UK commercial trailers must be registered to travel abroad

From 28 March 2019, commercial trailers over 750kg and all trailers over 3,500kg must be registered before they can travel through countries that have ratified the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic.

This means that these trailers making international journeys will need to:

  • Be registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA);
  • Display their own registration plate (separate from the vehicle towing them);
  • Be able to present the Trailer Registration Certificate to a foreign authority on request.

Operators do not need to register trailers that are only used in the UK or only used for journeys between the UK and Ireland.

Further guidance will be published about how to use the trailer registration scheme.

More information is available on the Government website.