Vehicle operator licences: traffic areas
Published 17 April 2025
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
© Crown copyright 2025
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vehicle-operator-licence-applications-guidance/vehicle-operator-licences-traffic-areas
When you apply for a vehicle operator licence, you will need to get separate licences for each traffic area you have an operating centre in.
Great Britain is divided into 8 traffic areas. Each area has a Traffic Commissioner who’s responsible for issuing licences.
Check this list to find out which counties, boroughs and districts are covered by each traffic area.
Eastern
The Eastern traffic area includes the following areas.
The metropolitan boroughs within:
- Bedfordshire
- Buckinghamshire
- Cambridgeshire
- Essex
- Hertfordshire
- Leicestershire
- Lincolnshire (except the districts of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire)
- Norfolk
- Northamptonshire
- Suffolk
The districts of:
- Leicester
- Luton
- Milton Keynes
- Peterborough
- Rutland
- Southend-on-Sea
- Thurrock
North Eastern
The North Eastern traffic area includes the following areas.
The metropolitan boroughs within:
- South Yorkshire
- Tyne and Wear
- West Yorkshire
The counties of:
- Durham
- Northumberland
- North Yorkshire
- Nottinghamshire
The districts of:
- Darlington
- East Riding of Yorkshire
- Hartlepool
- Kingston-upon-Hull
- Middlesbrough
- North East Lincolnshire
- North Lincolnshire
- Nottingham
- Redcar and Cleveland
- Stockton-on-Tees
- York
North Western
The North Western traffic area includes the following areas.
The metropolitan boroughs within:
- Greater Manchester
- Merseyside
The counties of:
- Cheshire
- Cumbria
- Derbyshire
- Lancashire
The districts of:
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Blackpool
- Derby City
- Halton
- Warrington
Scotland
The Scotland traffic area includes all of Scotland.
South Eastern and Metropolitan
The South Eastern and Metropolitan traffic area includes the following areas.
- Greater London
The districts of:
- Kent
- Surrey
- East Sussex
- West Sussex
The districts of:
- Brighton and Hove
- the Medway Towns
Wales
The Wales traffic area includes all of Wales.
West Midlands
The West Midlands traffic area includes the following areas.
The counties of:
- Shropshire
- Staffordshire
- Warwickshire
- Worcestershire
The districts of:
- Herefordshire
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Telford and Wrekin
Western
The Western traffic area includes the following areas.
The counties of:
- Cornwall
- Devon
- Dorset
- Gloucestershire
- Hampshire
- Oxfordshire
- Somerset
- Wiltshire
The districts of:
- Bath and North East Somerset
- Bournemouth
- Bracknell Forest
- Bristol
- Isle of Wight
- North Somerset
- Plymouth
- Poole
- Portsmouth
- Reading
- Slough
- Southampton
- South Gloucestershire
- Swindon
- Torbay
- West Berkshire
- Windsor and Maidenhead
- Workingham