Guide
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.
A new goods vehicle operator licence costs £658 in government fees: a £257 application fee and a £401 issue fee, plus £68 if you need an interim licence. You then pay £401 every 5 years to continue it. A PSV licence costs £209 to apply for. You must also hold financial standing money, from £3,100 upwards.
These fees have not changed since 2014. The figures below come from the GOV.UK goods fees page, the GOV.UK PSV fees table and the fee regulations on legislation.gov.uk, all checked on 2 October 2026. This guide covers Great Britain only. Northern Ireland runs a separate system.
Total cost at a glance
The table shows every government fee for goods and PSV (bus and coach) operator licences, when you pay it, and the date the amount took effect.
| Fee | Goods vehicle licence | PSV licence | When you pay | Amount in force since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application | £257 | £209 (standard or restricted) | With the application | Goods and PSV: 1 Oct 2014 |
| Issue (grant) of the licence | £401 | No fee | Goods: within 15 working days of the grant | Goods: 1 Oct 2014. PSV grant fees abolished 1 Apr 2010 |
| Continuation every 5 years | £401 | No fee (standard and restricted) | Goods: before the end of the month before the 5-year date | Goods: 1 Oct 2014. PSV continuation fees abolished 1 Apr 2010 |
| Interim licence or interim direction | £68 | Not on the GOV.UK PSV fee table | Within 15 working days of the decision to grant | 1 Apr 2012 |
| Variation (major change) | £257 | £122 | With the variation application | Goods and PSV: 1 Oct 2014 |
| Special restricted (taxi) licence: application | Not applicable | £61 | With the application | 20 Apr 2009 |
| Special restricted (taxi) licence: continuation | Not applicable | £61 every 5 years | At each 5-yearly continuation | 20 Apr 2009 |
| Upgrade restricted to standard, or standard national to standard international (goods) | No fee | PSV restricted to standard needs a new application (£209) | Not applicable | Not applicable |
Sources: Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) (Fees) Regulations 1995, Schedule (£257 and £401 from 1 October 2014 by SI 2014/2119; £68 from 1 April 2012 by SI 2012/308); PSV Fees (Amendment) Regulations 2014 (£209 and £122 from 1 October 2014); PSV Fees (Amendment) Regulations 2009 (£61); PSV Fees (Amendment) Regulations 2010 (grant, continuation and disc fees abolished from 1 April 2010).
Will the fees go up?
No fee change has been announced. The traffic commissioners' annual report for 2025 to 2026, published on 30 September 2026, says there has been "no significant fee increase to pay for the service provision for over 15 years" and that the commissioners "will continue to promote the need for fee reform". We will update this page if a new fee regulation is made.
Application fee
The application fee is £257 for a goods licence and £209 for a standard or restricted PSV licence. You pay it when you apply online through the Vehicle Operator Licensing (VOL) service.
The same £257 applies to a goods licence of any type: restricted, standard national or standard international. The fee regulations make it payable "with the application" (Fees Regulations 1995, Schedule). A special restricted PSV licence, which lets a taxi or private hire licence holder run a registered local bus service, costs £61 to apply for.
If you advertise a goods application wrongly and must apply again, GOV.UK warns that "You'll need to pay for a new advert if you apply again" (Apply for a vehicle operator licence: advertising). A clean first application saves money.
Issue (grant) fee
The issue fee is £401 for a goods licence. You pay it within 15 working days of the date the traffic commissioner grants the licence. Standard and restricted PSV licences have no issue fee.
If you do not pay the goods issue fee, the licence is not issued. The weekly Applications and Decisions publication lists these cases under "Grants not taken up (grant fee not paid)" (Applications and Decisions, Wales, No. 8939). See our guide to Applications and Decisions.
Continuation fee (every 5 years)
The goods continuation fee is £401, paid every 5 years. A licence has no expiry date. It stays in force while you pay this fee on time and confirm your details. Standard and restricted PSV licences have no continuation fee. A special restricted PSV licence costs £61 to continue.
The law sets the deadline as "before the end of the month which precedes the date of expiry of a period of 5 years" from issue or the last 5-year anniversary (Fees Regulations 1995, Schedule). In plain terms, if your continuation date is 31 July, pay by 30 June.
Late payment is accepted only in exceptional circumstances. The Senior Traffic Commissioner's guidance says "Failure to pay on time results in automatic termination of the licence" (STC statutory document summaries). Our operator licence continuation guide explains the dates and how to find yours.
Interim licence fee
An interim licence costs £68 for goods operators. It lets you run vehicles while the traffic commissioner decides your full application. You pay within 15 working days of the decision to grant it.
An interim licence lasts up to 6 months, and the commissioner considers one only when your application is complete (Apply for a vehicle operator licence). The same £68 applies to an interim direction, which is the interim permission for a variation such as extra vehicles or a new operating centre. GOV.UK describes interim licences as a goods vehicle option, and the PSV fee table lists no interim fee. A goods upgrade from restricted to standard does not attract the interim fee (Fees Regulations 1995, Schedule).
Variation fee
A major change to a goods licence costs £257. A chargeable change to a PSV licence costs £122. Many changes are free.
For goods licences, the goods vehicle operator licensing guide lists these chargeable variations:
- increase your overall vehicle or trailer authorisation
- increase the vehicle or trailer authorisation at an operating centre
- add a new operating centre
- change the conditions on an operating centre
Free changes include removing an operating centre (if one remains), adding or removing specified vehicles within your authorised total, and upgrading from restricted to standard national or from standard national to standard international. For PSV licences, GOV.UK says you pay £122 to "increase the vehicle limit on your licence" or to upgrade from standard national to standard international and raise the limit at the same time (PSV operator licences: making changes).
Financial standing is money you hold, not a fee
Financial standing is the money you must show you have available for the whole life of the licence. You do not pay it to anyone. GOV.UK says it "is not a fee that must be paid for a licence, it is resources that must be available for the duration of the licence" (goods vehicle operator licensing guide).
The amounts apply from 1 January 2021 and are fixed in legislation. They no longer change each year (Statutory Document 2: Finance).
| Licence | First vehicle | Each additional vehicle |
|---|---|---|
| Goods standard international | £8,000 (first heavy goods vehicle), or £1,600 for the first light goods vehicle if you run no HGVs | £4,500 each HGV; £800 each light goods vehicle |
| Goods standard national | £8,000 | £4,500 |
| Goods restricted | £3,100 | £1,700 |
| PSV standard (national or international) | £8,000 | £4,500 |
| PSV restricted | £3,100 | £1,700 |
The light goods vehicle rates (£1,600 and £800) took effect at 11pm on 20 May 2022, when vans of 2.5 to 3.5 tonnes used for hire or reward in Europe came into operator licensing (SI 2022/293).
You must show money for every vehicle you plan to authorise, "not just the ones you'll operate straight away" (Apply for a vehicle operator licence: financial evidence). Evidence is usually bank statements covering the last 28 days, and the traffic commissioner uses the average balance. See our financial standing guide for the accepted evidence.
Other costs
Government fees are only part of the bill. GOV.UK sets the requirements below but publishes no prices for them, so get quotes before you apply.
| Cost | Who needs it | What GOV.UK says |
|---|---|---|
| Transport manager | Standard licences (goods and PSV) | You must name a professionally competent transport manager. An external transport manager can work for up to 4 operators with 50 vehicles in total (goods guide) |
| Transport Manager CPC qualification | Anyone becoming a transport manager | A 2-part exam through an approved awarding body (Become a transport manager) |
| Newspaper advert | Goods licences for HGVs | Paid to a local newspaper. PSV and light goods only licences need no advert |
| Operating centre | Goods licences for HGVs | Off-street parking for all HGVs and trailers, with safe access. If you do not own it, you may need evidence that you can use it |
| Maintenance contract | Operators who do not inspect their own vehicles | A contract with a garage or agent for safety inspections and repairs (Being a goods vehicle operator) |
| UK Licence for the Community | Standard international goods licences | "There's no fee" (GOV.UK) |
Our operating centre rules guide and transport manager CPC guide cover these in more detail.
Worked examples
These totals use the GOV.UK figures above. The arithmetic is ours. Fees are paid once; financial standing is money you keep available.
| Example | Government fees at grant | Financial standing to show | Fee every 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goods restricted, 1 vehicle | £658 (£257 + £401) | £3,100 | £401 |
| Goods restricted, 1 vehicle, with interim licence | £726 (£257 + £401 + £68) | £3,100 | £401 |
| Goods standard national, 5 vehicles | £658 | £26,000 (£8,000 + 4 × £4,500) | £401 |
| Goods standard international, 3 vans only | £658 | £3,200 (£1,600 + 2 × £800) | £401 |
| PSV standard, 3 vehicles | £209 | £17,000 (£8,000 + 2 × £4,500) | No fee |
| PSV restricted, 2 vehicles (the maximum) | £209 | £4,800 (£3,100 + £1,700) | No fee |
Most goods licences are small. In the DVSA operator licence data, file dated 7 September 2026, the median restricted goods licence authorises 2 vehicles and the median standard national licence authorises 4. Restricted licences are 46.2% of all 69,122 GB licences (HaulierScope analysis). See restricted vs standard licences to choose the right type.
How to pay
You can pay online when you apply through the VOL service. You can pay interim, issue and continuation fees by phone on the DVSA helpline, 0300 123 9000. You can also post a cheque payable to "DVSA" to the Central Licensing Office, Quarry House, Quarry Hill, Leeds LS2 7UE (GOV.UK fees page). GOV.UK's PSV fees page also accepts postal orders and gives the helpline hours: Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm.
To check that a haulier you plan to use holds a valid licence, run a free operator licence check or read how we source the data. To prepare your own application, follow how to get an operator licence.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an operator's licence cost?
A goods vehicle operator licence costs £257 to apply for and £401 to issue, so £658 in total. An interim licence adds £68. You then pay £401 every 5 years to continue the licence. A standard or restricted PSV licence costs £209 to apply for, with no issue or continuation fee. These figures come from GOV.UK and have not changed since 2014.
How much does a PSV operator's licence cost?
A standard or restricted PSV operator licence costs £209 to apply for. There is no issue fee and no continuation fee. A special restricted licence for taxi and private hire licence holders costs £61 to apply for and £61 every 5 years. Changes that increase your vehicle limit cost £122. Financial standing for a standard PSV licence starts at £8,000.
Will operator licence fees go up?
No change has been announced. Goods licence fees of £257 and £401 have applied since 1 October 2014, and the £68 interim fee since 1 April 2012. The traffic commissioners' annual report for 2025 to 2026 says there has been "no significant fee increase" for over 15 years and that they will keep pressing for fee reform. We re-check the fees at least every 90 days.
Is financial standing a fee?
No. Financial standing is money you must have available, not a payment to DVSA or the traffic commissioner. You keep the money in your business. You must keep it for the life of the licence. Traffic commissioners can ask existing operators for evidence, normally covering three months, and may ask again at the 5-yearly review.
About this guide
Written and maintained by the HaulierScope editorial team. We check every fee, amount and rule against GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk before publishing and when the rules change. Last checked 2 October 2026. HaulierScope is independent and is not part of DVSA or the Office of the Traffic Commissioner. This guide is general information, not legal advice. Read our editorial standards. Spotted an error? Tell us.
Sources
- Being a goods vehicle operator: fees (GOV.UK) (source last updated )
- PSV operator licences: how to apply and fees (GOV.UK) (source last updated )
- Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) (Fees) Regulations 1995, Schedule
- PSV (Operators' Licences) (Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2014
- Statutory Document 2: Finance (GOV.UK) (source last updated )
- Goods vehicle operator licensing guide (GOV.UK) (source last updated )
- Apply for a vehicle operator licence (GOV.UK) (source last updated )
What changed
- : Correction. GOV.UK's goods fees page asks for cheques by post; postal orders are on its PSV fees page. We now say so.
- : Updated. Every fee re-checked against GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk. Register figures now come from the newest DVSA file automatically. Questions answered in other guides now link there.
- : Published. First published.
Register statistics: DVSA operator licence data, file dated 7 September 2026 (see methodology). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.