days costs £35 for a two-axle lorry, £49 for three axles and £65 for four or more. After 14 days you pay the full test fee again. At a DVSA centre the 14-day retest is £49, £69 and £91. A part-paid retest is £13 for a lorry at either. An appeal against a test result costs £39. DVSA's schedule does not say whether an ATF may add a service charge to a retest.

Drivers' hours and tachographs

Most goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, including any trailer, fall under the assimilated rules, previously called EU rules. Under them a tachograph must be fitted and used. DVSA's core limits:

• A break of at least 45 minutes after no more than 4.5 hours of driving.
• Daily driving of no more than 9 hours, extendable to 10 hours twice in a fixed week.
• No more than 56 hours of driving in a fixed week, and 90 hours in any two consecutive weeks.
• Daily rest of at least 11 hours, which can be reduced to 9 hours up to 3 times between weekly rests.
• Weekly rest of at least 45 hours, or a reduced weekly rest of at least 24 hours that must be made up.

Most goods vehicles exempt from those rules fall under the GB domestic rules, which allow 10 hours of driving and 11 hours of duty a day.

What operators must do and keep

The assimilated rules make operators liable for their drivers' infringements, with limited defences. DVSA's section on operator responsibilities says operators must:

• download the vehicle unit at least every 90 calendar days, which is at least four times a year per vehicle
• download driver cards at least every 28 calendar days, which is at least 13 times a year per driver
• have digital and smart tachographs recalibrated every 2 years, after any repair, and when the registration changes
• be able to produce records to enforcement officers for 12 months
• make regular checks of the data, schedule work so the rules are met, and not pay drivers in ways that encourage breaches

The Traffic Commissioners' guide sets retention periods: drivers' hours records at least 12 months, working time records at least 24 months, maintenance records at least 15 months.

Goods vehicles registered from 24 December 2025 must have a full smart 2 tachograph. DVSA special notice 01-26 updated the rules for tachograph centres fitting and upgrading them, as THRIVE reported.

When it goes wrong

DVSA checks vehicles and operators and reports to the traffic commissioners, who can refuse or vary a licence, attach conditions, reduce its authority (curtailment), suspend it or revoke it, and disqualify the operator or the transport manager. The Senior Traffic Commissioner's guidance groups outcomes by seriousness. They run from a warning or minor curtailment for isolated incidents up to revocation, disqualification or extended suspension for deliberate or reckless conduct.

What the Traffic Commissioners' data shows

The latest annual report covers the year to 31 March 2025. In that year there were 66,222 valid goods vehicle operator licences, with 376,044 vehicles specified on them. The report's statistics tables give goods vehicle public inquiries for non-compliance:

Goods vehicle operators	2023-24	2024-25
Public inquiries completed	842	682
Licence revocations	261	196
Licence suspensions	79	66
Curtailment or conditions imposed	259	221
Formal warnings	214	176
Disqualification of licence holder	70	52
Disqualification of transport manager	108	81
No action taken	46	33

More than one action can be taken at an inquiry, so the rows do not sum to the total. Of 4,637 new goods licence applications determined in 2024-25, 4,099 were issued in full, 515 refused and 455 withdrawn.

What DVSA finds

DVSA's vehicle enforcement data, which is not official statistics, shows between 26.64% and 27.98% of mechanical checks on GB HGVs leading to a prohibition in each quarter of 2025-26, excluding sifted vehicles. Between 89.20% and 92.23% of HGV maintenance assessments each quarter were rated unsatisfactory; these include targeted and non-targeted assessments.

DVSA picks vehicles to inspect using the Operator Compliance Risk Score, built from 3 years of tests, checks and assessments and banded red, amber or green, or blue for members of earned recognition.

Roadside offence bands run from a verbal warning, through fixed penalties of £50 to £300, to prosecution. A false tachograph record made with intent to deceive carries up to 2 years' imprisonment on indictment.

Two recent cases

Kingpin Recycling Ltd had its licence curtailed indefinitely from 12 vehicles to six. DVSA had found 28 occasions when vehicles were driven with no driver card inserted, covering 3,323 kilometres. TMA Haulage Ltd's sole director and transport manager used a former employee's driver card. He was disqualified indefinitely as a transport manager, and the licence was revoked subject to a period of grace until 6 October 2026. THRIVE covered the Kingpin case and the TMA case, and set out how the cases connect in What tachograph non-compliance actually costs.

Annual cost model per vehicle

This model uses only figures government sets. Assumptions: a standard national licence; two-axle lorries; each lorry passes its annual test first time; the ATF charges the maximum £70 service charge; licence fees spread evenly over the first five years. Fuel, insurance, tax, wages, finance and repairs are not included.

Per vehicle, per year	1 vehicle	5 vehicles	20 vehicles
Licence fees (£658 over 5 years, shared across the fleet)	£131.60	£26.32	£6.58
Annual test at an ATF, including the maximum service charge	£161.00	£161.00	£161.00
Government-set cash cost at an ATF	£292.60	£187.32	£167.58
Same, with the test at a DVSA centre (£112)	£243.60	£138.32	£118.58
Financial standing held (not spent)	£8,000	£5,200	£4,675
Transport manager, recommended hours a week for the whole fleet	2 to 4	4 to 8	20 to 30
Safety inspections a year at a 6-week interval (no published price)	8 to 9	8 to 9	8 to 9

Sources: licence fees, ATF fees, DVSA centre fees, financial standing, transport manager hours, inspection intervals. Inspections are 52 or 53 ISO weeks divided by six. From year six, the continuation fee of £401 every five years brings the licence fee line down to £80.20 a year for one vehicle, £16.04 for five and £4.01 for twenty.

The licence and test costs government sets come to a few hundred pounds a vehicle a year. The larger commitments are the capital that must stay available and the regular work of inspections, downloads and management, which the market prices. Vehicle tax and the HGV road user levy are also outside this edition.

Application checklist and timeline

1. Choose the licence type.
2. Name your people: directors or partners, safety inspectors and, for a standard licence, the transport manager with proof of their CPC, with their financial, licence and conviction history.
3. Gather financial evidence covering the last 28 days for every vehicle you want authorised, in the applicant's name.
4. Set up maintenance. Declare the inspection frequency and who does it, with a contract if an outside company inspects your vehicles.
5. Secure an operating centre with safe access, off-street parking for every vehicle and trailer, and permission from the site owner.
6. Advertise in a local newspaper (heavy goods licences only) between 21 days before and 21 days after applying. An incorrect advert means rejection.
7. Apply online and pay £257. Ask for an interim licence (£68) at the same time if you need to start sooner. The traffic commissioner will only consider one on a complete application.
8. Pay £401 when the licence is granted, display the vehicle discs, and add any new vehicle within one month if you have a margin, or immediately if you do not.

When	What happens	Source
21 days from publication in Applications and Decisions	Statutory objectors, such as police and councils, can object	Traffic Commissioners
Usually within 7 weeks	Decision, with complete documents. The commissioners' guide says apply at least nine weeks ahead; their 2024-25 average was 31 days against a 35-day standard, where no hearing was held.	DVSA, Traffic Commissioners, annual report
Within 1 month of a refusal	Deadline to apply for permission to appeal	DVSA
Within 28 days of a relevant change	Tell the commissioner, for example about a new transport manager, director or address	Traffic Commissioners
Every 5 years	Continuation fee of £401 to keep the licence	DVSA

Operating before a licence or interim licence is issued is illegal and can lead to prosecution and impounding.

About this guide

THRIVE reviews this guide when DVSA changes licence or test fees, when the Traffic Commissioners publish their next annual report, and when DVSA updates its quarterly enforcement data. Related reporting is on the HGV compliance topic page.

Cite as: THRIVE, Operator licence and HGV compliance costs: the full UK guide, thrivefleet.co.uk. The figures are free to quote with a link to this page.