Starting a haulage company: set up properly from day one

Do you need an operator licence?

You need a goods vehicle operator licence (O-licence) to use goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes gross weight for hire or reward, or in connection with your own business. You also need a standard international licence to use vans and other light goods vehicles over 2.5 tonnes, up to 3.5 tonnes, for international hire or reward. Licences are issued by the Traffic Commissioners under the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Act 1995, with the qualifying criteria taken from assimilated Regulation (EC) 1071/2009.

Which licence type you need

A standard licence needs a qualified transport manager. A restricted licence does not, but the operator still has to run the same maintenance, drivers' hours and record-keeping systems.

The four criteria the Traffic Commissioner tests

Establishment

Your business must be genuinely established in Great Britain, with premises where its core documents are kept and an operating centre for its vehicles.

Good repute

The applicant, directors and transport manager must be of good repute. The Traffic Commissioner looks at relevant convictions, previous licence history and conduct. A problem disclosed and explained at the start is far easier to deal with than one discovered after you submit, so we review this with you before anything goes in.

Financial standing

You must show that you have enough money available to run the operation for as long as you hold the licence. It is not a fee. Under the Senior Traffic Commissioner's statutory guidance on finance:

• new applications usually need bank statements covering the last 28 days, with the most recent balance no more than two months old;
• at a review or for an existing licence, three months' statements are used;
• the average balance counts, plus unused overdraft or credit card limits, invoice finance or a bank guarantee;
• the money must stay available for the life of the licence, not just on the day you apply.

For a standard licence with three HGVs, that is £8,000 + £4,500 + £4,500 = £17,000. Apply for the number of vehicles you realistically expect to run, because you must keep the money for every vehicle you are authorised for.

Professional competence

A standard licence needs at least one transport manager holding the Transport Manager Certificate of Professional Competence (TM CPC). The transport manager must effectively and continuously manage the transport activities: maintenance, drivers' hours, licensing and records. The Senior Traffic Commissioner's statutory guidance on transport managers sets out what that means in practice, and Traffic Commissioners do challenge nominal arrangements where the named manager has no real involvement.

An internal transport manager must have a genuine link to the business, such as being an employee, director or partner. An external transport manager works under a contract and can act for no more than four operators with a combined total of no more than 50 vehicles. If you do not hold the TM CPC yourself, Logan Logistics provides external transport manager and O-licence retainer services.

Your operating centre

The operating centre is where your vehicles are normally kept when not in use. It must have enough off-street parking for the vehicles and trailers you apply for, safe access to the road, and be environmentally suitable. You must advertise the application in a local newspaper, and the advert must appear between 21 days before and 21 days after you submit. Local residents and some statutory bodies can make representations or objections on environmental or safety grounds, so choose a site with this in mind and check any planning restrictions first.

The maintenance system behind your undertakings

When you apply, you sign undertakings that vehicles will be kept fit and serviceable, that drivers will report defects promptly, and that records will be kept for 15 months. DVSA's Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness (updated April 2025) is the benchmark for what that means:

• safety inspections at fixed intervals, typically every 4 to 13 weeks depending on vehicle age, type and work, shown on your licence application;
• since April 2025, a laden brake performance assessment at every safety inspection, by laden roller brake test, EBPMS report for trailers or decelerometer, with a documented risk assessment where a laden test is not possible;
• without EBPMS, at least four laden roller brake tests a year, including the annual test;
• a driver walkaround check at least once in every 24 hours the vehicle is in service, with defects recorded and signed off as repaired by a named competent person;
• inspection records kept for at least 15 months.

Most new operators contract inspections to a workshop. You still need a written maintenance agreement, a planner, and someone checking the paperwork that comes back.

Drivers' hours and tachographs

For most HGV work the assimilated GB rules under Regulation (EC) 561/2006 apply from your first day:

• 9 hours' daily driving, extendable to 10 hours twice a week;
• 56 hours' maximum driving in a week and 90 hours in any two consecutive weeks;
• a 45-minute break after 4.5 hours' driving, which can be split into 15 then 30 minutes;
• 11 hours' daily rest, reducible to 9 hours up to three times between weekly rests;
• 45 hours' regular weekly rest, or a reduced 24-hour weekly rest under conditions.

Download driver cards at least every 28 days and vehicle units at least every 90 days, and keep the data for 12 months. Drivers must be able to produce records for the current day and the previous 28 days, or 56 days on UK–EU international journeys. Tachographs must be inspected and calibrated at least every two years. The Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005 also apply: an average 48-hour week over the reference period, no more than 60 hours in any one week, and records kept for two years.

If you plan international work, check your vehicles' tachographs. Smart tachograph version 2 is required on UK–EU international journeys, and from 1 July 2026 that includes light goods vehicles over 2.5 tonnes, up to 3.5 tonnes, on international hire or reward.

Drivers

Every professional driver needs the right licence category and a valid Driver CPC, which means 35 hours of periodic training every five years. Since December 2024, UK-only drivers can use National Driver CPC courses, which can be as short as 3.5 hours, but taking one restricts the driver to UK-only work. Check licences against DVLA data at the start of employment and regularly afterwards, and keep a driver file for each person, including agency drivers.

Buying vehicles: GB type approval

Since 1 February 2026, all M and N category vehicle types manufactured for sale in Great Britain must hold full GB or UK(NI) type approval. This ended the provisional route based on EU approval. It is a manufacturer obligation and does not affect used vehicles already registered. From 1 February 2027, trailers (O category) not approved through Individual Vehicle Approval must also hold full GB or UK(NI) type approval before they can be manufactured for sale in Great Britain. When you buy a new vehicle, trailer or body, ask the dealer or bodybuilder to confirm GB approval or IVA in writing.

One cost has eased this year: HGVs renewing vehicle tax from 1 July 2026 get a 12-month VED holiday, paying £1, although the HGV Road User Levy is still payable.

What new operators get wrong

• Showing a large balance on the day they apply, then spending it on vehicles.
• Applying for an operating centre that is too small, or that neighbours will object to.
• Naming a transport manager who has no real time or involvement.
• Agreeing a maintenance contract without checking the workshop can do laden brake tests.
• Starting work before tachograph downloads and analysis are set up.
• Forgetting to tell the Traffic Commissioner about changes within 28 days, including a change of transport manager, address or legal entity.

How long it takes

The Office of the Traffic Commissioner says to apply at least nine weeks before you need the licence. Straightforward applications are usually decided within that time. Objections, repute questions or financial evidence problems take longer. An interim licence can sometimes be granted while an application is considered. In our own case studies, a three-vehicle operator in Lancashire had their licence granted in week eight and was operating in week nine, with every system in place.

What J&JL delivers

• operator licence application, prepared and submitted with the evidence the Traffic Commissioner expects, and liaison through to decision;
• advice on financial standing evidence, operating centre and transport manager arrangements;
• a maintenance system: planner, inspection sheets, brake test records and defect reporting;
• a tachograph and drivers' hours system: downloads, analysis, infringement handling and records;
• a driver management system: licence checks, driver files, Driver CPC planning and a drugs and alcohol policy;
• a health and safety management system, with risk assessments;
• a compliance calendar covering every undertaking;
• FORS preparation where a contract requires it.

Many new operators run these records in Roadworthy, our fleet compliance software. Drivers do walkaround checks by QR code on their phone, defects are tracked to sign-off, and inspections, brake tests and licence checks appear on one calendar.