Guidance

Vehicle operator licences: traffic areas

Published 17 April 2025

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

漏 Crown copyright 2025

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit or write to the Information Policy Team, 皇冠体育app National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: [email protected].

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is available at /government/publications/vehicle-operator-licence-applications-guidance/vehicle-operator-licences-traffic-areas

When you apply for a vehicle operator licence, you will need to get separate licences for each traffic area you have an operating centre in.

Great Britain is divided into 8 traffic areas. Each area has a Traffic Commissioner who鈥檚 responsible for issuing licences.聽

Check this list to find out which counties, boroughs and districts are covered by each traffic area.

Eastern

皇冠体育app Eastern traffic area includes the following areas.

皇冠体育app metropolitan boroughs within:

  • Bedfordshire
  • Buckinghamshire
  • Cambridgeshire
  • Essex
  • Hertfordshire
  • Leicestershire
  • Lincolnshire (except the districts of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire)
  • Norfolk
  • Northamptonshire
  • Suffolk

皇冠体育app districts of:

  • Leicester
  • Luton
  • Milton Keynes
  • Peterborough
  • Rutland
  • Southend-on-Sea
  • Thurrock

North Eastern

皇冠体育app North Eastern traffic area includes the following areas.

皇冠体育app metropolitan boroughs within:

  • South Yorkshire
  • Tyne and Wear
  • West Yorkshire

皇冠体育app counties of:

  • Durham
  • Northumberland
  • North Yorkshire
  • Nottinghamshire

皇冠体育app districts of:

  • Darlington
  • East Riding of Yorkshire
  • Hartlepool
  • Kingston-upon-Hull
  • Middlesbrough
  • North East Lincolnshire
  • North Lincolnshire
  • Nottingham
  • Redcar and Cleveland
  • Stockton-on-Tees
  • York

North Western

皇冠体育app North Western traffic area includes the following areas.

皇冠体育app metropolitan boroughs within:

  • Greater Manchester
  • Merseyside

皇冠体育app counties of:

  • Cheshire
  • Cumbria
  • Derbyshire
  • Lancashire

皇冠体育app districts of:

  • Blackburn with Darwen
  • Blackpool
  • Derby City
  • Halton
  • Warrington

Scotland

皇冠体育app Scotland traffic area includes all of Scotland.

South Eastern and Metropolitan

皇冠体育app South Eastern and Metropolitan traffic area includes the following areas.

  • Greater London

皇冠体育app districts of:

  • Kent
  • Surrey
  • East Sussex
  • West Sussex

皇冠体育app districts of:

  • Brighton and Hove
  • the Medway Towns

Wales

皇冠体育app Wales traffic area includes all of Wales.

West Midlands

皇冠体育app West Midlands traffic area includes the following areas.

皇冠体育app counties of:

  • Shropshire
  • Staffordshire
  • Warwickshire
  • Worcestershire

皇冠体育app districts of:

  • Herefordshire
  • Stoke-on-Trent
  • Telford and Wrekin

Western

皇冠体育app Western traffic area includes the following areas.

皇冠体育app counties of:

  • Cornwall
  • Devon
  • Dorset
  • Gloucestershire
  • Hampshire
  • Oxfordshire
  • Somerset
  • Wiltshire

皇冠体育app districts of:

  • Bath and North East Somerset
  • Bournemouth
  • Bracknell Forest
  • Bristol
  • Isle of Wight
  • North Somerset
  • Plymouth
  • Poole
  • Portsmouth
  • Reading
  • Slough
  • Southampton
  • South Gloucestershire
  • Swindon
  • Torbay
  • West Berkshire
  • Windsor and Maidenhead
  • Workingham
Back to top