Van Driver Hours Rules for Courier Fleets
Quick answer. Van driver hours rules UK depend on plated weight and the journey. A UK-only goods vehicle not over 3.5 tonnes stays on Great Britain domestic rules, with a 10-hour daily driving limit. From 1 July 2026, international work in a light goods vehicle over 2.5 tonnes needs assimilated hours and a smart tachograph 2, unless an exemption applies.
Reviewed on 25 September 2026 against the GOV.UK drivers' hours guide and the DVSA bulletin of 1 July 2026. This is an operator's guide, not legal advice. Northern Ireland has its own domestic rules. The domestic limits below are the Great Britain rules in section 2.
- Which rule applies
- Great Britain domestic rules
- Assimilated rules from 1 July 2026
- Zero-emission vans from 3.5 to 4.25 tonnes
- What a UK-only courier depot does not have to fit
- What the depot files
- Common questions
- Sources
Which rule applies
DVSA and GOV.UK do not set one driving limit for every courier van. Use the plated maximum permissible mass, including any trailer, and then the journey. The weight of the load that morning is not the test.
| Situation | Rule |
|---|---|
| UK-only goods vehicle, maximum permissible mass not over 3.5 tonnes | Great Britain domestic rules. The 1 July 2026 tachograph change does not apply. |
| From 1 July 2026, international hire or reward, or cabotage, vehicle or combination over 2.5 tonnes, UK and EU | Assimilated drivers' hours and a smart tachograph 2. This extension does not apply to AETR-regulated journeys. |
| International own account, over 2.5 and not over 3.5 tonnes, and driving is not the driver's main activity | Exemption from assimilated rules only if every condition in section 1 is met. |
| Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes, in the UK or between the UK and the EU | Assimilated rules, unless an exemption or a national derogation applies. |
| Zero-emission goods vehicle over 3.5 and not over 4.25 tonnes, used only in Great Britain | National derogation from assimilated hours and tachographs. It does not cover a journey into Northern Ireland. |
Hire or reward means carrying someone else's goods for payment. A parcel round for a carrier is that work. Own account means the goods belong to the business and the journey serves that business. Do not add the domestic 10-hour limit to the assimilated 9-hour limit. If a driver changes regime in one day, use section 1 and section 2 rather than a local sum.
Great Britain domestic rules
The domestic rules, in the Transport Act 1968 as amended, apply to most goods vehicles that are exempt from the assimilated rules.
In a working day the maximum driving is 10 hours. Driving includes time at the controls with the engine running. The day is the 24-hour period that starts when duty starts. Duty is capped at 11 hours. A driver who does not drive that day is exempt from the duty limit. A driver who does not drive more than 4 hours on each day of the week is exempt from the duty limit all week. For an owner-driver, GOV.UK defines duty as driving connected with the business, or other work connected with the vehicle and its load.
GOV.UK exempts some drivers of vehicles not over 3.5 tonnes from the duty limit, not from the 10-hour driving limit, and only for listed uses such as medical work, inspection and fitting, and commercial travellers. Parcel delivery is not in that list. The domestic rules set no 45-minute break. Employers must still give adequate rest under the Working Time Regulations 1998. Annex 2 covers that duty. The employer cannot opt out of adequate rest.
A weekly record sheet is required only where the vehicle needs an operator's licence and driving exceeds 4 hours that day. Operators are expected to check and sign it. A UK-only van with no operator's licence does not meet that test. See the operator licence guide for vans over 2.5 tonnes. Paid courier work is not private driving, which is one of the short domestic exemptions. Outside Great Britain, follow the rules of the country you are in.
Assimilated rules from 1 July 2026
Assimilated rules are Regulation (EC) 561/2006 and Regulation (EU) 165/2014, as they have effect in the UK. They already apply to most goods vehicles whose maximum permissible mass, including any trailer, exceeds 3.5 tonnes, in the UK and between the UK and the EU.
From 1 July 2026 they also apply to light goods vehicles on international transport operations, including cabotage, within the UK and the EU, where that mass exceeds 2.5 tonnes. The vehicle need not be laden. GOV.UK says this extension does not apply to AETR-regulated journeys.
The DVSA bulletin of 1 July 2026 tells in-scope operators to follow assimilated hours, fit a smart tachograph version 2, and record driving, rest, breaks and other work. It does not apply where you carry your own goods and driving is not the driver's main activity, or where the vehicle is not over 3.5 tonnes and works only in the UK.
GOV.UK tachograph rules state the same hire-or-reward fitting rule. Special notice 02-26 says a vehicle newly registered from 24 December 2025 needs a full smart tachograph 2, and an earlier vehicle may use a transitional unit. An approved tachograph centre does the fitting. Zerity does not analyse tachograph files.
Where the assimilated rules apply, GOV.UK's summary states: 9 hours' driving a day, extendable to 10 twice a week; 56 hours a week; 90 hours in any two consecutive weeks; at least 45 minutes' break after 4 hours 30 minutes, which may split into at least 15 then at least 30; 11 hours' daily rest, reducible to 9 up to three times between weekly rests; and a 45-hour weekly rest, reducible to 24 every other week. Read that page before a week that crosses a border.
Own account, where driving is not the main job
Section 1 exempts a vehicle over 2.5 tonnes and not over 3.5 tonnes where the carriage is own account, not hire or reward, and driving is not the driver's main activity. The goods must belong to the undertaking, the journey must be for its own requirements, and the driver must not be an independent haulier. GOV.UK's examples of a main activity other than driving are a technician, engineer, builder or inspector. A courier paid to deliver other people's parcels is in hire or reward, so this row does not apply. It also does not apply to AETR journeys.
Zero-emission vans from 3.5 to 4.25 tonnes
This is a separate note. Special notice 02-26 and section 1 describe a national derogation for a zero-emission vehicle used by an undertaking to carry goods, with a maximum permissible mass including any trailer over 3.5 tonnes and not over 4.25 tonnes. It is outside assimilated drivers' hours and tachograph rules. GOV.UK defines a zero-emission vehicle as one with no internal combustion engine, or with CO2 emissions of 0 grams per kilometre.
It applies in England, Scotland and Wales, not Northern Ireland. The 2026 amendment regulations made the change. Special notice 02-26 states commencement on 1 June 2026. Testing under those regulations is a separate duty.
What a UK-only courier depot does not have to fit
A depot that stays in the UK, with goods vehicles that do not weigh more than 3.5 tonnes, does not fit a smart tachograph 2 because of 1 July 2026. It does not move those drivers onto the 9-hour day, the 56-hour week or the 45-minute break for that reason. The Great Britain domestic 10-hour driving limit and the 11-hour duty limit still apply, subject to the exemptions above.
It changes on the first international hire-or-reward trip, if a trailer takes the combination over 3.5 tonnes, or if the plate is already over 3.5 tonnes. Read the plate. Cabotage is not UK-only work. Section 1 includes it in the light-vehicle extension.
What the depot files
For each vehicle, keep the plated weight, any trailer, whether the work is UK-only or international, and whether it is hire or reward or own account. If someone relies on the own-account exemption, keep a note of why driving is not their main activity.
Where the domestic record rule applies, keep the signed weekly sheet. Where assimilated rules apply, the tachograph record is the hours record. Downloading it is the operator's tachograph process. Zerity does not analyse tachograph files.
The hours decision sits next to the vehicle check. A walkaround is a DVSA inspection duty, covered in the vehicle walkaround check guide and on the fleet compliance checklist. Driver compliance software can hold the decision and the uploaded record. It does not decide the regime, and it does not run a driving licence check with DVLA. Pay is a different file. Hours do not set the invoice. That sits with courier self-billing. Courier compliance software is where the evidence is kept.
Common questions
Do Amazon DSP vans need a tachograph?
No, if the van stays in the UK and is not over 3.5 tonnes. DVSA's bulletin of 1 July 2026 leaves those vehicles out. International hire or reward at 2,501kg or over needs a smart tachograph 2 and assimilated hours.
What is the 10 hour driving limit in the UK?
Great Britain domestic rules cap driving at 10 hours in a working day, starting when duty starts. Assimilated rules cap a normal day at 9 hours, extendable to 10 twice a week.
Does a UK-only van under 3.5 tonnes follow the 1 July 2026 rules?
No. Those rules are for international work in light goods vehicles over 2.5 tonnes. A UK-only van not over 3.5 tonnes stays on Great Britain domestic hours, including the 10-hour driving limit.
When does a van need a smart tachograph 2?
From 1 July 2026, for international hire or reward in a goods vehicle over 2.5 tonnes. A vehicle registered from 24 December 2025 needs the full unit. UK-only use under 3.5 tonnes does not need one under that rule.
Does cabotage put a light goods vehicle in scope?
Yes, when the other conditions are met. From 1 July 2026, section 1 applies assimilated rules to international light goods work, including cabotage, over 2.5 tonnes. Cabotage permissions are in the operator licensing guide.
Sources
Zerity Editorial Team
The Zerity team writes about fleet management, compliance, and scaling logistics businesses — drawing from hands-on experience helping UK courier companies streamline operations.
