Operator licensing and Brexit

Posted by AndrewT on 7th Feb 2020

The UK officially left the EU on 31st January 2020 at 11pm. We are now in a transition period to 11pm on 31st December 2020 where little if anything will change. During the transition period negotiations between the UK Government and EU will take place on the future relationship.  The 27 EU member states hope to sign off on their Negotiating Mandate by 25th February 2020 and initial negotiations will start in March 2020. The last date by which the implementation period can be extended is 30th June 2020. A future trade agreement will need to be in place by 26th November to be ratified by the end of the implementation period. Any potential new trading arrangement would then commence on 1st January 2021. Whatever the outcome it is highly likely that customs declarations will be required for import / export between the UK and EU. For road transport operators in the UK, the requirements of the operator’s licence, which includes following all relevant laws such as drivers' hours and tachograph regulations, will not change during the implementation period to 11pm on 31st December 2020. Operator licensing exists to ensure the safety of all road users, including professional drivers and maintain fair competition between operators. Check out the Descartes Brexit Resource Centre for more information on Brexit.