HGV Drivers’ Hours Rules: A Practical Guide for UK Operators

Which drivers’ hours rules apply?

The assimilated rules (opens in a new tab) apply to most vehicles used to carry goods, including dual-purpose vehicles, where the maximum permissible mass including any trailer exceeds 3.5 tonnes, wholly in the UK or between the UK and the EU. The vehicle need not be laden. From 1 July 2026 they also apply to light goods vehicles over 2.5 tonnes on international operations, including cabotage, within the UK and the EU. That change does not apply to AETR journeys. A short period of assimilated driving puts the driver in scope for that whole day, including the weekly rest and the weekly driving limit.

Exemptions apply in the UK and between the UK and the EU. National derogations apply only to journeys wholly in the UK. The assimilated page lists them. A vehicle exempt from those rules is usually on the GB domestic rules in Great Britain.

AETR rules apply to the whole journey to, from or through an AETR country, including any EU countries passed through. They match the assimilated rules in most respects. The differences this page uses are the ones that guidance already flags: national derogations do not apply; two consecutive reduced weekly rests do not apply; a weekly rest cannot be interrupted on a ferry or train; and the extra one or two hours to reach base or home does not apply. Northern Ireland has its own domestic rules. They are not set out here.

Daily driving limit

Under the assimilated rules the maximum daily driving time is 9 hours. That is the driving between the end of one daily rest and the next, or between a daily rest and a weekly rest. Off-road driving counts toward that total when there is also driving on a public road between the same rests. Where there is no public-road driving, off-road driving is other work. Nine hours is not the GB domestic day.

Extended daily driving

The 9-hour day can be increased to 10 hours twice in a fixed week. A fixed week is Monday 00:00 to Sunday 24:00. Two extensions means two days. Once both are used, the rest of that fixed week is a 9-hour driving day. The extension is not carried into the next fixed week.

Weekly driving limit

The maximum weekly driving limit is 56 hours in the fixed week. The working week is different: it runs from the end of one weekly rest to the start of the next, and it need not match the fixed week. A weekly rest in the middle of a calendar week is allowed. Fifty-six legal hours can still break the fortnight in the next section.

Fortnightly driving limit

Driving in any two consecutive fixed weeks must not exceed 90 hours. A 56-hour week leaves 34 hours in the other week. Two 56-hour weeks are 112, which is over 90 even when every day looked legal. Week one with week two, and week two with week three, are both fortnights.

Breaks

After no more than 4.5 hours of driving, the driver must immediately take a break of at least 45 minutes, unless they take a rest. It must not be interrupted. A break is only for recuperation: no driving and no other work. It may be taken in a moving vehicle if no other work is done.

The 45 minutes may be split only as at least 15 minutes followed by at least 30 minutes, spread over the 4.5 hours. Thirty minutes then 15 is not a qualifying split. Breaks under 15 minutes do not count toward the 45, and they are not duty or driving. A qualifying break clears the driving before it. This break is an assimilated rule. It is not a GB domestic rule, and it is not the working-time break below.

Daily rest

A daily rest must fall within 24 hours of the end of the previous daily or weekly rest. A regular daily rest is at least 11 continuous hours. It may be split: first at least 3 hours, then at least 9 hours, 12 hours in total. That split is still a regular daily rest. Daily rest may be taken in a stationary vehicle with suitable sleeping facilities for each driver. Rest in a moving vehicle does not count.

Reduced daily rest

A daily rest may be reduced to at least 9 continuous hours, no more than three times between weekly rests. Reduced daily rest does not have to be compensated. A reduced weekly rest does. Once three reduced daily rests have been used, the next daily rest before the following weekly rest has to be a regular one.

Weekly rest

A weekly rest must start no later than the end of six consecutive 24-hour periods from the end of the last weekly rest. A regular weekly rest is at least 45 continuous hours. In any two consecutive fixed weeks the driver takes two regular weekly rests, or one regular and one reduced. More than six shifts is allowed if the daily rests are compliant and there are still no more than six consecutive 24-hour periods between weekly rests.

A weekly rest that falls across two fixed weeks counts in either week, not both. A rest of at least 69 hours that starts in one fixed week and ends in the next may count as two back-to-back weekly rests, such as 45 hours then 24, if no more than 144 hours has passed since the previous weekly rest ended. A reduced weekly rest may be taken in a stationary vehicle with a bunk or other bed designed for sleeping. A regular weekly rest, and any weekly rest of more than 45 hours that includes compensation, must not be taken in the vehicle. The employer pays for the accommodation.

Reduced weekly rest and compensation

A reduced weekly rest is at least 24 continuous hours and less than 45. The reduction is compensated by an equivalent rest taken in one block, attached to a rest of at least 9 hours, before the end of the third week following the week in question. A 33-hour weekly rest is 12 hours short of 45, so those 12 hours are the block. They cannot be split across several nights. Only the reduced rest that meets the minimum of one regular and one reduced weekly rest in two consecutive fixed weeks has to be compensated. An extra reduced rest taken only to stay inside six periods of 24 hours is the case the assimilated page treats separately.

On international goods work, not on AETR journeys and not on ordinary UK work, two consecutive reduced weekly rests may be taken outside the UK and the driver’s country of residence. Any four fixed weeks still need at least four weekly rests, two of them regular, and both reductions are compensated before the next regular weekly rest. In each four weeks the operator organises a return to the normal base or home before that rest, or before the compensation where two reduced rests were taken, keeps the documents at the premises, and may let the driver spend a home rest elsewhere.

Multi-manning

Multi-manning means at least two drivers are in the vehicle to do the driving between rests. The second driver is optional for the first hour only, so the vehicle can leave base and collect them. Each driver may then take at least 9 consecutive hours’ rest inside 30 hours of the last daily or weekly rest, instead of inside 24. That 9-hour rest is a reduced daily rest and counts toward the three. It is not a 15-hour duty day. A regular rest inside the 30 hours, 11 continuous hours or a split of 3 then 9, does not use up a reduced rest. If the conditions are not met, each driver stays on the single-manned rules.

The other assimilated limits still apply. Forty-five minutes of availability counts as a break if the co-driver does no work. Crew driving before a daily rest can reach 20 hours only if both drivers are entitled to a 10-hour day. The second driver need not be the same person throughout, but that person’s own duties decide whether they can claim the concession.

Ferry and train

Where the driver accompanies the vehicle on a ferry or train, a regular daily rest may be interrupted no more than twice, for no more than one hour in total, including customs. The rest must still add up to at least 11 hours, or 12 if split, and on a single-manned journey it must finish inside 24 hours. Under the assimilated rules a weekly rest may be interrupted the same way. A reduced weekly rest still totals at least 24 hours, with a sleeper cabin, bunk or couchette. A regular weekly rest may be interrupted only if the ferry or train is scheduled for at least 8 hours and the driver has a sleeper cabin. No part of that interrupted regular weekly rest is taken in the vehicle, and it still totals at least 45 hours.

Under AETR rules only a regular daily rest may be interrupted. On a multi-manned 30-hour spreadover, an interrupted daily rest must be a regular daily rest of at least 11 hours, or 12 if split, and it must finish inside the 30 hours.

Emergencies and unforeseen events

An emergency is not a late ferry or a traffic jam. The assimilated rules do not define one. The guidance treats it as immediate preventative action to avoid danger to the life or health of people or animals, a serious interruption of essential public services, of electronic communications or postal services, or of roads, railways, ports or airports, or serious damage to property. A vehicle used for that emergency or rescue is exempt for the duration. A driver who breaks a rest to attend must still complete a qualifying rest before ordinary work resumes. The same situations suspend the GB domestic driving and duty limits for the duration. The emergency exemption publication (opens in a new tab) is the further note.

An unforeseen event is only when compliance unexpectedly becomes impossible during the journey. Planned breaches are not allowed. Severe weather, a collision, a breakdown or an interrupted ferry are the examples on the page. Repeated use can show the work was not scheduled to comply. To reach a suitable stopping place, the driver may depart from the driving, break and rest rules only as far as needed to protect people, the vehicle or the load. The reasons go on the tachograph record at the latest on arrival. The driver still takes 11 hours of daily rest, or 9 if a reduced daily rest is still open, even if that rest cannot finish inside 24 hours, or inside 30 if the crew is multi-manned. The extension is compensated by an equivalent rest in one block, added to any rest, by the end of the third week following.

Reaching base or home does not apply to AETR journeys, and road safety must not be jeopardised. Up to one extra hour is allowed, to take a regular or reduced weekly rest. Up to two hours is allowed only for a regular weekly rest, and only after an uninterrupted 30-minute break taken immediately before the extra driving. Other work does not interrupt that driving unless safety needs it. The page’s table moves a 9-hour day to 10, or a 10-hour day to 11, and 56 hours to 57, for the one-hour case. The two-hour case moves those daily figures to 11 or 12, and the week to 58. The 90-hour fortnight cannot be exceeded. A driver may not always drive 12 hours. Compensation is the same one block, and the reasons go on the record.

GB domestic rules

The GB domestic rules (opens in a new tab) apply to most goods vehicles that are exempt from the assimilated rules, while in Great Britain. They do not contain the 4.5-hour break, and they do not use the 9-hour assimilated driving limit. Daily driving is 10 hours. The day is the 24 hours from the start of duty. Off-road driving for agriculture, quarrying, forestry, building work or civil engineering counts as duty, not driving.

Daily duty is 11 hours. It covers work and driving, not rest or breaks. There is no duty limit on a day the driver does not drive, or for a week in which driving does not exceed 4 hours on any day. The domestic rules set no break length and no daily or weekly rest length. Adequate rest still comes from the Working Time Regulations 1998. Where an operator-licence goods vehicle is driven for more than 4 hours in a day, the driver keeps a written weekly record and the operator is expected to check and sign it. A compliant tachograph may be that record instead. Armed forces, police and fire vehicles, driving that is always off the public road, and private driving are outside these rules.

On a mixed day or week the mixed-driving rules (opens in a new tab) give the assimilated rules precedence. Assimilated or AETR duty is not a domestic break or rest. Domestic driving and other duty count as other work under the assimilated rules, not as a break or rest. Assimilated or AETR driving counts toward the domestic driving and duty limits.

Drivers’ hours and working time

Working time does not recount the 9, 56 or 90 hours. A driver can be inside the driving limits and outside working time. The working time annex (opens in a new tab) splits the two regimes. How long each file is kept is in what records a transport manager should keep.

Drivers in scope of the assimilated or AETR rules

They are normally under the Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005. The average is 48 hours over 17 weeks, or 26 weeks by agreement. One week may reach 60 hours if the average holds. There is no opt-out. Breaks and periods of availability do not count. Availability is waiting whose length is known in advance. Unknown waiting counts as work. Night work, if done, is limited to 10 hours’ working time in 24 hours unless an agreement allows more. For goods vehicles, night time is 00:00 to 04:00.

Working-time breaks are not the 4.5-hour driving break: a break by 6 hours, 30 minutes in total for 6 to 9 hours of work, 45 minutes above 9 hours, each break at least 15 minutes. Rest matches the assimilated drivers’ hours rest. Records are kept for two years. A driver with more than one employer in scope tells each, in writing, of the other hours. Occasional mobile workers are outside these regulations at 10 days or fewer in a reference period under 26 weeks, or 15 days or fewer when it is 26 weeks or longer.

Drivers on GB domestic rules, and occasional mobile workers

This group is under the Working Time Regulations 1998. The average is also 48 hours, normally over a rolling 17 weeks, or up to 52 weeks by agreement, and an individual may opt out of that average. The same regulations give 5.6 weeks’ paid leave, night-worker health checks, and adequate rest. Adequate rest cannot be opted out of. Do not apply the 60-hour week, or the rule that there is no opt-out, to a driver who is only on the domestic rules.

Tachograph records

The tachograph records driving, breaks, rest, other work and availability. It is not the working-time ledger. Other work and out-of-scope driving are manual entries. A gap can hide a breach. What an infringement is, and what to do with one, is in tachograph infringements explained. The tachograph rules (opens in a new tab) set the download timing: the driver card at least every 28 days, and the vehicle unit at least every 90 days. Those intervals are not retention periods. The statutory notes are tachograph records and drivers’ hours and working time.

Operator responsibilities

The operator schedules work so the rules that apply can be met. Repeated use of the unforeseen concession can show that it was not. For drivers the return rule covers, the operator organises the four-week return and keeps the documents at the premises. The employer pays for accommodation when the weekly rest cannot be taken in the vehicle. On domestic work, the operator checks and signs the weekly sheet where one is required. Drivers’ hours records are kept for at least 12 months, and working-time records for at least two years. DVSA Earned Recognition is voluntary and is not these limits.

FleetPro tachograph analysis

What each package includes is on pricing. More of the module is on tachograph compliance.

Quick reference

Read the column before the number. Where that column’s source sets no figure, the cell says so. The working-time column is the 2005 Regulations. GB domestic drivers use the 1998 Regulations, in the last row.

Before you schedule the week

Questions operators ask

Which drivers’ hours rules apply to an HGV?

Most goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes are on the assimilated rules unless an exemption or a UK-only derogation applies. Exempt vehicles are usually on GB domestic rules in Great Britain. Working time is a third regime.

Can a driver use 10 hours every day?

Not under the assimilated rules. Ten hours is available twice in a fixed week. The week is still 56 hours, and any two weeks are 90. Under GB domestic rules, 10 hours is the daily maximum.

Can the 45-minute break be split?

Only as at least 15 minutes followed by at least 30. Thirty minutes first is not a qualifying split. Breaks under 15 minutes do not count toward the 45.

Does a reduced daily rest have to be compensated?

No. Reduced daily rest does not have to be compensated. A reduced weekly rest does, in one block, before the end of the third week following.

Is weekly rest always 45 hours?

A regular weekly rest is at least 45 hours. A reduced weekly rest is at least 24 and under 45, and in any two fixed weeks at least one rest is regular. A regular weekly rest is not taken in the vehicle.

Are GB domestic rules the same as the assimilated rules?

No. Domestic driving is 10 hours and duty is 11. They do not contain the 4.5-hour break or the 9-hour driving limit.

Is working time the same as driving time?

No. Under the 2005 Regulations the average is 48 hours, a week may reach 60, and there is no opt-out. Under the 1998 Regulations the average is 48 hours, an individual may opt out, and adequate rest cannot be opted out of.

You can open a trial and see tachograph analysis where the package includes it. No card is taken at the start. When the trial ends, features lock until you speak with us. Start at organisation setup. Package differences are on pricing.

Official sources

The figures on this page are taken from these GOV.UK guides. Where a guide sets no figure, the table says so.

Assimilated and AETR drivers’ hours (opens in a new tab). GB domestic drivers’ hours (opens in a new tab). Mixed assimilated and GB domestic driving (opens in a new tab). Working time rules (opens in a new tab). Tachograph rules (opens in a new tab).