An undertaking is allowed to engage in road haulage operations by means of category N vehicles or category N vehicles with a trailer or semi-trailer that have a permissible laden mass exceeding 2.5 tonnes on the basis of a special permit (licence) for the commercial carriage of goods by goods vehicle issued by the Road Transport Administration. The special permit (licence) entitles road haulage operators to carry goods only by motor vehicles owned or held by them, or by motor vehicles owned by other persons, pursuant to Cabinet Regulation No 339 of 17 May 2005 establishing procedures permitting the carriage of passengers and goods by motor vehicles owned by other persons.
General requirements for obtaining a special permit (licence):
(In accordance with requirements established by Regulation No 1071/2009, as amended by Regulation No 2020/1055)
Transport manager (Article 4 of the Regulation):
The undertaking must designate a person who effectively and continuously manages the transport activities of the undertaking and who holds a Certificate of Professional Competence valid in Latvia, EU member states or EEA member states. The transport manager must have a genuine link to the undertaking (as an employee, director, owner or shareholder) or administer the undertaking, or, if the undertaking is a natural person (a sole trader), it must be that person and be permanently resident in the Community.
Conditions relating to the requirement of establishment (Article 5 of the Regulation):
The undertaking must have premises in Latvia at which it keeps the originals of its core business documents, whether in electronic or any other form, in particular its transport contracts, documents relating to the vehicles at the disposal of the undertaking, accounting documents, personnel management documents, labour contracts, social security documents, documents containing data on the dispatching and posting of drivers, documents containing data relating to cabotage, driving time and rest periods, and any other document to which the competent authority must have access in order to verify the undertaking’s compliance with the conditions laid down in the Regulation.
An undertaking must organise its vehicle fleet’s activity in such a way as to ensure that vehicles that are at the disposal of the undertaking and are used in international carriage operations return to one of the operational centres in that member state at least within 8 weeks after leaving it.
Conditions relating to the requirement of good repute (Article 6 of the Regulation):
An undertaking, its legal representatives or the transport manager must not have convictions or penalties for any serious infringement of rules in the fields of:
- commercial law;
- insolvency law;
- pay and employment conditions in the profession;
- road traffic;
- professional liability;
- human or drug trafficking;
- tax law.
A transport manager or a transport undertaking must not in one or more member states have been convicted of a serious criminal offence or incurred a penalty for one of the most serious infringements of Community rules specified in Annex IV to Regulation No 1071/2009, relating in particular to:
- the driving time and rest periods of drivers, working time and the installation and use of recording equipment;
- the maximum weights and dimensions of commercial vehicles used in international traffic;
- the initial qualification and continuous training of drivers;
- the roadworthiness of commercial vehicles, including the compulsory technical inspection of motor vehicles;
- access to the market in the international carriage of goods or, as appropriate, access to the market in international road passenger transport;
- safety in the carriage of dangerous goods by road;
- the installation and use of speed-limiting devices in certain categories of vehicle;
- driving licences;
- admission to the occupation;
- animal transport;
- posting of employees for work related to road transport;
- rules applicable to contractual obligations;
- cabotage.
Conditions relating to the requirement of financial standing (Article 7 of the Regulation):
An undertaking must at all times be able to meet its financial obligations in the course of the annual accounting year. The undertaking must demonstrate, on the basis of annual accounts certified by an auditor or a duly accredited person, that, every year, it has at its disposal capital and reserves totalling at least:
- EUR 9 000 for the first vehicle used;
- EUR 5 000 for each additional vehicle or combination of vehicles used that have a the permissible laden mass exceeding 3.5 tonnes; and
- EUR 900 for each additional vehicle or combination of vehicles used that have a permissible laden mass exceeding 2.5 tonnes but not exceeding 3.5 tonnes.
Undertakings engaged in the occupation of road haulage operator solely by means of motor vehicle or combinations of vehicles that have a permissible laden mass exceeding 2.5 tonnes but not exceeding 3.5 tonnes must demonstrate, on the basis of annual accounts certified by an auditor or a duly accredited person, that for each year they have at their disposal capital and reserves totalling at least:
- EUR 1 800 for the first vehicle used;
- EUR 900 for each additional vehicle used.
A certificate of the undertaking’s financial standing may also comprise a guarantee issued by a bank (banks) or a balance sheet drawn up (dated) within 3 months before submitting the application for a special permit (licence). If an undertaking submitted the application for a special permit (licence) within 3 months of registering the undertaking in the Register of Enterprises of the Republic of Latvia, the registered capital of at least the amount specified in Article 7 of Regulation No 1071/2009 may be used as proof of financial security of the undertaking.
Sole traders, fisheries and farms may use their property as proof of financial security; if no annual accounts for the previous year were submitted to the State Revenue Service, the value of the property must be indicated.
To engage in road haulage operations in Latvia by means of category N vehicles or category N vehicles with a trailer or semi-trailer that have a permissible laden mass exceeding 2.5 tonnes, a licence card must be obtained for each vehicle.
To engage in international road haulage by means of category N vehicles or category N vehicles with a trailer or a semi-trailer that have a permissible laden mass exceeding 2.5 tonnes but have a laden mass not exceeding 3.5 tonnes (including trailers), an international road haulage copy of the Community licence must be obtained.
To engage in international road haulage by means of category N vehicles or category N vehicles with a trailer or a semi-trailer that have a permissible laden mass exceeding 2.5 tonnes, a Community licence must be also obtained for the undertaking and a copy of the Community licence must be obtained for the vehicle.
Before applying for a special permit (licence), a state fee of EUR 22.00 must be paid from the undertaking’s bank account, pursuant to Cabinet Regulation No 146 on the state fee for the issue of a special permit (licence) for the commercial carriage of goods by motor vehicle. The state fee must be paid to the following account of the State Treasury LV72TREL1060170921910, registration number: 90000050138, BIC code: TRELLV22.
A special permit (licence) is issued electronically by means of a record in the Road haulier database, with respective information being made public on the website of the Road Transport Administration. A special permit (licence) is issued for a period of 10 years. Information about the issue of a special permit (licence) is sent to the email specified in the haulier’s application.
Documents to be submitted
- an application;
- a certified true copy of the Certificate of Professional Competence valid in EU member states or EEA member states, except where the certificate is issued in Latvia;
- information in relation to the financial standing of the undertaking in accordance with requirements established in Article 7 of Regulation No 1071/2009 if the respective information cannot be obtained from the Register of Enterprises of the Republic of Latvia.
Applicable regulations
- Regulation No 1071/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing common rules concerning the conditions to be complied with to pursue the occupation of road transport operator.
- Regulation No 2020/1055 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2020 amending Regulations (EC) No 1071/2009, (EC) No 1072/2009 and (EU) No 1024/2012 with a view to adapting them to developments in the road transport sector.
- Cabinet Regulation No 194 of 7 April 2020 establishing a procedure for the issue, suspension and annulment of special permits (licences) and licence cards for the commercial carriage of goods by motor vehicle and issue of Certificates of Professional Competence for transport managers.
- Cabinet Regulation No 146 of 6 March 2018 on the state fee for the issue of a special permit (licence) for the commercial carriage of goods by motor vehicle.
- Cabinet Regulation No 339 of 17 May establishing procedures permitting the carriage of passengers and goods by motor vehicles owned by other persons.
- The Law on Road Haulage
A special permit or licence is issued within 30 days of the payment of invoice.
