Important Information for hauliers operating in EU countries

30 October 2018

Guidance has been issued by the Office of the Traffic Commissioner on the permit application scheme and operators need to be registered and apply for these permits.

The ECMT international road haulage permit system allows journeys between 43 member countries.

At present, the UK issues Community Licences for international journeys, which are recognised in the EU.

Preparations have been made in case ECMT permits are needed for road haulage operations to the EU after March 2019.

Operators need to be aware that the number of permits available will be limited and a permit needs to be carried in each vehicle that’s making an international journey.

In order to apply for the initial round of annual ECMT permits, you needed to have registered via the Vehicle Operator Licensing System and to have applied for the permit by 18 January 2019.  Although the European Commission recently said it would be allowing UK and EU operators to maintain the movement of goods between the UK and other EU Member States until the end of December 2019, this is not law and it can be cancelled at any time, so if you have not applied for an ECMT permit this time around we advise you to keep an eye out for the next round of applications and to apply for an ECMT permit as soon as possible thereafter.

The Government has issued a fact sheet about the process. This can be found at: www.gov.uk/euexitdriving. Applications can be made here:  https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ecmt-international-road-haulage-permits.

If you require further advice, please contact a member of our regulatory team on 01254 828300.