International road haulage permits

ECMT international removal permits

Guide

You can apply for a permit for laden or empty journeys if you’re a specialist removal company and you move household goods and business possessions between or across European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT) countries.

There are no limits on the number of available permits.

Eligibility

You must:

have a standard international operator licence for Great Britain or a standard international operator licence for Northern Ireland
use specialised equipment and staff for removal operations

What you need ECMT permits for

You need an ECMT permit to transport most types of goods (or drive an empty vehicle) through the EU (except Cyprus), Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland to these 13 countries:

Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine.

Cyprus is not part of the ECMT scheme. You cannot use an ECMT permit to transport goods through Cyprus to ECMT countries.

Apply for permits

Apply for a permit at least 5 working days before you start your removal journey from the UK.

To apply, you need:

your username and password to manage your vehicle operator licence
a debit or credit card to pay the application fee

When you sign in, select the Permits tab to apply.

Start your application now.

Fees

Each permit costs £18 and lasts for one year.

You can only use a permit for one vehicle at a time.

Rules for using the permits

You must only use the permit for moving and removing household goods and business possessions.

You can only use the permit in one vehicle at a time.

You cannot use the permit for cabotage (journeys entirely within one other EU member state)

What to do when you make journeys
You must carry the permit in your vehicle for the whole of the outward and return journey. This includes an unladen journey before or after a laden one.

You must show the permit to any enforcement officer when asked to.

Check what other vehicle documents and driver documents the driver needs to carry on international journeys.