Summary
Rules on drivers’ hours and tachographs for vehicles used for the carriage of goods in Great Britain and abroad.
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales Guidance for Northern Ireland
This guide (sometimes known as the ‘GV262’) gives general guidance about drivers’ hours and tachograph rules for vehicles used for the carriage of goods.
A vehicle does not need to be categorised or registered as a ‘goods vehicle’ to be in scope of drivers’ hours rules, as it is the size, construction and use of it which are the determining factors. For ease, this guide refers to ‘goods vehicles’.
This guide reflects the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s current application of the law. It does not reflect the interpretation of the law in other countries.
Check the legislation in annex 1 and get legal advice to check your legal position.
There’s different guidance about drivers’ hours and tachographs for passenger vehicle drivers.
Contents
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Overview of which drivers' hours and tachograph rules apply in different situations for vehicles used for the carriage of goods.
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How the assimilated drivers' hours rules for goods vehicles work.
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How the Great Britain drivers' hours domestic rules work for goods vehicles.
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How the drivers' hours rules apply when driving a goods vehicle under a mix of the assimilated or AETR and Great Britain rules.
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The rules about the tachograph that must be used by drivers to record assimilated or AETR drivers' hours.
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Legal responsibilities and liabilities operators have for their own and their drivers' compliance with the regulations.
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The powers and sanctions available to enforce breaches of drivers' hours and tachograph rules.
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The legislation about drivers' hours rules.
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The working time rules that apply to you depend on whether you drive a vehicle in scope of the assimilated or GB domestic drivers’ hours rules.
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Download an example of a weekly record sheet.
Update history
2026-07-01 06:58
Assimilated and AETR rules on drivers’ hours – Updated ‘Overview’ to show that from 1 July 2026, assimilated drivers’ hours rules will apply to light goods vehicles weighing 2.5 tonnes or more on international journeys.Updated ‘1.1 Exemptions and national derogations’ :added an exemption for light goods vehicles added a national derogation for zero-emission vehiclesupdated the national derogation for vehicles using natural or liquified gas or electricity
2025-12-04 15:30
Tachograph rules – From 24 December 2026, all newly registered goods vehicles must have a full smart 2 tachograph fitted.
2025-04-23 15:40
Tachograph rules – Updated section 4.3, ‘For a fixed week with no driving regulated under assimilated rules’
2025-04-22 07:46
Annex 2. Working time rules – EU rules for drivers’ hours have been replaced with assimilated rules for drivers’ hours.
2022-09-02 10:32
Tachograph rules – Section 4.3 Common rulesRecording other work:For a fixed week in which EU-regulated driving takes place, drivers must keep a full record of periods of other work and availability.For a fixed week in no EU-regulated driving takes place, drivers must keep a record of periods of other work and availability. They can record this in blocks.Drivers undertaking international journeys to, from and through the EU should keep full daily records for the previous 28 days, including days and weeks in which no EU-regulated driving took place. This is because enforcement agencies in other countries may have different requirements for how to record activities for the previous 28 days.Rest and other days off:European Commission officials have confirmed that attestation forms for drivers’ hours records are still available and should be accepted in the context of journeys involving EU member states.