Drivers hours rules: the GB domestic and assimilated regimes explained

Drivers hours rules in Great Britain come in two main sets, the assimilated rules carried over from EU law and the older GB domestic rules, and which one applies depends on the vehicle, the work and the journey. Operators then have a separate layer of working time law on top, so a schedule can comply with one regime and still breach another.

This guide sets out who falls under each regime, the daily and weekly limits, breaks and rest, how mixed driving is counted, the tachograph and record duties, and how working time rules interact with them. It reflects GOV.UK and DVSA guidance as checked in November 2026 and covers England, Scotland and Wales; Northern Ireland has its own guidance.

Which drivers hours rules apply to your vehicles

GOV.UK now calls the former EU regime the assimilated rules. They are based on Regulation (EC) 561/2006 and the tachograph Regulation (EU) 165/2014 as they have effect in UK law. For goods, they apply to most vehicles whose maximum permissible mass, including any trailer, exceeds 3.5 tonnes, whether laden or not. For passengers, they cover vehicles built or permanently adapted to carry more than nine people including the driver, with an exemption for regular services on routes of 50 km or less.

The scope widened on 1 July 2026. DVSA’s goods vehicle guidance confirms that assimilated rules now also apply to light goods vehicles over 2.5 tonnes used for international transport, including cabotage. Van operators running cross-border work need to check this change carefully.

Vehicles exempt from the assimilated rules usually fall under the GB domestic rules in the Transport Act 1968. Exemptions listed by DVSA include vehicles that cannot exceed 40 km/h, non-commercial carriage of goods in vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes, and vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes carrying the driver’s own materials or equipment within 100 km of base where driving is not the main activity. Each exemption has conditions, so read the full wording before relying on one. A third set, the AETR rules, applies to journeys to, from or through AETR signatory countries outside the EU.

Limits compared: assimilated and GB domestic

The two regimes are built differently. Assimilated rules control driving, breaks and rest in detail; GB domestic rules set a daily driving cap and, for goods vehicles, a daily duty cap.

Under assimilated rules, a regular daily rest of 11 hours can be split into at least 3 hours followed by at least 9 hours. A reduced weekly rest must be compensated in one block, attached to another rest of at least 9 hours, before the end of the third week following. Regular weekly rests cannot be taken in the cab; the employer must provide and pay for suitable accommodation. Operators must also organise work so that drivers return to base or home for a regular weekly rest within each four-week period, and keep records showing they did.

The GB domestic duty limit does not apply on days when a driver does not drive, and a driver who drives no more than 4 hours on every day of a week is exempt from the duty limit for that week. Small goods vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes used by doctors, vets, maintenance and installation engineers, commercial travellers and the AA, RAC or RSAC are exempt from the duty limit, though the driving limit still applies. Bus and coach drivers under domestic rules have different requirements, including a 16-hour spreadover and set breaks, explained on the GB domestic rules page.

Mixed driving in one day or week

Many fleets combine in-scope and out-of-scope work, such as a driver who takes a 7.5 tonne rigid in the morning and an exempt vehicle in the afternoon. GOV.UK guidance on driving under different rules sets out how the regimes combine:

• Driving or duty under assimilated or AETR rules counts towards the GB domestic driving and duty limits.
• Driving under GB domestic rules counts as other work, never as a break or rest, under assimilated rules.
• Drivers must take assimilated daily rest and a weekly rest in any day or week that includes in-scope driving.
• While driving in scope, all the assimilated limits apply at the same time as the domestic caps.

In practice, the tighter limit in each case wins, and planners should build schedules from the assimilated rules whenever any in-scope driving appears in the week. Shift design matters as much as the rule book; our piece on how the fleet handover begins when the shift ends covers the operational side.

Tachographs, records and operator duties

An approved tachograph must be used when driving under assimilated or AETR rules. Under domestic rules, drivers of goods vehicles that need an operator’s licence must keep a weekly record sheet on any day they drive more than 4 hours, or use a tachograph instead. DVSA’s tachograph guidance sets several fixed obligations:

• Operators must download vehicle unit data at least every 90 days and driver card data at least every 28 days.
• Drivers must be able to show records for the current day and the previous 28 calendar days, or 56 days for international journeys to and from the EU.
• From 1 July 2026, a full smart tachograph version 2 must be fitted to goods vehicles over 2.5 tonnes on international hire and reward journeys.
• Manual entries are required when work happens away from the vehicle, when equipment fails, or when an unforeseen event forces a breach.

Employers must schedule work so drivers can comply, train them, check their records and keep drivers hours records for at least one year, according to the rules for employers. They must not pay by distance, speed or load in a way that encourages breaches. Tachograph and telematics data overlap, so deciding who reviews which dataset belongs in your fleet telematics data governance.

How working time rules sit alongside drivers hours rules

Working time law limits all work, not just driving. DVSA’s working time annex splits drivers into two groups.

Mobile workers under assimilated or AETR rules

The Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005 apply. Working time must average no more than 48 hours a week over a reference period, normally 17 weeks and extendable to 26 weeks by agreement, with no individual opt-out. A single week can reach 60 hours if the average holds. Drivers must not work more than 6 hours without a break; 30 minutes of breaks are needed for 6 to 9 hours of work and 45 minutes beyond 9 hours, in periods of at least 15 minutes. Where night work is done, working time is capped at 10 hours in 24 hours unless an agreement allows more. Breaks and periods of availability, such as known waiting time during loading, do not count as working time. Records must be kept for 2 years after the reference period ends.

Drivers under GB domestic rules

The Working Time Regulations 1998 apply in a lighter form: a 48-hour average week with an individual opt-out, 5.6 weeks of paid annual leave, health assessments for night workers and adequate rest. Self-employed drivers fall under the 2005 Regulations if they meet the definition, but not under the 1998 Regulations.

Key points for fleet and transport managers

• Decide the regime per journey, not per driver: vehicle weight, use and destination set which drivers hours rules apply.
• Check light goods vehicles over 2.5 tonnes on international work against the scope change from 1 July 2026.
• When in-scope and exempt work mix, plan to the assimilated limits and count domestic driving as other work.
• Run working time checks separately; a compliant tachograph record does not prove a compliant working week.
• Penalties listed by GOV.UK range from verbal warnings to fixed penalties, prohibitions and immobilisation.
• This article is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice.

Sources

• GOV.UK: Drivers’ hours
• GOV.UK: Drivers’ hours: assimilated rules
• GOV.UK: Drivers’ hours: GB domestic rules
• GOV.UK: Driving under both assimilated or AETR rules and GB domestic rules
• GOV.UK: Drivers’ hours: rules for employers
• DVSA: Drivers’ hours and tachographs: goods vehicles
• DVSA: Assimilated and AETR rules on drivers’ hours
• DVSA: Great Britain domestic rules on drivers’ hours
• DVSA: Tachograph rules
• DVSA: Annex 2: working time rules
• DVSA: Drivers’ hours and tachographs: passenger vehicles
• legislation.gov.uk: Regulation (EC) No 561/2006
• legislation.gov.uk: The Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005

Sources checked in November 2026. Rules, rates and schemes can change after publication, so check the linked official pages before acting.