Truck and trailer rules in Great Britain: licence categories, trailer brake classes, width, height and length limits
What GOV.UK and the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 say about lorry licence categories with a trailer, the 2.55 metre width, the 3 metre height notice, length limits, and how regulation 15 sorts trailers for braking standards.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It covers Great Britain: the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 are marked in force for England, Wales and Scotland on legislation.gov.uk, and Northern Ireland has its own rules that were not read for this page. Text adapted from GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Weight words such as maximum authorised mass are explained on the page on vehicle weights in Great Britain, and the licence categories by weight are on driving the chip truck. Federal background and the other places are on the parent page, trucks and trailers for tree work.
At a glance
| Item | What the sources say |
|---|---|
| Category C1 | Vehicles between 3,500 and 7,500 kg maximum authorised mass, with a trailer up to 750 kg |
| Category C1E | C1 vehicles with a trailer over 750 kg; combined maximum authorised mass not over 12,000 kg |
| Category C | Vehicles over 3,500 kg with a trailer up to 750 kg |
| Category CE | Category C vehicles with a trailer over 750 kg |
| Trailer brake classes | Regulation 15 sorts trailers by maximum total design axle weight: up to 750 kg, over 750 to 3,500 kg, over 3,500 to 10,000 kg, over 10,000 kg |
| Width | 2.55 metres for a motor vehicle and for a trailer drawn by a motor vehicle other than a motorcycle |
| Height | A cab notice is required above 3 metres overall travelling height |
| Length | 12 metres wheeled motor vehicle other than a bus; 18.75 metres motor vehicle drawing one trailer that is not a semi-trailer |
| Safety chain | Not published on the pages read |
Licence categories with a trailer
GOV.UK lists the lorry categories in its page on driving licence categories. Category C1 covers vehicles between 3,500 and 7,500 kg maximum authorised mass with a trailer up to 750 kg. Category C1E covers C1 vehicles with a trailer over 750 kg, and the combined maximum authorised mass of both cannot exceed 12,000 kg. Category C covers vehicles over 3,500 kg with a trailer up to 750 kg, and category CE covers category C vehicles with a trailer over 750 kg. For cars, the page says a driver who passed the test on or after January 1, 1997 can drive a vehicle up to 3,500 kg for petrol and diesel, and 4,250 kg for electric or hydrogen vehicles, and can tow a trailer up to 3,500 kg maximum authorised mass with a combined limit of 7,000 kg. The GOV.UK towing page adds that heavier combinations than a licence allows need a provisional licence for category C1+E, the lorry theory test and the C1+E driving test, and that extra Driver Certificate of Professional Competence tests apply if driving the medium-sized lorry is the main part of the job. See the GOV.UK page on driving licence categories and the GOV.UK page on what you can tow.
Braking, width, height and length
Regulation 15 of the 1986 regulations sets braking system standards for classes of vehicle listed in a table. For trailers the table sorts by maximum total design axle weight: the trailer classes are: not over 750 kg, over 750 kg but not over 3,500 kg, over 3,500 kg but not over 10,000 kg, and over 10,000 kg. The regulation lists exclusions, including an agricultural trailer not drawn faster than 40 km/h and a trailer manufactured before January 1, 1997 with a maximum total design axle weight not over 750 kg. See regulation 15 on braking systems.
Regulation 8 sets the maximum overall width at 2.55 metres for any motor vehicle other than a locomotive and for a trailer drawn by a motor vehicle other than a motorcycle. It sets 2.60 metres for a refrigerated vehicle, conditioned container or swap body, and 1.5 metres for a trailer drawn by a motorcycle. Regulation 10 says no person may drive a motor vehicle with an overall travelling height over 3 metres unless a notice showing the height is displayed in the cab. See regulation 8 on width.
Regulation 7 sets length. The table gives 12 metres for a wheeled motor vehicle other than a bus, 15.5 metres for an articulated vehicle whose semi-trailer does not meet the paragraph 6 requirements, 18.75 metres for a motor vehicle drawing one trailer that is not a semi-trailer, and 12 metres for a trailer with at least four wheels drawn by a goods vehicle over 3,500 kg maximum gross weight. See regulation 7 on length.
Sources
- GOV.UK, driving licence categories, read October 9, 2026
- GOV.UK, towing with a car: what you can tow, read October 9, 2026
- legislation.gov.uk, Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 regulation 7 length, read October 9, 2026
- legislation.gov.uk, Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 regulation 8 width, read October 9, 2026
- legislation.gov.uk, Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 regulation 10 travelling height notice, read October 9, 2026
- legislation.gov.uk, Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 regulation 15 braking systems, read October 9, 2026