The operator's licence for towing: who needs one

Published 10 October 2026. Every figure was checked at its source that day.

The short version

A licence is needed when the vehicle and trailer are plated above 3,500kg together.
Moving other people's goods within the UK takes a standard national licence.
The fees are £257 to apply and £401 for the licence to be issued.
A decision usually comes within 7 weeks.

A business that carries goods with a vehicle and trailer may need a goods vehicle operator's licence. This is what GOV.UK says about when, which type and what it costs. Northern Ireland has different rules.

When does a vehicle and trailer need one?

GOV.UK says you need a licence when:

the vehicle and trailer are plated and their combined gross plated weight is over 3,500kg, or
their combined unladen weight is over 1,525kg, where they are not plated.

There is one exception for trailers. You do not need a licence if the trailer's unladen weight is under 1,020kg and you carry only your own goods.

That exception is for your own goods. This guide treats a customer's trailer, moved for payment, as other people's goods. If you are unsure how your own work is classed, ask the Office of the Traffic Commissioner before you take a job.

Which type of licence?

Restricted: your own goods only, never other people's.
Standard national: your own goods in the UK and abroad, and other people's goods in the UK.
Standard international: your own goods and other people's, in the UK and on international journeys.

A firm above the weight threshold that moves customers' trailers within the UK therefore needs a standard national licence.

What does it cost?

These are the government's fees, paid to the licensing authority.

Application: £257.
Issue of the licence: £401.
Continuation after five years: £401.
Interim licence, if you ask for one: £68.

What does an application involve?

An operating centre, which you must advertise along with the application.
Evidence of your financial situation.
A transport manager, for a standard licence.
A maintenance contract with a garage for safety inspections and repairs, unless you do them yourself.

GOV.UK says a decision usually comes within 7 weeks, and longer if documents are missing.

Are any vehicles exempt?

GOV.UK lists a small number. They include recovery vehicles used only for recovery, vehicles on trade plates, and tractors and farm vehicles in certain circumstances. None of them covers an ordinary towing job.

If you are paying a firm to move a trailer

Ask for its operator's licence number. The towing vehicle's own plated weight counts towards the 3,500kg, so add it to the trailer's before you accept that a firm does not need one.