Guidance

Check which international road haulage permits you need

Find out which licences and permits you need to operate vehicles with a gross vehicle weight above 3.5 tonnes on international journeys from the UK.

From:
Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain and Department for Transport
Published
4 September 2012
Last updated
18 July 2024 — See all updates

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.

You must also have goods vehicle operator licence to use vehicles over 2.5 tonnes to transport goods to or through Europe.

Find out more about:

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

There’s different guidance for EU operators transporting goods into the UK.

EU countries, Liechtenstein and Switzerland

You need a UK Licence for the Community if you make international journeys for hire or reward within the EU, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

You can use the licences in:

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

The UK Licence for the Community also allows you to carry out a limited number of haulage jobs inside an EU country (called ‘cabotage’) or between 2 EU countries (called ‘cross-trade’).

You need to get a European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT) permit if you want to carry out 3 cross-trade jobs in the EU.

Find out how to apply for a UK Licence for the Community and the rules you have to follow.

Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine

You do not usually need any permits to transport goods to, through or from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.

However, you need to get a bilateral road haulage permit if you’re travelling:

  • to, from or through Turkey to another country, when the goods are neither loaded nor unloaded in the UK
  • in Ukraine using a Euro III or Euro IV vehicle

Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Norway, Russia or Tunisia

You cannot currently get bilateral permits for Belarus or Russia because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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

Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Norway, Russia or Tunisia

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

Armenia

You must get a European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT) international road haulage permit if your journey involves Armenia.

If your journey also includes Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Norway, Russia, Turkey or Ukraine, you do not need to apply for separate bilateral permits for those countries. You can use the ECMT permit instead.

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

You cannot currently use ECMT permits to travel to Russia because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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.

Permits to carry out 3 cross-trade jobs in ECMT countries

You can use ECMT permits to carry out up to 3 cross-trade jobs (moving goods between 2 ECMT countries).

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

Permits to carry goods for your own business or not for hire and reward (‘own account’)

‘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

Own account journeys in the EU

You do not need a UK Licence for the Community for own account journeys between the UK and EU if the following conditions apply:

  • the goods you’re carrying are your property, or have been sold, bought, let out on hire or hired, produced, extracted, processed or repaired by you
  • the journey’s purpose is to carry the goods to or from your premises or to move them for your own requirements
  • you employ the drivers, or they’re put at your disposal for your own requirements
  • you either own the vehicles carrying the goods, have bought them on deferred terms, or have hired them
  • transporting the goods is only to support your main business activity - transporting goods cannot be your main business activity

Own-account operators who are carrying goods for a commercial purpose will still be subject to cabotage and cross-trade rules when operating in the EU.

Extra documents for Cyprus or Hungary

For own account journeys between the UK and Cyprus or Hungary, you must carry documents in the vehicle that show:

  • 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.

Own account journeys in non-EU countries

You must have a bilateral international road haulage permit for own account journeys to some non-EU countries the UK has agreements with.

Check which non-EU countries you need the permits for.

Permits for specialist removal companies

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, North 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.

Get help with international road haulage permits

Contact the DVSA International Road Haulage Permits Office to get help with permits.

DVSA International Road Haulage Permits Office
irhp@dvsa.gov.uk
Telephone: 020 8158 0250
Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm
Find out about call charges

Updates to this page

Published 4 September 2012
Last updated 18 July 2024 + show all updates

  1. You now need a bilateral road haulage permit to travel to or through Norway, instead of the UK Licence for the Community. Removed Kazakhstan, Morocco and Tunisia from the list of countries you can use an ECMT permit for when carrying out a journey that involves Armenia.

  2. You now need a bilateral road haulage permit to travel to or through Azerbaijan, instead of a European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT) international road haulage permit.

  3. You cannot currently use ECMT permits to travel to Russia or get a bilateral road haulage permit to Belarus or Russia.

  4. Corrected text about permits for, and UK haulier access to, Turkey.

  5. Added information about using 2021 permits for operators based in Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Russia, Tunisia and Ukraine with vehicles traveling to the UK from 1 January to 28 February 2022 due to delays in processing permits for 2022.

  6. Updated where you need permits for, as you no longer need permits to transport goods to, through or from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

  7. Added information about new rules for using vans to transport goods to or through Europe from 2022, and a link to more information.

  8. Removed Serbia from the list of countries you can get a bilateral international road haulage permit for. You can still apply for an ECMT permit for journeys to Serbia.

  9. Replaced the EU Community Licence with the UK Licence for the Community to make international journeys for hire or reward within the EU, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Added links to a new guide about carrying out a road haulage job entirely within one EU country (cabotage) or between 2 EU countries (cross-trade).

  10. Removed detailed information about the authorisations and permits you will need after Brexit. This information has been moved to a new guide. Added a link about how to prepare for Brexit which takes you to this new guide.

  11. Updated cabotage and cross-trade rules if the UK leaves the EU without a deal on 31 October 2019 to confirm you’d be allowed to carry out 2 cabotage or cross-trade 2 journeys until 31 December 2019.

  12. Updated to confirm you can continue to use your EU Community Licence until 31 December 2019 if the UK leaves the EU without a deal, and that you would need an ECMT permit to transport goods through EU or EEA countries to non-EU or EEA countries who are ECMT members.

  13. Added the deadline of 11:59pm on 16 March 2019 for applying for 2019 ECMT permits if you have not already applied for them.

  14. Extended the deadline to apply for 2019 permits from 11:59pm on 21 December 2018 to 11:59pm on 18 January 2019

  15. Added a link to apply for ECMT permits until 11:59pm on 21 December 2018.

  16. Added the dates you can apply online for ECMT permits for 2019, and clarified that permits will only be allocated after the application period has ended - they will not be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

  17. Added a link in the ECMT international road haulage permits section to the criteria that will be used to allocate ECMT permits.

  18. Added information about what to do If you think you might need an ECMT permit to transport goods in 2019.

  19. Updated section 'Get an ECMT permit' to remove reference to the your vehicle being environmentally compliant to the Euro III standard as this is no longer valid.

  20. Added a link to PDF for an Application for Moroccan Exceptional Empty Entry and Hors Contingent Permits.

  21. Updated cabotage wording in consultation with DfT(c) policy team.

  22. First published.

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Contents

Part of Transport goods out of the UK by road: step by step

  1. Step 1 Apply for operator licences and permits

    1. Check if you need a vehicle operator licence
    2. Apply for a vehicle operator licence

    You'll need other licences and permits, depending on the countries you're driving to or through.

    1. You are currently viewing: Check which licences and permits you need

  2. Step 2 Register and get approval for your vehicle

    You may need to register your trailer to drive through or to the EU if it weighs over 750kg.

    1. Register your trailer to take it abroad

    You’ll need to get specialist vehicle approvals to transport any of the following:

  3. Step 3 Make sure your driver is eligible to drive abroad

    1. Check your driver has the documents they need to drive abroad

    The driver must carry these documents with them.

  4. Step 4 Check the rules for the goods you're carrying

    1. Find out what you need to do if you're exporting your own goods

    There are rules for transporting certain goods. Your driver may need to follow set routes or stop at specific check points. Check the rules for:

    1. Find out what you need to apply for if you’re moving goods temporarily out of the UK

    If you're transporting goods outside the EU they must have been cleared by customs (given ‘permission to progress’). The exporter can tell you if this has happened.

  5. Step 5 Make sure your driver has the right export documents

    Your driver will need copies of:

    • any export licences
    • the road consignment note (‘CMR note’)
    • the Movement Reference Number (MRN) from the export declaration - if you're moving goods out of the EU
    • the MRN and the Local Reference Number (LRN) - if you're moving goods under the Common Transit convention (CTC)
    • the ATA Carnet document - if you're moving goods out of the EU temporarily
    • the TiR Carnet document - if you’re moving goods in a sealed load compartment with a seal number

    The exporter should be able to give all of these to you.

    You'll also need to have a customs seal approval certificate for the vehicle if you’re moving goods in a sealed load compartment. You'll get this when your vehicle passes the TiR test.

    You may need to use the Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) to move goods through some ports.

    1. Check how to move goods through ports that use the GVMS

  6. Step 6 Find out what vehicle documents your driver needs to carry

    1. Check what HGV and trailer documents your driver must carry
    2. Check what driving documents your driver must carry

  7. Step 7 Check you are ready for the Port of Dover, Eurotunnel or Holyhead

    You may need to attend an inland border facility if you're leaving from the Port of Dover, Eurotunnel or Holyhead.

    1. Check whether you need to attend an inland border facility

  8. Step 8 Check local road rules

    1. Check the road rules for European countries on the AA website
    2. Check travel advice for countries outside Europe

    When you have your documents, insurance and any extra equipment you need, you can transport goods abroad.