Since 4 December 2011, small trailers towed by a vehicle under 3.5 tonnes and used for hire or reward are no longer exempt from operator licensing. Therefore, if you are carrying other people’s goods for hire or reward (e.g. working as a courier or freight transport business), the weight calculation must now include any trailer attached (irrespective of the trailer’s weight). If the vehicle and trailer combination exceeds 3.5 tonnes gross plated weight – or where there is no plated weight, exceeds an unladen weight of more than 1525kg – a standard O-licence will be required.

 

The original exemption for a trailer with an unladen weight of less than 1020kg still applies as before where the person using it is not carrying other people’s goods for hire or reward. In such cases, the weight of the trailer can be ignored for the purposes of adding up the total gross weights or unladen weights to determine whether an operator’s licence is required.