- Enforced by
- DVSA
- Status
- Amended (in force with amendments)
- Penalty ceiling
- Imprisonment 14 of 50 obligations carry a fine up to £2,500. 10 carry different penalties and 26 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.
Does it bind you?
Business-side roles with duties under this instrument.
Plus 13 duties on the regulator, Crown ministers and public bodies — folded into the section list below.
Other Acts binding the same actors
If a role above is yours, these are the other instruments that most often bind it.
Any Person — also bound by 2340 other Acts
Employer — also bound by 682 other Acts
Landlord — also bound by 224 other Acts
Manufacturer — also bound by 502 other Acts
Director or Officer — also bound by 429 other Acts
What it requires
Sections creating concrete business duties or carrying penalties, grouped as the instrument is structured. Titles link to the source text — blue means you’re leaving for legislation.gov.uk.
Integration of Freight Transport Services
0 of 4 sections shown4 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
Integrated Transport Areas and Passenger Transport Areas
4 of 22 sections shownOther duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Transport Authorities must secure essential public transport servicesLocal authority
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Passenger Transport Authorities must consult and publish service policiesLocal authority
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Transport Executives must review and secure rail services in their areaLocal authority
- Comply with written directions regarding integrated transport areasAny Person
18 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
Bus and Ferry Services
0 of 14 sections shown14 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
Further Provisions as to Boards, New Authorities and Transport Services
1 of 23 sections shownOther duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Nationalised transport authorities must ensure financial break-evenCrown / Minister / Government department
22 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
- Hold a valid operator’s licence for goods vehiclesAny Person
Fine up to £2,500
- Exceed maximum number of vehicles allowed on operator's licenceAny Person
Fine up to £2,500
- Fail to notify licensing authority of convictions during licence applicationAny Person
Fine up to £2,500
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Licensing authority must determine operator licence applicationsLocal authority
- Breach road safety conditions on an operator's licenceAny Person
Fine up to £2,500
- Fail to notify licensing authority of business changesAny Person
Fine up to £2,500
- Apply for or obtain a licence while disqualifiedAny Person
Fine up to £2,500
- Use an unauthorised operating centre for vehiclesAny Person
Fine up to £2,500
- Breach of operating centre conditionsAny Person
Fine up to £2,500
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Licensing authority must review operating centres every five yearsLocal authority
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Licensing authority must consider environmental impact of operating centresLocal authority
- Fail to carry or keep consignment notes for large goods vehiclesAny Person
- Fail to comply with inspection request or obstruct officerAny Person
- Unauthorized disclosure of confidential business information from an inquiryAny Person
Fine up to £2,500
- Pay required fees for operator's licence grant or variationAny Person
- Breach of operator licence regulationsAny Person
Fine up to £200
32 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
Drivers’ Hours
21 of 35 sections shown- Breach of domestic or international driving hours rulesEmployer
Fine up to £2,500
- Failure to install or correctly use tachograph recording equipmentEmployer
Unlimited fine
- Forge or tamper with vehicle tachograph sealsAny Person
- Fail to ensure drivers hand over tachograph recordsAny Person
Fine up to £2,500
- Download data from vehicle tachograph unitsAny Person
- Download digital tachograph data from driver cardsEmployer
- Fail to download or retain transport data as requiredAny Person
- Failure to provide access to downloaded tachograph dataAny Person
Unlimited fine
- Use or allow a vehicle without a compliant tachograph (AETR)Employer
Unlimited fine
- Supply tachograph equipment without a valid type-approval certificateAny Person
Fine up to £2,500
- Fail to report tachograph security vulnerabilitiesManufacturer
Fine up to £2,500
- Fail to keep or maintain driver work recordsEmployer
Fine up to £2,500
- Fail to produce records or obstruct an inspectionAny Person
Fine up to £1,000
- Fail to comply with a transport prohibitionAny Person
Unlimited fine
amended 6 times
amended 6 times
- Personal liability for directors and partners for transport offencesDirector or Officer
2 years imprisonment · amended 6 times
14 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
Inland Waterways
15 of 16 sections shown- Maintain commercial and cruising waterways for public useAny Person
amended 8 times
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Waterways Board must efficiently manage and commercialise assetsStatutory regulator
amended 8 times
amended 8 times
amended 8 times
- Breach of local waterway byelawsAny Person
Fine up to £200 · amended 2 times (opens in a new tab)
1 other section in this Part — procedural and definitional
Bridges, Level Crossings, etc.
9 of 10 sections shown- Maintain and improve bridges carrying highways over transport networksAny Person
- Maintain bridges over railways and waterways to ensure safetyLandlord
1 other section in this Part — procedural and definitional
Regulation of Road Traffic
0 of 2 sections shown2 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
Miscellaneous and General
14 of 33 sections shownOther duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Minister must make regulations for staff compensation following transfersCrown / Minister / Government department
- Establish staff consultation and negotiation machineryEmployer
- Preserve and offer historical transport records and relicsAny Person
- Subsidiaries of Transport Boards must pay business rates on commercial premisesAny Person
19 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
Schedules
5 of 81 shown- Agree in writing on the division of property and liabilities during transfersAny Person
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Notify persons affected by split of rights or liabilities after a transferCrown / Minister / Government department
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Transferor must secure effective transfer of property governed by non-GB lawCrown / Minister / Government department
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Ministers must comply with Schedule 13 procedures before making inland waterway ordersCrown / Minister / Government department
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Scottish Ministers must consult freight operators before waterway ordersCrown / Minister / Government department
76 other schedules
7 other provisions
Help complying
Guvnor’s practical routes through this instrument.
Start a transport and logistics business
Launch a transport or haulage business with the right operator licence
What to do when stopped by DVSA at the roadside
How to handle a DVSA roadside inspection, what examiners check, your rights during the stop, prohibition powers, and what to do afterwards …
Goods vehicle compliance quick check
Quick compliance check across all goods vehicle operator obligations
Responding to DVSA enforcement or Traffic Commissioner action
What to do if your transport business faces DVSA enforcement action or a Traffic Commissioner public inquiry. Covers understanding your OCRS score, …
Growing your goods vehicle fleet
What changes when you grow your goods vehicle fleet, from O-licence variations to OCRS scrutiny
Getting started with international road haulage
Upgrade your domestic haulage operation for international road freight
Tachographs and Drivers' Hours
Understand tachograph requirements and drivers' hours rules for goods vehicle operations.
2 more guides that reference this instrument
Duty extraction and severity labels are Guvnor’s analysis of the instrument, not the instrument itself. Always verify against the linked source text.