New driving laws and rules for 2025

There are new changes to the road laws every year and 2025 is no exception. With the DVSA reviewing their strategic plan to keep Britain moving safely and sustainably and rule changes affecting electric vehicles, driving tests and fuel, there’s so much to take note of and keep up to date with.

How will the new driving law changes affect you?

Digital driving licences

Digital driving licences will be introduced in the UK later this year. Working alongside the physical licence, they will be accessed on a new government smartphone app and could be accepted as a form of ID when buying alcohol, voting, or boarding domestic flights.

Electric vehicle laws

Zero-emission electric vehicle mandate

From the beginning of this year, all manufacturers have agreed to at least 22% of new car sales and 10% of new van sales being fully electric.

Electric vehicle tax on 1 April

From 1 April 2025, all electric vehicles will have to pay Vehicle Excise Duty on an annual basis. This will be £10 in 2025 and then £195 every year from 2026 onwards.

Electric vehicle congestion charge

From Christmas Day 2025, electric vehicles will have to pay the Congestion Charge when driving in London.

£10k fines for non-compliant electric vehicle chargers

All EV charging providers will have to ensure that their charging providers meet new government standards. They should be reliable, accessible and easy to use and pay for. If they fail on these points, the charging provider could face a fine of up to £10k.

Cancellation of the cleaner vehicle discount

The green vehicle discount is coming to an end on 25 December 2025. If you want to take advantage of this before this date, you will get less than 12 months and still have to pay the £10 registration charge.

Fuel and emission standards

Fuel Finder scheme to be launched by the end of 2025

By the end of this year, all UK-based petrol stations will have to share their real-time fuel prices through the new Fuel Finder scheme. This helps drivers find the cheapest places when they need to fill up.

Highly polluting vehicles’ car tax to double

Any vehicle that produces over 255g/km will find their car tax rising from £2,745 to £5,490 – a hike of 100%. This – and other car tax rises in these new driving laws – are designed to ‘strengthen incentives to purchase zero emission and electric cars’, according to the Budget document.

Fuel duty to be frozen

The temporary 5p-per-litre discount, which has been in place since 2022, will remain throughout 2025.

Company and commercial vehicle law changes

Company car tax rises

The Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) tax rate will rise by 1% from April 2025. Electric cars will go up from 2% to 3% and higher-emission vehicles will face higher increases.

Obtaining CPC forms will be more flexible

The Driver Certificate of Professional Competence is a professional driving qualification needed to be a HGV, bus or coach driver. If your Driver CPC has expired and you want to return to professional driving, you’ll now have four options instead of taking 35 hours of training:

Option 1: International Driver CPC training

The first option is the current process that’s available.
Take 35 hours of International Driver CPC training.
Start driving professionally again in the UK and EU.

Option 2: National Driver CPC training

Take 35 hours of National Driver CPC training.
Start driving professionally again in the UK.

Option 3: International Driver CPC training with a ‘return to driving’ module

Take a new 7-hour ‘return to driving’ training module.
Start driving professionally again in the UK.
Take 28 hours of other International Driver CPC training within 12 months of finishing the ‘return to driving’ module.
Start driving professionally again in the EU.

Option 4: National Driver CPC training with a ‘return to driving’ module

Take a new 7-hour ‘return to driving’ training module.
Start driving professionally again in the UK.
Take a further 28 hours of National Driver CPC or International Driver CPC training within 12 months of finishing the ‘return to driving’ module.

Mandatory HGV safety permits will be required in London

All HGVs operating in Greater London will be required to have a safety permit under Transport for London’s Direct Vision Standard (DVS). The permit ensures HGV drivers can clearly see pedestrians and cyclists. If these more vulnerable road users are not clear, the vehicle will need to add more safety features (e.g. sensors and cameras) to qualify for the permit.

Commercial vehicles to comply with tachograph rules

All new trucks, buses and HGVs over 2.5 tonnes will have to have the Smart Tachograph 2 installed. Smart Tacho 2 is advanced technology that accurately registers driving and rest times, border crossings and loading/unloading activities.

Road safety and driving assistance

Mandatory driver assistance systems

All newly manufactured cars in the UK will be required to fit advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) – including lane-keeping alerts and autonomous emergency braking systems – as standard.

Scotland’s to follow Wales and go 20mph in certain areas

In line with the SNP’s Bute House agreement with the Scottish Greens, all “appropriate roads in built-up areas will have a safer speed limit of 20mph by 2025”. This is part of an effort to make Scotland’s roads safer and reduce casualties.

Regulatory and financial changes

Vehicle risk ratings to replace car insurance groups

Cars will continue to move across from car insurance groups to vehicle risk rating, a system that assesses the following five factors:

Performance
Damageability
Repairability
Safety
Security

New 25 and 75 number plates to come in

There will be the annual update of car registration plates in both March and September. The numbers for 2025 will be 25 and 75.

Driving tests

Reducing driving test waiting times

In late 2024, The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) set out a plan to reduce driving test waiting times. This follows reports of some learners waiting up to six months to take their practical driving test. The seven-point plan is:

Recruit and train 450 driving examiners.
Review and improve the rules for booking driving tests.
Introduce tougher terms and conditions for the service driving instructors use to book and manage car driving tests for their pupils.
Consult on new proposals to increase how much time people wait to book another test in certain situations.
Increase the amount of notice you need to change or cancel a driving test without losing the fee.
Explore changing how far ahead a car driving test can be booked from its current 24-week limit.
Encourage learner drivers to be better prepared for their test through the Ready to Pass campaign.

These new driving laws are designed to make life on the roads safe and more sustainable. To give you peace of mind, you need to be fully insured whenever you’re driving.

If you need to borrow someone’s car, why not consider temporary car insurance? It’s fully comprehensive and flexible so that you only pay for the time you need.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will these changes apply across the UK?

Most changes will apply across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Some rules (e.g. Scotland’s 20mph speed limit in built-up areas) will be specific to certain regions or counties, so it’s always best to check the regional regulations.

Will the Fuel Finder scheme benefit me?

You’ll be able to find out the prices of petrol around the UK in real time. This means you’ll be able to find the cheapest rates for fuels in your area, wherever you are in the UK.

Will older vehicles be affected by these law changes?

The stricter emission standards may affect older vehicles, meaning owners potentially face paying higher taxes.

Will vehicle risk ratings replacing car insurance groups affect my premium?

As described in our VRR blog post, this transition is described by Thatcham Research as ‘a more advanced and dynamic five-assessment-based Vehicle Risk Rating Model’ that will assess performance, damageability, repairability, safety and security.

With scores from 1 (low risk) to 99 (high risk), your car will receive an overall insurance risk score that can go up or down over time. This may be reflected in the insurance premium.