Becoming an owner-operator

The four requirements

Anyone wanting to pursue the occupation of road transport operator must, under the regulation, meet four conditions:

1	Have an effective and stable establishment in a Member State
2	Be of good repute
3	Have appropriate financial standing
4	Have the requisite professional competence

Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009, Article 3. Accessed 26 August 2026.

A real establishment means a PO box address isn't enough: there has to be an operating centre, records and vehicles tied to the country where you're established. Good repute is about your criminal record and any prior transport infringements.

The money you have to be able to show

Financial standing isn't a vague phrase, it's a table:

EUR 9 000, for the first motor vehicle used; EUR 5 000 for each additional motor vehicle or combination of vehicles used that has a permissible laden mass exceeding 3,5 tonnes; and EUR 900 for each additional motor vehicle or combination of vehicles used that has a permissible laden mass exceeding 2,5 tonnes but not exceeding 3,5 tonnes.

Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009, Article 7(1). Undertakings operating solely vehicles of 2.5 to 3.5 tonnes must show at least EUR 1,800 for the first vehicle and EUR 900 for each additional one.

This isn't an amount you pay, it's capital or reserves you have to be able to demonstrate every year, through your annual accounts or a declaration such as a bank guarantee. The idea behind it: whoever can't replace their tyres when times get hard shouldn't be on the road with someone else's load.

When the licensing duty applies

The regulation itself defines who falls under it, and the boundary is exact:

Up to 2.5 tonnes	The regulation does not apply
2.5 to 3.5 tonnes, purely domestic in your own country	Does not apply
2.5 to 3.5 tonnes, international transport	Applies, at the lower capital tier
Over 3.5 tonnes	Always applies

Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009, Article 1(4), with a transitional arrangement that ran until 21 May 2022.

Recognise that same 2.5-tonne line from international transport? It's the same logic as in the driving and rest time rules for vans: the mobility package brought light international operators under the rules across the board.

Two things on top of that. For international transport you need the Community licence, the Euro-licence from Regulation 1072/2009. And most countries also run their own national licensing requirements with lower thresholds; check those with the relevant national body before you start.

A different qualification from your Code 95

This is where a lot of plans go wrong. The professional competence in requirement four is the operator's professional competence: knowledge of law, business management, market access and technical standards, concluded with an exam. That sits entirely apart from the Code 95 you drive on as a driver.

As an owner-operator you need both: your Code 95 to drive yourself, and the operator's professional competence to run the business. Years behind the wheel don't count as the operator's exam.

Also read

• Becoming a truck driver, for the driver's side of the paperwork
• Tachograph readout, because as an operator those duties become yours

Sources

• Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 establishing common rules concerning the conditions to be complied with to pursue the occupation of road transport operator, Articles 1, 3 and 7. Consolidated version of 21 February 2022. EUR-Lex
• Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 for the Community licence in international transport.

Quoted verbatim from the official English version on EUR-Lex, accessed 26 August 2026. This is the European framework; national licensing requirements, tax rules and the assessment of genuine self-employment differ by country and fall outside this page.