GovWire

You must carry certain documents with you if you drive or travel as a passenger in a commercial vehicle carrying goods between countries. These include:

• a valid UK driving licence
• an international driving permit (IDP) if you need one for the countries youre travelling in
• a valid Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) card
• a valid passport
• healthcare documents

Driving licences and international driving permits

You will need to carry your UK driving licence with you. You must have the right category of licence for the vehicle youre driving.

You do not need an international driving permit (IDP) to drive in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland.

You might need an IDP to drive in some EU countries and Norway if you have:

• a paper driving licence
• a licence issued in Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man

Check with the embassy of the country you will be driving in.

Driver CPC for lorry drivers

You need a Driver CPC qualification to drive a lorry professionally in the UK, the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

You must carry your Driver CPC card (sometimes called a driver qualification card or DQC) with you.

If you work for a UK company and have a UK Driver CPC card

You can still use your UK Driver CPC card to drive to or through EU countries for all international journeys that UK companies are allowed to make.

If you work for an EU company and have a UK Driver CPC card

Your UK Driver CPC card may no longer be recognised in EU countries.

Check with the relevant organisation in the country where you live and work to find out what you need to do.

Drivers hours documents and tachographs

If you drive a goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes on international journeys you must follow the rules on?drivers hours?and tachograph use.

You must have:

• tachograph charts and any legally required manual records for the current day and the previous 28 calendar days
• the drivers digital smart card, if you have one

You must record annual leave or sick leave by either:

• using a tachographs manual inputs
• making a manual record of it on an analogue record sheet or on digital printout paper

Vehicle and trailer insurance and green cards

You must have suitable motor insurance cover when you drive abroad.

In some countries, you will need to carry a green card as proof of the insurance cover.

Where you need green cards

You need a green card to drive in:

• Albania
• Azerbaijan
• Israel
• Moldova
• Montenegro
• Morocco
• Tunisia
• Turkey
• Ukraine

You will need to carry more than one green card if:

• you have fleet or multi-car insurance - youll need a green card for each vehicle
• your vehicle is towing a trailer - youll need one for the towing vehicle and one for the trailer or caravan (you need separate trailer insurance in some countries)
• you have 2 policies covering the duration of your trip, for example, if your policy renews during the journey

You must carry a physical copy of your green card when driving abroad. Electronic versions of green cards are not acceptable.

Make sure your employer has got green cards

Make sure your employer either:

• contacts their vehicle insurance provider at least 6 weeks before you travel to get a copy
• prints green cards their insurance providers electronically send to them (this does not need to be printed on green paper)

When you will have to show your green cards

You will need to show green cards if youre involved in an accident.

You may need to show green cards at police checks and at the border when:

• you enter the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway
• move between the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway

This will depend on the border authorities of each country.

Find out more about vehicle insurance.

If youre involved in a road accident

Contact your insurance provider if youre involved in a road accident in the EU.

Any legal proceedings against either the responsible driver or the insurance provider of the vehicle will need to be brought in the EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway where the accident happened. You might have to make your claim in the local language.

You will not get compensation in some countries if the accident is caused by an uninsured driver or if the driver cannot be traced.

Get legal advice if you need more information about this.

Passport

You must have a valid passport - even if youre a passenger or crew member.

Check the expiry date and the entry rules of the countries on your route.

On the day you travel, youll need your passport to:

• have at least 6 months left
• be less than 10 years old (even if it has 6 months or more left)

If you do not renew it, you may not be able to travel to most EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

It usually takes 3 weeks if you need to renew your passport. Theres a premium service if you need it sooner.

These rules do not apply to travel to Ireland. You can continue to use your passport as long as its valid for the length of your stay.

Visas

You can work in the EU without a visa if do not spend more than 90 days in the EU within any 180-day period.

Check the entry requirements section for the countries youre planning to visit.

Healthcare

You should always get appropriate travel insurance with healthcare cover before you go abroad.

A European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) gives you the right to access state-provided healthcare during a temporary stay in the EU country.

You

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