--- title: "State of the GB operator licence register 2026" canonical_url: https://haulierscope.co.uk/reports/state-of-the-register-2026 markdown_url: https://haulierscope.co.uk/reports/state-of-the-register-2026.md dvsa_file_date: 2026-10-07 publisher: HaulierScope licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 (https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/) --- # State of the GB operator licence register 2026 > 69,022 operator licences; 3,651 granted and 4,709 revoked, surrendered or terminated in January to September 2026. Data report with charts and CSV. Source: DVSA operator licence data, file dated 7 October 2026 (https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/2a67d1ee-8f1b-43a3-8bc6-e8772d162a3c/traffic-commissioners-goods-and-public-service-vehicle-operator-licence-records). Data report The register of goods vehicle and bus and coach operator licences in numbers: who holds licences, how big their fleets are, and what the Traffic Commissioners granted and ended in January to September 2026. Every figure is dated and comes from public-sector open data; the CSV carries all of them. Great Britain has **69,022** operator licences. In January to September 2026 3,651 new licences were granted and 4,709 were published as revoked, surrendered or terminated. - **Licences:** 69,022 - **Vehicles authorised:** 690,074 - **Granted, January–September 2026:** 3,651 - **Revoked, surrendered, terminated:** 4,709 ## Key findings 1. The DVSA file dated 7 October 2026 lists **69,022** operator licences: 63,953 goods vehicle and 5,069 PSV, authorising 690,074 vehicles. 2. 42% of goods licences authorise **two lorries or fewer**; the median goods licence authorises 3. 3. 48% of goods licences are **restricted** (own goods only); the rest allow carrying goods for hire or reward. 4. In January to September 2026 the Traffic Commissioners granted **3,651** new licences and published **4,709** as revoked, surrendered or terminated: about 13 ended for every 10 granted. 5. 967 licences were revoked, 1,685 surrendered and 2,057 terminated; 977 public inquiries were listed. 6. East of England granted the most new licences: **808**, 22% of Great Britain’s. 7. **225** licence-holding companies were in liquidation or administration at Companies House (0.5% of 47,565 checked). 8. **200** operators are on DVSA’s earned recognition list; their licences authorise 12% of all vehicles. ## The register today Licences by type, DVSA file 7 October 2026 - Restricted goods **30,690** 44% - Standard National goods **23,525** 34% - Standard International goods **9,738** 14% - Standard National PSV **2,183** 3% - Standard International PSV **1,688** 2% - Restricted PSV **1,198** 2% Licences by holder 1. Companies (limited companies and LLPs) **53,902** licences, 78% 2. Sole traders and partnerships **14,609** licences, 21% 3. Public bodies, charities and other organisations **511** licences, 0.7% Status in the file: 68,486 valid, 520 curtailed, 16 suspended. ## Fleet sizes Vehicles authorised per licence. Most licences are small: the big fleets sit on a few hundred licences. Goods vehicle licences by lorries authorised 1. 1 vehicles: 13,438 licences 2. 2 vehicles: 13,367 licences 3. 3–5 vehicles: 17,376 licences 4. 6–10 vehicles: 9,684 licences 5. 11–25 vehicles: 6,047 licences 6. 26–50 vehicles: 2,340 licences 7. 51–100 vehicles: 1,058 licences 8. 100+ vehicles: 642 licences Median 3. 42% authorise one or two. PSV licences by vehicles authorised 1. 1 vehicles: 933 licences 2. 2 vehicles: 1,205 licences 3. 3–5 vehicles: 889 licences 4. 6–10 vehicles: 757 licences 5. 11–25 vehicles: 752 licences 6. 26–50 vehicles: 298 licences 7. 51–100 vehicles: 115 licences 8. 100+ vehicles: 120 licences Median 4. [Biggest haulage companies](https://haulierscope.co.uk/biggest/haulage-companies) · [Biggest coach and bus operators](https://haulierscope.co.uk/biggest/coach-and-bus-operators) ## Granted and ended, January to September 2026 By the month the Traffic Commissioners published the notice (624 weekly issues read). Each licence counts once per type and month. New licences granted per month 1. January 2026: 311 licences 2. February 2026: 400 licences 3. March 2026: 439 licences 4. April 2026: 421 licences 5. May 2026: 364 licences 6. June 2026: 428 licences 7. July 2026: 475 licences 8. August 2026: 406 licences 9. September 2026: 407 licences Licences ended per month Revoked Terminated Surrendered - January 2026 526 licences: 149 revoked, 253 terminated, 124 surrendered - February 2026 583 licences: 132 revoked, 225 terminated, 226 surrendered - March 2026 535 licences: 114 revoked, 244 terminated, 177 surrendered - April 2026 529 licences: 154 revoked, 233 terminated, 142 surrendered - May 2026 615 licences: 107 revoked, 233 terminated, 275 surrendered - June 2026 535 licences: 73 revoked, 247 terminated, 215 surrendered - July 2026 473 licences: 82 revoked, 217 terminated, 174 surrendered - August 2026 460 licences: 64 revoked, 205 terminated, 191 surrendered - September 2026 453 licences: 92 revoked, 200 terminated, 161 surrendered Licences granted and ended per month, January to September 2026 | Month | Applications | Granted | Revoked | Surrendered | Terminated | Inquiries listed | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [January 2026](https://haulierscope.co.uk/new-operator-licences/2026-01) | 486 | 311 | 149 | 124 | 253 | 127 | | [February 2026](https://haulierscope.co.uk/new-operator-licences/2026-02) | 651 | 400 | 132 | 226 | 225 | 114 | | [March 2026](https://haulierscope.co.uk/new-operator-licences/2026-03) | 607 | 439 | 114 | 177 | 244 | 109 | | [April 2026](https://haulierscope.co.uk/new-operator-licences/2026-04) | 637 | 421 | 154 | 142 | 233 | 103 | | [May 2026](https://haulierscope.co.uk/new-operator-licences/2026-05) | 602 | 364 | 107 | 275 | 233 | 103 | | [June 2026](https://haulierscope.co.uk/new-operator-licences/2026-06) | 580 | 428 | 73 | 215 | 247 | 107 | | [July 2026](https://haulierscope.co.uk/new-operator-licences/2026-07) | 675 | 475 | 82 | 174 | 217 | 108 | | [August 2026](https://haulierscope.co.uk/new-operator-licences/2026-08) | 537 | 406 | 64 | 191 | 205 | 106 | | [September 2026](https://haulierscope.co.uk/new-operator-licences/2026-09) | 590 | 407 | 92 | 161 | 200 | 100 | ## By traffic area Operator licences by traffic area 1. [East of England **13,140** licences, 19%](https://haulierscope.co.uk/area/east-of-england) 2. [North East of England **10,300** licences, 15%](https://haulierscope.co.uk/area/north-east-of-england) 3. [West of England **9,827** licences, 14%](https://haulierscope.co.uk/area/west-of-england) 4. [North West of England **9,389** licences, 14%](https://haulierscope.co.uk/area/north-west-of-england) 5. [West Midlands **8,093** licences, 12%](https://haulierscope.co.uk/area/west-midlands) 6. [London and the South East of England **7,914** licences, 11%](https://haulierscope.co.uk/area/london-and-the-south-east-of-england) 7. [Scotland **5,632** licences, 8%](https://haulierscope.co.uk/area/scotland) 8. [Wales **4,727** licences, 7%](https://haulierscope.co.uk/area/wales) Licences per traffic area, DVSA file 7 October 2026 Boundaries: ONS, OGL v3. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2023. Licences and notices by traffic area, January to September 2026 | Traffic area | Licences | Vehicles | Granted | Ended | Inquiries listed | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [East of England](https://haulierscope.co.uk/applications-and-decisions/east-of-england) | 13,140 | 133,827 | 808 | 979 | 158 | | [London and the South East of England](https://haulierscope.co.uk/applications-and-decisions/london-and-the-south-east-of-england) | 7,914 | 86,632 | 386 | 559 | 115 | | [North East of England](https://haulierscope.co.uk/applications-and-decisions/north-east-of-england) | 10,300 | 106,309 | 537 | 697 | 186 | | [North West of England](https://haulierscope.co.uk/applications-and-decisions/north-west-of-england) | 9,389 | 94,772 | 533 | 608 | 123 | | [Scotland](https://haulierscope.co.uk/applications-and-decisions/scotland) | 5,632 | 61,307 | 210 | 338 | 54 | | [Wales](https://haulierscope.co.uk/applications-and-decisions/wales) | 4,727 | 36,427 | 197 | 269 | 63 | | [West Midlands](https://haulierscope.co.uk/applications-and-decisions/west-midlands) | 8,093 | 74,980 | 496 | 573 | 160 | | [West of England](https://haulierscope.co.uk/applications-and-decisions/west-of-england) | 9,827 | 95,820 | 484 | 686 | 118 | ## Companies behind the licences Limited companies holding a licence, by their status at Companies House on 30 September 2026. Companies whose name does not match the register are left out. Licence-holding companies by Companies House status 1. Active **46,733** companies, 98% 2. Strike-off proposed **383** companies, 0.8% 3. Not on the register **192** companies, 0.4% 4. In liquidation **172** companies, 0.4% 5. In administration **53** companies, 0.1% 6. Voluntary arrangement **32** companies, 0.1% - **200** operators on DVSA’s earned recognition list, 1 October 2026 - **12%** of all vehicles authorised sit on their licences - **225** companies in liquidation or administration still holding a licence ([insolvency watch](https://haulierscope.co.uk/insolvency-watch)) ## Method and sources Register figures come from the DVSA operator licence file dated 7 October 2026 (every licence in the file, with its vehicles authorised). Flows come from the 624 weekly Applications and Decisions and Notices and Proceedings issues published between 1 January 2026 and 30 September 2026. A licence listed twice under the same heading in one month counts once; a public inquiry listed again in a later issue counts once. Company status comes from Companies House. Earned recognition comes from DVSA’s list. The report holds aggregates only: no sole trader or partnership is named anywhere. See [methodology](https://haulierscope.co.uk/methodology) for how each field is read. Please cite as: “HaulierScope, State of the GB operator licence register 2026, from DVSA and Traffic Commissioner open data” with a link to this page. The figures are free to reuse under the Open Government Licence v3.0. [Download every figure (CSV)](https://haulierscope.co.uk/data/state-of-the-register-2026.csv) [All open data downloads](https://haulierscope.co.uk/data) ## More data and tools - [**Upcoming public inquiries** Traffic Commissioner public inquiries listed for companies, by traffic area.](https://haulierscope.co.uk/public-inquiries) - [**Haulier insolvency watch** Licences held by companies in liquidation or administration.](https://haulierscope.co.uk/insolvency-watch) - [**Companies House filing watch** Hauliers whose accounts are overdue at Companies House.](https://haulierscope.co.uk/filing-watch) - [**Continuation dates by month** Which operator licences are due for continuation, and when.](https://haulierscope.co.uk/continuations) - [**DVSA earned recognition list** Operators in DVSA's earned recognition scheme, by traffic area.](https://haulierscope.co.uk/earned-recognition) - [**Data status** How old each source is and when we last checked it.](https://haulierscope.co.uk/status) - [**Applications and Decisions by area** The latest weekly bulletin in each traffic area: new applications, objection deadlines, grants and refusals.](https://haulierscope.co.uk/applications-and-decisions) - [**New operator licences granted** Every new goods and PSV licence granted, month by month, with the companies named.](https://haulierscope.co.uk/new-operator-licences) - [**Licences revoked, surrendered or terminated** Licences the Traffic Commissioners list each month as revoked, surrendered or terminated, in their own wording.](https://haulierscope.co.uk/licences-ended) Guides - [Types of operator licence](https://haulierscope.co.uk/guides/operator-licence-types) - [Applications and Decisions explained](https://haulierscope.co.uk/guides/applications-and-decisions) - [What curtailed, suspended and revoked mean](https://haulierscope.co.uk/guides/curtailed-suspended-revoked) DVSA file 7 Oct 2026 Source: DVSA operator licence data, file dated 7 October 2026, read 9 October 2026. We last checked DVSA for a newer file on 10 October 2026. [How we read it](https://haulierscope.co.uk/methodology) Company facts: Companies House register at 30 September 2026. Contains Companies House data. Earned recognition: DVSA’s list updated 1 October 2026. Traffic Commissioner decisions and weekly publications: Office of the Traffic Commissioner on GOV.UK. Insolvency notices: The Gazette. Contains public sector information licensed under the [Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/). --- Canonical page: https://haulierscope.co.uk/reports/state-of-the-register-2026 Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains Companies House data. Contains information from The Gazette licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. HaulierScope is an independent service, not affiliated with DVSA or the Traffic Commissioners. It is updated when DVSA publishes a new file, usually weekly.