Road transport and RoRo 

Transport managers will find useful information on this webpage to brief their drivers and put in place processes to exchange information and paperwork with their customers. Importers, exporters, carriers and intermediaries may also find useful information about the RoRo IT systems in the UK and other countries.  

The Border Operating Model provides a wealth of information about post-transition processes and systems, including those that will be relevant to RoRo.  

International road haulage from 1 January 2021: this guidance focuses primarily on vehicle requirements 

ECMT permits: the UK-EU trade and cooperation agreement allows UK hauliers to carry out unlimited point-to-point transport operations between the UK and the EU, unlimited transit through the EU as part of a journey between the UK and a non-EU country as well as two additional journeys within the EU (one of which can be within an EU country) without ECMT permits. An ECMT permit may be used to carry out a third operation between two EU countries. Find out more about ECMT permits. 

Drivers don’t need international driving permits (IDPs) to drive in EU countries. However, IDPs may be required for other countries. Check if you need one or several IDPs and find your nearest Post Office branch that offers the IDP service. 

Don’t set off without the right paperwork! The “Check an HGV is ready for the border” service is intended to identify any missing formalities before a truck arrives at the border. Using the “Check an HGV” service is mandatory for EU-bound trucks going through the port of Dover or Eurotunnel. Read more about this service and traffic management in Kent 

Safety and Security (S&S) declarations are a part of the overall customs process. The legal responsibility of submitting a safety and security declaration lies with the haulier for accompanied RoRo and with the shipping line for unaccompanied transport. Entry summary (ENS) and pre-departure declarations are made before goods arrive and leave a customs territory. Information from the declarations is used to risk assess goods for safety and security threats. Find out when to make a UK entry summary declaration if you bring goods into the UK from the EU in 2021. 

Inland border facilities: Certain customs formalities can only be completed when the haulier attends a location where customs officials may have to stamp documents. The list of inland border facilities that hauliers can attend to start or end a Common Transit movement, get a CITES check (for items containing endangered species), have an ATA carnet or a TIR carnet stamped or undergo physical inspections is available here. Some of these facilities are also used for traffic management and freight prioritisation purposes. 

TIR: Customs formalities must be completed for the goods a haulier moves between the UK and the EU. This must be arranged with the hauliers’ customers and their representatives or intermediaries. TIR carnets are one of the customs options available to traders and hauliers when goods are moved by road. The haulier must be TIR-accredited. Find out more about the benefits of TIR here. If goods are moved under a customs procedure other than TIR, the haulier must receive other documents and/or reference numbers as proof of the completion of the customs formalities by the exporter.