Who is caught
Three conditions, all of which must be met:
- Weight. The maximum permissible mass of the vehicle, "including any trailer or semi-trailer", exceeds 2.5 tonnes. A 3.5-tonne panel van is in. A 2.4-tonne car-derived van is out unless it tows a trailer that takes the combination over 2.5 tonnes.
- International. The journey is an international transport operation between the UK and the EU, including cabotage (a domestic leg inside an EU country on the back of an international run).
- Hire or reward. GV262: "On or after 1 July 2026, a full smart 2 tachograph must be fitted into goods vehicles over 2.5 tonnes used for international journeys for hire and reward. If the international journey is for the driver or company’s own account and driving does not constitute the main activity of the driver, there is no requirement to fit a tachograph."
The guide adds that "this does not apply to AETR-regulated journeys": runs to or through countries that are party to the AETR agreement rather than the EU stay under the AETR thresholds until that agreement is aligned.
Who is not caught
- Vans of any weight used only within the UK: the GB domestic rules continue to apply as before.
- Vans over 2.5 tonnes on own-account international journeys where driving is not the driver’s main activity, for example a fitter taking their own equipment to a job in France.
- Combinations at or below 2.5 tonnes maximum permissible mass.
What the rules mean once you are in scope
Being in scope means the whole assimilated regime, not only a box on the dashboard. GV262 lists the consequences: the vehicle "must have a tachograph fitted", the driver "must use the tachograph to record driving time, breaks and rest periods, periods of other work and periods of availability", and the driving, break and rest limits apply: 4.5 hours then 45 minutes, 9 hours a day (10 twice a week), 56 hours a week, 90 in a fortnight, 11 hours daily rest, a weekly rest by the end of six 24-hour periods. They are set out on the drivers’ hours page, and the symbols the driver will need to use on the tachograph symbols page. Any in-scope driving on a day brings the whole day in scope, so a van driver who does one cross-Channel run is under the rules for that whole day, including any UK work.
Which tachograph
gov.uk’s tachograph page sets the type by the vehicle’s first registration date: any type for vehicles registered before 1 May 2006; digital or smart from 1 May 2006 to 14 June 2019; smart 1 or smart 2 from 15 June 2019 to 20 February 2024; full or transitional smart 2 from 21 February 2024 to 23 December 2025; and "from 24 December 2025, you must use a full smart 2 tachograph". For vans the rule is simpler because of the sentence quoted above from GV262: from 1 July 2026 a van in scope must have a full smart 2 unit, whatever its age. GV262 also notes that "transitional smart 2 tachographs do not need to be retrofitted in vehicles registered before this date" for lorries; that relief does not help a van coming into scope for the first time, which must be fitted with a full smart 2.
Fitting, calibration and sealing are done only by an approved tachograph centre; gov.uk warns that "it’s not always possible to fit a tachograph" in a light vehicle and directs operators to DVSA’s tachograph section for advice. Find a centre in the tachograph centre directory, and do it before the summer rush: every international van operator has the same deadline.
The driver needs a card
A digital or smart tachograph records to a driver card. A van driver who has never held one must apply to DVLA before 1 July 2026: £32 for a first GB card, online with a photocard licence. The steps, and what to do if a card is lost, are on the driver card page.
The operator licence that already applies
The tachograph rule is the second half of a change that began in 2022. gov.uk: "You need a standard international goods vehicle operator licence to transport goods for hire or reward in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland" using "vans with a maximum authorised mass (MAM) over 2,500kg (2.5 tonnes) and up to and including 3,500kg (3.5 tonnes)", vans towing a trailer with a gross train weight in that band, or cars towing a trailer in that band. The licence requires a transport manager with a Transport Manager CPC and set amounts of available finance; the acquired-rights route for light goods vehicle transport managers closed on 20 May 2025. The licence itself is explained on the operator licence page. An operator without it "can be fined by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA)" and "prosecuted in the European countries you drive through". You do not need the licence if you only use the vehicles in the UK or are not carrying goods for hire or reward: the same two exemptions as the tachograph rule.
Worked examples
Example 1. A courier company runs 3.5-tonne vans from Kent to Belgium for customers. In scope on all three counts: international operator licence already required, and from 1 July 2026 full smart 2 tachographs, driver cards, and the assimilated hours for every day with a crossing.
Example 2. A kitchen fitter drives their own 3-tonne van with tools to a job in Ireland. Over 2.5 tonnes and international, but own account and driving is not the main activity: no tachograph required, no operator licence.
Example 3. A removals firm uses 2.5-tonne vans only within England and Scotland. Not international: neither rule applies, however heavy the van.
Checklist for 1 July 2026
- Standard international operator licence covering the vans (should already be in place).
- Full smart 2 tachograph fitted and calibrated in every van over 2.5 tonnes used for international hire or reward.
- A GB driver card for every driver who will take one abroad.
- Drivers trained on the four modes, manual entries and the 4.5-hour rule; a download routine for cards (28 days) and units (90 days).
- Schedules rebuilt around 9-hour driving days and 11-hour daily rests, which most van rotas were never designed for.