S.I. No. 594/2025 - European Union (Vehicle Drivers Certificate of Professional Competence) Regulations 2025

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Union (Vehicle Drivers Certificate of Professional Competence) Regulations 2025.

2. The European Communities (Vehicle Drivers Certificate of Professional Competence) (No. 2) Regulations 2008 (S. I. No. 359 of 2008) are amended—

(a) in Regulation 2(1) —

(i) by substituting for the definition of “Directive” the following

“ ‘Directive’ means Directive (EU) 2022/2561 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022

1

; ”,

and

(ii) by inserting after the definition of “Rules of the Road” the following

“ ‘Trade and Cooperation Agreement’ means the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part, done at Brussels and London on 30 December 2020

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;”,

(b) in Regulation 6, by substituting for paragraph (1) the following

“(1) These Regulations apply to a person driving a relevant vehicle (other than a vehicle referred to in paragraph (2)) in a public place who is—

(a) a citizen of Ireland,

(b) a national of another Member State, or

(c) a national of a third country who is employed or used by an undertaking—

(i) established in the State or another Member State, or

(ii) established in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.”,

(c) in Regulation 7, by substituting for paragraph (9) the following

“(9) A person who contravenes paragraph (7) commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a class C fine.”

(d) in Regulation 17—

(i) by substituting for paragraph (2) the following

“(2) A driver CPC for the purposes of paragraph (1) shall be—

(a) the driver qualification card as set out in Annex II to the Directive, marked with the distinguishing sign of the Member State issuing the card,

(b) a driving licence or a recognised driving licence, as set out in Section 1 of Annex I to the Directive, marked with the harmonised Union code, ‘95’referred to in Article 10(1) of the Directive, or

(c) a driver qualification card as set out in Appendix 31-B-1-2 to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.”,

and

(ii) by substituting for paragraph (6) the following

“(6) A person who commits an offence under this Regulation is liable on summary conviction to a class D fine.”,

(e) in Regulation 22, by substituting for paragraph (4) the following

“(4) A person who commits an offence under this Regulation is liable on summary conviction to a class A fine.”,

and

(f) in Regulation 23—

(i) in paragraph (1), by substituting for subparagraph (b) the following

“(b) A person who fails to comply with subparagraph (a) commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a class C fine.”,

and

(ii) by substituting for paragraph (3) the following

“(3) A person who contravenes paragraph (2) is liable on summary conviction to a class A fine.”.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

4 December, 2025.

DARRAGH O’BRIEN,

Minister for Transport.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(

This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.

)

These Regulations

• give effect to Directive (EU) 2022/2561 and Article 465 of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and the European Atomic Energy Community and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to expand the application of the European Communities (Vehicle Drivers Certificate of Professional Competence) (No. 2) Regulations 2008 (S.I. 359 of 2008) to drivers who are employed by undertakings based in the UK and who transport goods between, through, and within territories of the parties to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

• update fines.

1 OJ L 330, 23.12.2022, p. 46–69

2 OJ L 149, 30.4.2021, p. 10

1 OJ L 330, 23.12.2022, p. 46–69

2 OJ L 149, 30.4.2021, p. 10

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of

12

th December,

2025.

I, Darragh O’Brien, Minister for Transport, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by

section 3

of the

European Communities Act 1972

(No. 27 of 1972) and for the purpose of giving effect to Directive (EU) 2022/2561 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022

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and to Article 465 of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part, which entered into force on 1 May 2021

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, hereby make the following regulations