The three operator licence types
Which licence a business holds decides what it is allowed to carry, for whom, and how far. Each licence has exactly one type — measured across all 69,173 of them, not one carries two.
Restricted
The operator carries only its own goods — its own stock, its own materials, its own equipment. It may never carry goods for another business for payment. No qualified transport manager is required, which is why this is the licence held by builders, farmers and shopfitters rather than by hauliers.
The 32,008 Restricted licences
Standard National
The operator may carry goods for hire or reward — that is, for other people, for money — anywhere in Great Britain, but not on international journeys. A qualified transport manager must be named on the licence at all times.
The 25,765 Standard National licences
Standard International
Everything a Standard National licence allows, plus international journeys under a UK Licence for the Community. This is the licence a haulier needs to load in Great Britain and unload on the continent.