Whether you’re new to towing or an experienced hand, you need to make sure you stay on the right side of UK towing laws whenever you hitch up to one of the best tow cars and head out on the road. There’s actually quite a lot to think about, some of it quite nuanced and you could easily be caught out.
In this guide, we’re going to look at UK towing laws, which cover everything from what kind of driving licence you need to how you should load your trailer. We’ll cover what these laws mean in practice and how they affect how you should approach towing a trailer of any kind – anything from a small bike carrier to big caravan, to a hulking horsebox. We’ll also detail the sanctions you could face if you break any of the rules.
UK drivers are no longer required to hold a specific driving licence to tow a trailer or caravan. That change came into effect in December 2021. Previously, drivers who passed their test after 1 January 1997 were required to take a separate test to gain the necessary BE (car and trailer) category on their licence. Drivers who passed their test before 1 January 1997 were granted ‘grandfather’ rights that enabled them to tow.
But now the specific licensing requirements have been removed, all UK driving licence holders are allowed to tow. Even if your licence photocard doesn’t show the BE category – it’ll be added the next time you update or renew your card. There are, however, a couple of restrictions still in place:
If you’ve never towed before, we strongly recommend that you get some training, especially if you plan on towing something big and bulky like a horsebox or caravan. Many driver training companies offer towing tuition, as does the Caravan and Motorhome Club. You can find out more about the various driving licence categories on the government website.
There are lower speed limits for towing on ‘national limit’ roads. Those limits are:
Separate towing speed limits don’t apply when the posted limit is 50mph or less.
Not every car is homologated – legally cleared – for towing. All cars that can be used for towing are given a maximum weight they can pull, known as towing capacity. That capacity includes the weight of the trailer and load.
Aside from your car’s towing capacity, there are other weights and capacities you need to consider including:
You can find the towing capacity for your vehicle by looking up the specs in its Parkers review, in the owner’s manual, or on the vehicle identification number (VIN) plate. The maximum weight a trailer towed behind a car can be is 3,500kg. The maximum GTW for a car is 6,750kg.
It can be dangerous to exceed any of these capacity limits. Overloading the car, trailer or both can severely affect your ability to drive safely and puts considerable extra strain on the machinery. You can weigh your car and trailer on a set of portable scales or at a public weighbridge.
Under UK law, a tow bar must by homologated for use on the car it’s fitted to. Tow bars fitted by the car’s manufacturer are homologated by definition, as are the best aftermarket towbars.
You might come across so-called universal tow bars, but that’s a bit of a misnomer. The rear end of every car is different and the mountings for an aftermarket tow bar have match the pattern specified by the car’s manufacturer.
UK law also covers the size and shape of the tow ball on the end of the tow bar and the specification of the electrical connection between car and trailer. American and Australian tow bars are very different and it’s an offence to use them in the UK.
The condition of a tow bar and its electrical connections are now inspected during an MOT. If there are any significant faults, the car may fail the test.
There are a set of maximum dimensions that a trailer can be on UK roads when it’s towed behind a car, pickup truck or van weighing less than 3,500kg. Those dimensions are:
If the trailer and/or it’s load is wider than the car, extended door mirrors must be fitted to the towing vehicle. If the load extends beyond the rear or sides of the trailer, the extremities must be clearly marked for other drivers to see. If the load is more than 3.0 metres tall, it’s height must written down and clearly visible for the driver.
There are separate weight limits for trailers with brakes and those without:
Even with those limits, you still have to make sure you don’t exceed your car’s towing capacity or the maximum allowable mass (MAM) of your trailer. Its unladen weight, payload capacity and MAM should be given on its VIN plate or listed in the owner’s manual – if it has one.
Every trailer must be fitted with same set of working lights as the rear of the towing vehicle, plus a few other things, including:
Trailers that are 2.55 metres wide must also be fitted with reflectors on the rear corners; side marker lights can be fitted, as well.
Trailers must be fitted with a yellow number plate showing the towing vehicle’s registration – as must any load attached to the back of a car that obscures the plate. Scrawling the reg on a piece of cardboard with a black marker pen isn’t sufficient.
Trailers that weight more than 1,020kg when unladen must be MOT’d on an annual basis. Lighter trailers and all caravans are MOT exempt, however drivers are obliged to make sure that their trailer/caravan is in a condition that’s safe for the road. So it’s a sensible precaution to have exempt trailers inspected at least annually.
Towing for work purposes is perfectly legal in the UK, however there are extra legal requirements to meet if the vehicle/trailer combination you’re driving weighs more than 3,500kg. At that point, you’re bound by driver’s hours regulations. Here’s a quick summary:
Driver’s hours can be recorded on a tachograph fitted to the vehicle with the driver’s tachograph card inserted, or in a detailed diary. Any and all work, regardless of whether it involves driving, must recorded. Details to list in a diary include:
There are, of course, many nuances within driver’s hours regulations. You can find a full guide on the government’s website.
If the vehicle and trailer are privately registered, you can argue the toss about whether you’re truly towing for work. However, the rule of thumb applied by the DVSA and the Traffic Commissioners who adjudicate these matters is that, if you’re earning money in any way for driving the vehicle/trailer combination, you must adhere to driver’s hours regs.
All drivers have a duty to make sure their vehicle is in a safe condition before setting out on the road and that duty is heightened when towing. Here’s a non-exhaustive rundown of the things you need to check before taking to the road with a trailer:
A trailer’s load must be securely fastened in place before you hit the road. The best practice depends on what sort of load it is, but here’s a few rules of thumb:
Long vehicle markers are only required when the trailer weighs more than 3,500kg, or the towing vehicle weighs more than 7,000kg. So it’s only lorries that need them. However, the rear of a trailer towed by a car, pickup truck or van must have red reflectors at its outer edges.
You don’t need specific insurance for towing a trailer or caravan. However, not all policies cover towing, so you must make sure yours does. If so, there may be restrictions on the trailer’s weight and dimensions. Exceed those restrictions and your policy will be invalidated. Most policies only provide third-party cover for your trailer/caravan.
If your existing insurance policy doesn’t meet your towing needs, you may be able to upgrade it or you can take out a separate policy to cover your towing journeys. Both the Camping and Caravanning Club and the Caravan and Motorhome Club offer car and trailer insurance policies designed to meet the specific needs of regular towers.
If you break any towing laws or best practice guidelines, particularly those to do with weight and load security, you could be stopped by the police or the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). Whatever the problem is, you will be prohibited from continuing your journey until it has been rectified. You may also receive penalty points on your driving licence and a fine, potentially running to thousands of pounds. Really serious offences could result in you being banned from driving.
