Towing a trailer in the UK: licence, weight, size and speed limits

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

The short version

A car licence gained on or after 1 January 1997 covers a trailer of up to 3,500kg when loaded.
Your car has its own towing limit, and it is usually lower than the licence allows.
A trailer can be 2.55 metres wide and 7 metres long at most.
Over 750kg loaded, it must have working brakes.
The limit is 50mph on single carriageways and 60mph on dual carriageways and motorways.

The rules below are the ones GOV.UK publishes for towing a trailer with a car. Each was checked on 10 October 2026 and the pages are linked at the end.

What weight of trailer can I tow on a car licence?

If you passed your car test on or after 1 January 1997, you can tow a trailer of up to 3,500kg maximum authorised mass (MAM). MAM is the most the trailer can weigh when loaded, as shown on its plate.

If you passed before 1 January 1997, you can usually drive a vehicle and trailer with a combined MAM of up to 8,250kg.

Your licence is one limit. Your car is another, and it is usually the lower one. Check your own car and trailer.

How do I find what my car can tow?

Look in the handbook or specification sheet for the towing limit. The vehicle identification number (VIN) plate, usually under the bonnet or inside the driver's door, may list a gross train weight: the weight of the fully loaded car plus the fully loaded trailer. It must not be exceeded.

GOV.UK says that if the VIN plate lists no train weight, you should not use the vehicle for towing. What each weight on the plate means.

How wide and how long can a trailer be?

Width: 2.55 metres at most, whatever tows it.
Length: 7 metres at most when the towing vehicle has a MAM of 3,500kg or less. The A-frame that joins the trailer to the car is not counted.

Does the trailer need brakes?

A trailer that weighs over 750kg when loaded must have a working brake system. You must also use a breakaway cable or secondary coupling in case the trailer comes off the car.

Mirrors, number plate and tow bar

Fit towing mirrors if the trailer is wider than the back of your car. The penalty for towing without proper mirrors is a fine of up to £1,000 and 3 penalty points.
The trailer must show the same number plate as the car towing it.
A tow bar must be type approved for your car, unless the car was first used before 1 August 1998.

What is the speed limit when towing a trailer?

Built-up areas: 30mph in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, 20mph in Wales.
Single carriageways: 50mph.
Dual carriageways: 60mph.
Motorways: 60mph.

These are the national limits for cars towing caravans or trailers. A lower signed limit still applies. The towing limits beside the limits for a car alone.

Paying someone else to tow it

GOV.UK says a goods vehicle operator's licence is needed to carry other people's goods for hire or reward when the vehicle and trailer are plated above 3,500kg in total. If you pay a firm to move a trailer, ask whether it holds one. What the operator's licence is and who needs it.

Before any tow, make the safety checks GOV.UK lists.