A goods vehicle with a revenue weight over 3,500kg needs a vehicle licence, also called vehicle tax or vehicle excise duty (VED), whenever it is used or kept on a public road. A heavy goods vehicle (HGV) with a revenue weight of 12,000kg or more also pays the HGV Road User Levy, a separate charge based on its weight and emissions standard. DVLA collects the levy for UK-registered vehicles in the same transaction as the vehicle tax.
Vehicle excise duty
The HGV levy
The levy applies to a mechanically propelled vehicle with a revenue weight of 12,000kg or more that is taxed at goods vehicle rates. It also applies to a foreign-registered vehicle that would be taxed that way if it were not only temporarily in the UK. For a rigid vehicle drawing a trailer of 4,000kg or more, the weight of the trailer is added to find the band. The levy is payable for every period for which a vehicle is charged to vehicle tax, so you pay it in full under the temporary vehicle tax rate. A six-month licence pays the half-yearly levy rate, which is 60% of the yearly rate.
The levy is also not charged on a zero-emission HGV.
How to pay
Tax the vehicle with DVLA online, by phone or at a Post Office that handles vehicle tax. You need the reference number from your vehicle log book (V5C) or from a vehicle tax reminder. You can pay by Direct Debit or by debit or credit card. DVLA works out the levy automatically for UK-registered vehicles.
A vehicle that is not registered in the UK must pay the levy online through the HGV levy service before it enters the UK. It can pay for a day, a week, a month, six months or a year.
If you will not use an untaxed vehicle on a public road, tell DVLA by making a statutory off road notification (SORN). You get a refund for any full months of tax left.
Legal basis
Primary legislation and key regulations