New driving licence rules for electric vans

The Government is bringing driving licence rules for heavier electric vans in line with their lighter petrol and diesel equivalents. 

The Department for Transport (DfT) has laid secondary legislation before Parliament today (Tuesday, February 25) to enable Standard category B licence holders to be able to drive zero-emission vehicles up to 4.25 tonnes, broadening the flexibility to cover all vehicle types, beyond goods vans. 

Accounting for the additional weight of the vehicle’s batteries, the rule change will apply to vans, minibuses, SUVs, trucks, and any vehicle that can be driven up to 3.5 tonnes if they are petrol and diesel. 

The additional five-hour training requirement for drivers will also be removed and it will make changes to towing allowances for electric vans weighing up to 4.25 tonnes.

Subject to parliamentary approval the changes are expected to come into force in the spring.  

The weight limit for Category B driving licence holders driving alternative-fuel vehicles (AFVs) was first increased from 3.5t to 4.25t in 2018.  

The previous Government had announced in October, 2023, that the additional five-hour training requirement for drivers would be removed for electric vans weighing up to 4.25 tonnes.

It also promised to make changes to towing allowances and broaden the flexibility to cover all vehicle types, beyond goods vans, recognising that further measures were needed to support their uptake.

However, the new rules were not introduced before the General Election and fleets have been forced to wait for the new administration to table the legislation required.

The licence change was announced to coincide with an extension to the plug-in van grant, which means fleets will continue to benefit from up to £5,000 off an electric van until April 2026.

Fleets are also waiting on the outcome of an ongoing electric van consultation – ‘Zero emission vans: regulatory flexibility’ -  which relates to annual vehicle testing, drivers’ hours and tachographs, and speed limiter devices, currently required for 4.25-tonne electric vans. It closes on March 3. 

The main proposals in the consultation include, transferring the annual testing of zero emission goods vehicles, with a GVW of 3.5t to 4.25t, from the heavy vehicle testing system to the MOT network, with the tests used for 3t to 3.5t goods vehicles put in place. 

It is also seeking views on amending annual testing schedules, so their first test is after three years from first registration (and annually thereafter), and removing zero-emission vehicles, with a GVW of 3.5t to 4.25t (and when used with a trailer in a combination with a MAM up to 7t), from the requirements for tachograph use, the assimilated drivers’ hours rules and specific road transport working time rules when used within Great Britain.

In a recent Fleet News at 10 webinar, the AA’s fleet director, Duncan Webb, said that having to adhere to stricter ‘truck’ regulations was an “absolute blocker” to fleets moving away from diesel to electric vans.