Compliance planning, EU/GB rules
Will the run fit inside the driver's legal hours?
Feed in the driving already on the card for today, this fixed week and the previous week. Example: a driver 7 hours into an extended 10-hour day, with 38 hours this week following a 44-hour previous week, can legally be rostered 3 more hours of driving today, and just 8 across the rest of the week once the 90-hour fortnight cap is applied.
£300
top DVSA fixed penalty per drivers' hours offence (the range is £50 to £300)
The basis
- Statutory limits applied: daily driving 9 hours, or 10 hours on up to two days per fixed week; 56 hours per fixed week; 90 hours across any two consecutive fixed weeks; a 45-minute break once 4.5 hours' driving has accumulated (gov.uk/drivers-hours).
- Weekly figures are entered per fixed week (Monday 00:00 to Sunday 24:00), with today's driving included in the current week's total.
- Rest is planned separately: rosters must accommodate 11 hours' daily rest (reducible to 9 on up to 3 occasions between weekly rests) and weekly rest per the weekly rest guide.
- Working time (WTD) limits for mobile workers, the 48-hour average and 60-hour weekly maximum, sit on top of these driving caps; see the working time guide.
- Outputs are planning capacity, not a compliance verdict. The tachograph data is authoritative: reconcile against downloaded card data, and treat multi-manning, ferry crossings and out-of-scope driving as exceptions this planner does not model.
Drivers' Hours Calculator is an independent planning tool operated by Ellul Solutions Ltd. It has no connection to DVSA, the Office of the Traffic Commissioner or any other government body, and its output is not legal advice or a compliance determination. Statutory limits are stated as at the updated date shown; verify them at gov.uk/drivers-hours before relying on them in your transport operation.
Rosterable driving capacity under the 9/56/90-hour caps
Last updated
Planning scenarios a transport office sees weekly: how the daily limit, the 56-hour week and the 90-hour fortnight interact to set what a driver can still legally be given, computed with the planner's own formulas.
Additional driving rosterable today = min(daily limit - driving today, 56 - current week, 90 - current week - previous week), floored at zero, where the daily limit is 10 if fewer than two extended days are used, else 9. Limits per gov.uk/drivers-hours.
| Rostered today | 10h days used | This week | Previous week | More rosterable today | Week capacity left |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5h | 0 | 25h | 35h | 5h | 30h |
| 7h | 1 | 38h | 44h | 3h | 8h |
| 8h | 2 | 42h | 40h | 1h | 8h |
| 9h | 2 | 48h | 36h | 0h | 6h |
| 4h | 0 | 30h | 52h | 6h | 8h |
- A driver who has already driven 44 hours in one fixed week has at most 46 hours available in the next, because the 90-hour fortnight cap overrides the 56-hour weekly limit.
- Only two driving days per fixed week may be extended from 9 to 10 hours, so a five-day roster has a hard ceiling of 47 driving hours (2 x 10 + 3 x 9).
- DVSA graduated fixed penalties for drivers' hours offences run from £50 to £300 per offence, and examiners can assess infringements from the previous 28 days at the roadside.
Cite this page
“Rosterable driving capacity under the 9/56/90-hour caps”, Drivers' Hours Calculator, https://drivershourscalculator.co.uk/ (updated 2026-08-14). Additional driving rosterable today = min(daily limit - driving today, 56 - current week, 90 - current week - previous week), floored at zero, where the daily limit is 10 if fewer than two extended days are used, else 9. Limits per gov.uk/drivers-hours.
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Worth knowing
Every figure sourced and dated.
- Weekly rest planning: regular, reduced and the compensation rule
How to roster weekly rest for HGV drivers: 45-hour regular rest, 24-hour reduced rest, the two-week pattern, six 24-hour periods, and paying compensation back.
- Drivers' hours penalties: DVSA fixed penalties, court and the O-licence
What drivers' hours infringements cost: DVSA graduated fixed penalties of £50 to £300 per offence, 28-day historic checks, immobilisation, court referral and OCRS.
- Working time rules for mobile workers: the operator's obligations
The road transport working time rules from the operator's side: 48-hour average, 60-hour weekly cap, night work limits, POA, and the records you must keep.
The questions we get
What are the drivers' hours limits for planning purposes?
Daily driving 9 hours (10 on up to two days per fixed week), 56 hours' driving per fixed week, 90 hours across any two consecutive fixed weeks, a 45-minute break once 4.5 hours' driving accumulates, daily rest of 11 hours (9 reduced, up to 3 times between weekly rests) and weekly rest of 45 hours (24 reduced, with compensation).
How does the 90-hour fortnight limit affect rostering?
It links every week to its neighbour: a 50-hour driving week leaves at most 40 the next, however much of the 56-hour weekly cap remains. Rosters built week by week in isolation are how fortnight breaches happen.
How many 10-hour driving days can be rostered per week?
Two per fixed week. The extension applies to driving time only; it does not extend the duty day, which is bounded by the daily rest requirement, nor the weekly or fortnightly driving caps.
What records can DVSA examine at the roadside?
The current day plus the previous 28 calendar days of tachograph data, including manual entries and printouts, and 56 days on international journeys to and from the EU. Graduated fixed penalties of £50 to £300 per offence can be applied to infringements found anywhere in that window.
Do the EU/GB rules or GB domestic rules apply to my vehicles?
Broadly, goods vehicles or combinations over 3.5 tonnes are in scope of the assimilated EU rules; certain operations (some utilities, agriculture and short-radius work) are exempt and fall back to GB domestic rules. Classify each vehicle and duty cycle explicitly, and record the reasoning; check the exemption list on gov.uk.
Is this calculator a substitute for tachograph analysis?
No. It is a forward-planning aid for rosters. Compliance monitoring requires downloading and analysing card and vehicle unit data (at least every 28 and 90 days respectively) and acting on the infringements found.
Plan the week before you commit it
Remaining capacity per driver against the 9/56/90 caps, in seconds.
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