Guides
Operator licence guides
Plain-English guides to GB goods vehicle and PSV operator licences, checked against GOV.UK. For businesses that book hauliers and for operators who hold a licence.
Checking and vetting hauliers
- How to check a haulier's operator licenceCheck any GB haulier's operator licence in 2 minutes. What each field means, red flags to spot, and how to keep checking after you book them.
- How to vet a subcontracted haulier: a checklistA practical checklist for vetting hauliers you subcontract to: operator licence, insurance, Companies House, and ongoing monitoring for licence changes.
- The 3 types of operator licence explainedThe 3 GB operator licence types compared: what each allows, who needs which, and how many hauliers hold each type, from DVSA data.
- Restricted vs standard operator licence: the differencesRestricted or standard operator licence? Compare what you can carry, transport manager rules, financial standing and vehicle limits in one table.
- Operator licence curtailed, suspended or revoked: what it meansWhat curtailment, suspension and revocation of an operator licence mean, how to spot them on the register, and what to do if a haulier you use is hit.
- PSV operator licence check: bus, coach and minibus operatorsCheck a bus, coach or minibus operator's PSV licence free. What PSV licence types allow, vehicle limits, and how to check before you book a coach.
- Operator licence numbers: format and how to look one upWhat the letters in a GB operator licence number mean (O or P, then traffic area), where to find it, and how to look up any licence number free.
- OCRS score explained: what it means and who can see itWhat a DVSA OCRS score is, how red, amber and green bands work, how operators check their own score, and why buyers cannot look it up.
- Objecting to an operator licence applicationWho can object to an operator licence application, how neighbours make environmental representations, the 21-day deadlines, and what happens next.
- What happens to an operator licence in liquidation or administrationWhat happens to a haulier's operator licence in liquidation or administration, who can keep it running, why it cannot be sold, and what a buyer must do.
Holding an operator licence
- How much does an operator licence cost in 2026?What an operator licence costs in 2026: application, issue and continuation fees, financial standing money, and the hidden costs, with GOV.UK sources.
- Applications and Decisions: how to read the Traffic Commissioner's bulletinWhat the Traffic Commissioner's Applications and Decisions bulletin contains, how to read an entry, and a weekly digest of GB operator licence changes.
- Traffic Commissioner public inquiries: what happens and how to find themWhat a Traffic Commissioner public inquiry is, how to find hearing dates, what outcomes are possible, and how recent decisions changed GB licences.
- Operator licence continuation: fee, date and what happens if you miss itOperator licences don't expire, but they must be continued every 5 years. When the continuation date falls, the fee, and what happens if it is missed.
- Operator licence financial standing: how much money you needHow much money you must show for an operator licence in 2026, what counts as available funds, and how the Traffic Commissioner checks it.
- Do I need an operator licence? Weights, vans and exemptionsFind out if your vehicle needs an operator licence: the 3.5 tonne rule, vans towing trailers, own-goods use, and the main exemptions, in one table.
- Operating centres: rules, objections and how to find oneWhat an operating centre is, the rules for parking and maintenance, how objections work, and how to see every operating centre near you.
- Transport manager CPC: what it is and who needs oneWhen an operator licence needs a transport manager, what the CPC is, internal vs external transport managers, and how to check who is named on a licence.
- How to get an operator licence: steps, documents and timescalesThe steps to apply for a GB goods or PSV operator licence: requirements, documents, advertising, costs and how long DVSA takes to decide.
- Operator licence undertakings and conditionsWhat O licence undertakings and conditions are, the promises every goods operator gives, what happens if you break one, and how to check them.
- Vehicles on an operator licenceAuthorised vs specified vehicles, the margin, when to add or remove a vehicle, hired lorries, trailers and vans, and how to check a licence's vehicles.
- Operator licence compliance checklistAn O licence compliance checklist with time limits and sources: inspections, tachograph downloads, licence checks, notifications and record keeping.
- Traffic areas for operator licencesThe 8 GB traffic areas for operator licences, which counties each covers, its licence-number letter and office, and how many licences each area holds.
- The operator licence discWhat an operator licence disc shows, where to display it, what to do if one is lost or stolen, and when you must send it back. Goods and PSV rules.
- Section 19 and section 22 permits for minibuses and community busesHow section 19 minibus and section 22 community bus permits work in Great Britain, who issues them, the fees, and how they differ from a PSV licence.
- Operator licences for recovery trucks and horseboxesRecovery vehicles are exempt from operator licensing, but returning repaired cars is not. Horseboxes over 3,500kg used commercially need a licence.
Reference
- Operator licence glossaryPlain-English definitions of the terms on a licence record, in Applications and Decisions and at a public inquiry.
- Editorial standards and fact-checkingHow we source, check, date and correct every guide, with the review status of each one.
- MethodologyWhere every licence field comes from, what it means and what the register does not prove.