UK HGV Hours and Tachograph Rules: What Operators Must Know in 2025

If you run HGVs in the UK, 2025 is shaping up to be one of the busier years for regulatory changes in recent memory. Some of it affects international operators directly, some of it hits training requirements, and some of it — like the London DVS deadline — catches operators off guard if they're not paying attention. This post breaks down everything you need to know, from tachograph upgrades to CPC reforms, so you're not scrambling to catch up when an enforcement officer pulls one of your drivers over.

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Drivers' Hours: The Core Rules and What's Changed

The fundamentals of UK domestic driving hours haven't moved. Your drivers are still working to a 9-hour daily driving limit, extendable to 10 hours twice a week, a 56-hour weekly maximum, and a 90-hour fortnightly cap. If your fleet is purely domestic, these are the numbers you live and die by, and they remain unchanged for 2025.

Where things have shifted is on the international side. As of 21 April 2025, the UK has formally aligned with AETR rules (the European Agreement Concerning the Work of Crews of Vehicles Engaged in International Road Transport) for journeys to and from non-EU countries. In practical terms, this closes off some flexibilities that operators had been quietly relying on — most notably, the "returning-to-base" exemptions for rest periods that carried over from EU-retained law. If your drivers are crossing into or out of Europe, it's worth revisiting your rest period planning with this in mind.

There's also a significant change to record-keeping. Drivers on international journeys must now be able to produce 56 days of tachograph records on request — double the previous 28-day requirement. That applies to digital data, analogue charts, and manual entries alike. Make sure your record storage process, whether that's paper-based, a digital system like TruckCheck, or both, can actually surface 56 days of clean data at short notice.

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Tachograph Upgrades: The August 2025 Deadline You Can't Miss

Mark 18 August 2025 in your calendar now. Any vehicle currently fitted with a Smart Tachograph Version 1 that operates internationally must be retrofitted with a Smart Tachograph Version 2 by this date.

The new devices aren't just a software tweak — Smart Tachograph V2 units include enhanced GPS tracking specifically designed to record border crossings automatically, and they log loading and unloading activity without driver input. This is partly about removing ambiguity during inspections, and partly about giving enforcement agencies a cleaner data trail.

If your fleet is domestic-only, you're currently exempt from this upgrade. But if you run any vehicles internationally — even occasionally — you need to audit your tachograph equipment now, not in July. Retrofitting takes time, availability from approved fitters isn't unlimited, and the cost of operating non-compliant is far higher than the cost of upgrading on schedule.

The DVSA's Earned Recognition audit standards for HGV operators are worth reviewing here — they set out clearly what's expected in terms of tachograph management and compliance monitoring, and they give you a useful benchmark regardless of whether you're in the Earned Recognition scheme.

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CPC Reforms: More Flexibility for Drivers

The Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) has been overhauled with two changes that are genuinely good news for recruitment and retention.

National Driver CPC

Since late 2024, drivers operating solely within the UK can take advantage of a more flexible training route. Courses can now be as short as 3.5 hours — down from the previous minimum of 7 hours per session — and the full 35-hour periodic training requirement can be completed entirely through e-learning. For drivers juggling shifts and family commitments, this is a meaningful improvement. For operators, it removes one of the practical barriers to getting drivers CPC-compliant on time.

Return to Driving

From 1 February 2025, a streamlined "National Return to Driving" course (35 hours) allows former HGV drivers whose CPC lapsed more than two years ago to re-enter the industry without sitting initial qualification tests again. Given that nearly 50% of active HGV drivers are over 50, and the industry has around 24% of businesses still reporting driver vacancies despite a 13% year-on-year rise in new driver numbers, this pathway matters. If you know experienced drivers who left the industry, now is a practical time to have that conversation.

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Enforcement Updates: London DVS and Scottish Speed Limits

London Direct Vision Standard

If any of your HGVs over 12 tonnes operate in Greater London, the Progressive Safe System (PSS) grace period ends on 4 May 2025. From that point, vehicles must either achieve a three-star DVS rating or have approved advanced safety technology installed to operate legally within Greater London. The Direct Vision Standard was tightened in October 2024, and the grace period for the enhanced PSS requirements is now closing fast. Don't assume your existing permit or previous compliance still covers you — check the current star rating of your vehicles and what technology may need to be fitted.

Scottish Speed Limits

On a more welcome note, HGV speed limits on Scottish single carriageways are expected to rise from 40mph to 50mph by late 2025, bringing Scotland into line with England and Wales. It's a small but meaningful change for driver satisfaction and route timing on Scottish runs, and it should reduce the frustration — and the tailbacks — that the current limit creates.

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Keeping It All Together

The honest challenge for most transport managers in 2025 isn't understanding the individual rules — it's keeping track of which deadline applies to which vehicle and which driver, all at once. The 56-day record requirement, the Smart Tachograph V2 retrofit, the DVS deadline, the CPC changes — they all land in a short window.

Using TruckCheck to centralise your compliance records and flag upcoming deadlines can take some of the pressure off. But whatever system you use, the key is having a single source of truth that your team can actually interrogate when a DVSA officer asks to see documentation at the roadside or during an inspection.

Stay sharp on the April and August dates especially. They're the ones most likely to catch operators out this year.

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