International road haulage: operator licences and permits

Being a goods vehicle operator

If you operate vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating above 3.5 tonnes on international journeys, you need a number of licences and permits.

You must have a vehicle operator licence to carry your own goods, and other people’s goods, both in the UK and on international journeys.

Find out more about:

• being a goods vehicle operator in Great Britain
• being a goods vehicle operator in Northern Ireland
• employing people to drive

The other licences and permits you need depend on which countries the vehicle will travel to or through.

EU Community Licences

You can apply for EU Community Licences if you make international journeys for hire or reward within the 28 EU countries and 4 other countries. You can use the licences in:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

If the UK leaves the EU without a deal on 31 October 2019

You can continue to use your EU Community Licence until 31 December 2019. You would not need any extra permits to transport goods in EU countries until 1 January 2020.

You’d be allowed to do these types of journeys:

• journeys to and from the UK, for example, a journey from the UK to Germany, or a journey from Italy to the UK
• driving through EU countries to reach another EU country, for example, driving through France to reach Spain
• limited cabotage or cross-trade - the rules on what you can do will change from the day the UK leaves the EU

Find out how to apply for EU Community Licences and the rules you have to follow

ECMT international road haulage permits

You can apply for European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT) international road haulage permits for journeys between 43 ECMT member countries:

Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the UK.

If the UK leaves the EU without a deal on 31 October 2019

You would need an ECMT permit to transport goods through EU or European Economic Area (EEA) countries to non-EU or EEA countries who are ECMT members.

Find out how to apply for ECMT permits and the rules you have to follow

ECMT international removal permits

You can apply for a permit for laden or empty journeys if you’re a specialist removal company and you move household goods and business possessions between or across the 43 ECMT countries:

Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the UK.

Find out how to apply for international removal permits and the rules you have to follow

Bilateral road haulage permits for some non-EU countries

The UK has signed transport agreements with Switzerland and Norway. The agreements make sure that UK hauliers can continue to drive in Switzerland and Norway using a Community Licence after the UK leaves the EU.

If there is no EU Exit deal, you will need an ECMT permit for journeys through EU or EEA countries to Switzerland.

You can apply for bilateral road haulage permits for some non-EU countries the UK has agreements with:

Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Russia, Serbia, Tunisia, Turkey and Ukraine.

Find out how to apply for bilateral international road haulage permits and the rules you have to follow

Countries the UK does not have arrangements with

You need to apply for licences from countries that the UK does not have a special arrangement or agreement with.

Get advice from the embassies of the countries you need to travel through or to.

Own account traffic

‘Own account’ is where either:

• your vehicle is only carrying goods in connection with your own business
• your delivery contents are not for hire or reward

When you do own account work, you do not need:

• permits in some countries
• an EU Community Licence in the EU

However, you may still need to carry an ‘own account’ permit and document.

Own account traffic in the EU if the UK leaves without a deal

You can do own account journeys in most ECMT member countries (including Ireland) without an ECMT permit.

Check chapter 2 (‘Liberalised transport’) of the ECMT user guide to find out if you need an ECMT permit for own account journeys.

Non-EU countries where you need permits for own account traffic

You must carry a permit on the vehicle for journeys to:

• Belarus
• Morocco
• Russia
• Tunisia
• Turkey

Non-EU countries where you do not need permits for own account traffic

You do not need a permit for journeys through:

• Georgia
• Ukraine

Special rules apply to own account journeys between:

• the UK and Hungary
• the UK and Cyprus

How the own account permit works

You do not need an EU Community Licence to carry goods on ‘own account’ between EU countries and the UK if the following conditions apply:

• the goods carried are the property of the business or must have been sold, bought, let out on hire or hired, produced, extracted, processed or repaired by the business
• the purpose of the journey is to carry the goods to or from the business or to move them, either within the business or outside, for its own needs
• the vehicles used are driven by employees of the business
• the vehicles are owned by the business or have been bought by it on deferred terms or hired, providing that the conditions of Council Directive 84/647/EEC are met (this provision does not apply to the use of a replacement vehicle following a breakdown of the vehicle that is normally used)
• haulage is not the major activity of the business

Operations between the UK and Cyprus or Hungary

You do not need a special licence for own account operations between the UK and Cyprus or Hungary.

However, the vehicle needs to carry a document containing the following information:

• the name and address of the operator
• the operator’s trade or business
• the nature of the goods being carried
• loading and unloading points
• registration number of the vehicle being used
• the route the haulage takes

You may be asked to provide evidence of the ownership of the goods.

Cabotage and cross-trade

Cabotage is the loading and unloading of goods for hire or reward between 2 points in a country by a vehicle that is not registered in that country.

Cross-trade is the haulage of goods for hire or reward between 2 EU countries by a vehicle registered in a different EU country.

If you’ve delivered an international load to an EU country, and you hold an EU Community Licence, you can carry out cabotage jobs in that state.

How many cabotage and cross-trade jobs you can do

The number of cabotage jobs you can carry out is limited by EU rules.

You can currently carry out 3 cabotage jobs which must take place within 7 days of when you dropped off the load that you brought into the country.

You can carry out further cabotage jobs in other EU member states (except Croatia) on your home journey if:

• your vehicle enters the country empty
• you do not go over the 3 jobs in 7 days limit

If the UK leaves the EU without a deal

The rules will change if the UK leaves the EU without a deal on 31 October 2019.

You’d be allowed to carry out 2 cabotage or cross-trade journeys within 7 days of making an international journey until 31 December 2019.

You must return to the UK (either laden or unladen) after completing cabotage or cross-trade journeys.

After 31 December 2019, you would not be able to carry out cabotage or cross-trade journeys.

Documents you need for cabotage

You must be able to prove that you’re operating within the rules for cabotage. The driver must have documents with them showing the:

• name, address and signature of the sender and haulier
• place and the date of taking over of the goods and the place designated for delivery
• name and address and signature of the international consignee with the date of delivery
• common description of the goods, method of packing, number of packages and their special marks or numbers
• gross mass of the goods or their quantity otherwise expressed
• number plates of the motor vehicle and trailer

VAT on cabotage operations

You may be liable to pay VAT on cabotage operations in the member state in which the journey is made. You’ll need to register in that country for VAT.