Starting a Freight Forwarding Company in the UK: Licences, EORI and Insurance

You can set up a freight forwarding company in the United Kingdom without a general "forwarder licence", because in the sources I checked (GOV.UK, HMRC, the Civil Aviation Authority and legislation.gov.uk) there is not one. The rules attach to activities: making customs declarations for other people, securing air cargo, and operating heavy goods vehicles. A limited company, a GB EORI number and the right insurance get you started; the customs, air cargo and haulage layers come in only if your business model includes them. As of October 2026, the biggest open question is customs: HMRC has consulted on making registration mandatory for customs intermediaries, and no outcome had been published when I checked. For the US equivalent, which is very different, see how to start a freight forwarding company in the US.

Do you need a licence to be a freight forwarder in the UK?

Not a general one. A common misconception is that "freight forwarder" is a licensed title, as it is in some countries. In the UK you can arrange carriage as a principal or as an agent, quote, book space and issue your own documents without a state licence for forwarding itself. What is regulated is narrower:

• Customs declarations for others: no licence today, but a GB EORI number, a Customs Declaration Service (CDS) set-up and written authority from each client. A mandatory register is under consultation.
• Air cargo security: if your site handles air cargo and you secure it, you apply for Regulated Agent status.
• Haulage: if you run your own goods vehicles above the weight thresholds, you need an operator's licence.

I could not find a single government page that states "there is no forwarder licence", so this is a conclusion from reading the regimes above, not a quotation. If your plan has a feature I have not covered (bonded warehousing, dangerous goods advice, cabotage), ask the relevant agency before you start.

Step 1: Incorporate a limited company

Most UK forwarders trade as a private limited company registered at Companies House. GOV.UK's Companies House fee schedule (updated 25 September 2026) lists incorporation at £100 online or by software and £124 on paper, with a same-day software option at £156. Fees changed on 1 February 2026, so older blog posts quoting lower figures are out of date.

Since 18 November 2025 a new director has had to verify their identity with Companies House before acting, and Companies House says this is free when done directly online. Do this before you file, not after. A limited company also keeps your personal assets apart from the business, which matters for a trade where one lost container can exceed a small firm's capital.

Step 2: Get a GB EORI number

An Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) number is how HMRC identifies a business moving goods across the border. GOV.UK's application page for a number starting with GB says you will need your Unique Taxpayer Reference, business start date and SIC code (plus your VAT number and registration date if you are VAT registered), and that you get the number immediately unless HMRC needs to make checks, which can take up to 5 working days. The pages I read mention no fee. You need the GB number before you can get a Northern Ireland (XI) number. For what EORI, CDS and postponed VAT mean on the import side, read the UK import customs declarations guide.

Step 3: Decide whether you will make customs declarations

GOV.UK's guidance on appointing someone to deal with customs says an agent must be established in the UK for customs, cannot act without written instructions from the trader, and the instruction must show whether they act directly or indirectly. The trader stays responsible for due diligence on their own declarations. The page also records that a direct representative, making declarations in the trader's name in set circumstances, is not held jointly liable (an April 2021 update). Read HMRC's current guidance before choosing a representation model, because the liability consequences differ.

To lodge declarations yourself you subscribe to CDS using the business's Government Gateway account, not an agent Gateway ID, and you need your own EORI. GOV.UK's CDS access page mentions no subscription charge. Most start-ups also buy customs software or use a clearance partner.

On the consultation: HMRC describes it as covering a new mandatory registration for customs intermediaries who submit declarations on behalf of traders, and asked about scope, requirements, checks and enforcement. Nothing is law yet, so do not budget for specific requirements, but expect that a customs-handling start-up will eventually face a registration step. Authorised Economic Operator status comes in two types, customs simplification (AEOC) and security and safety (AEOS). To apply you need to be a UK-established legal entity involved in customs and international trade with a GB or XI EORI, and HMRC reviews three years of compliance history, so a brand-new company should treat it as a later goal.

Step 4: Air cargo? Regulated Agent status

The legal basis is the Aviation Security (Air Cargo Agents) Regulations 2024 (SI 2024/228), made under section 21F of the Aviation Security Act 1982 and in force from 21 March 2024. They define a Regulated Agent as an air carrier, agent, freight forwarder or other entity that ensures security controls over cargo or mail carried on civil aircraft. Key points from the regulations and the CAA's page:

• One application per site where you handle cargo, with a security programme explaining how the site complies and how you will monitor it.
• Who processes it: the CAA's page describes a CAA auditor approving the programme and a CAA site visit. The CAA manages the related Known Consignor scheme on behalf of the Department for Transport. The application form is ASC6001, and the CAA says to allow 56 days if everything is in order.
• Duration: listing can last up to five years for a Regulated Agent. You must notify changes that make your information inaccurate within seven days.
• Cost: set out in the CAA Scheme of Charges (Aviation Security). I did not find an amount on the pages I read, so check the current scheme.

Not every forwarder needs this. A company that only books space and passes cargo to another regulated party may not need its own status, but ask the CAA about your arrangement rather than guessing. See air cargo security, ACAS, screening and Known Consignor status for how the regime works day to day, and becoming an IATA cargo agent for the separate commercial accreditation airlines use.

Step 5: Haulage? An operator's licence

If you run your own lorries, GOV.UK says you generally need a goods vehicle operator's licence for a vehicle with a gross plated weight of over 3,500 kg (or, with no plated weight, an unladen weight over 1,525 kg), and that there are three types of licence depending on the work. For carrying other people's goods for hire or reward to listed European countries, a standard international licence is needed, and that includes vans with a maximum authorised mass over 2,500 kg. The licensing authorities are the Traffic Commissioners. GOV.UK lists fees on a separate page, which I did not quote, so check current amounts and the financial standing and transport manager requirements for your licence type. Hiring hauliers instead avoids this licence but gives you carrier-vetting work: see NVOCC vs freight forwarder for the liability differences between acting as agent and as carrier.

Step 6: Join BIFA and adopt trading conditions

The British International Freight Association (BIFA) is the main UK trade body. Its membership page says Full Membership is for UK-registered freight forwarders and UK customs brokers, and that members must adopt and incorporate the latest edition of the BIFA Standard Trading Conditions, hold adequate insurance that includes loss or damage and errors and omissions, and complete an annual company declaration. New Full Membership applicants also need freight liability insurance. Subscriptions are based on staff numbers; I could not read the amounts, which appear to be published as images.

BIFA's homepage lists its STC 2025 Edition, which trade press reported as taking effect around the start of 2026. Non-members cannot adopt the BIFA STC, so a non-member needs its own terms. Membership is a commercial choice, not a legal requirement. Whatever terms you use, they only protect you if they are properly incorporated into each contract; what a forwarder's trading conditions actually say explains the clauses customers will test.

Step 7: Insurance and data protection

• Employers' liability: legally required as soon as you employ someone. GOV.UK says cover of at least £5 million from an authorised insurer, with a fine of up to £2,500 for every day you are not properly insured. It exempts only businesses that employ close family or people based outside England, Scotland and Wales.
• Freight forwarder's liability and errors and omissions: not a statutory requirement I could source, but BIFA membership requires it and customers and carriers will ask. Read freight forwarder insurance: E&O, cargo legal liability and cyber cover for what each policy covers.
• Public liability: I found no general legal requirement for it. Landlords, customers and carriers often ask for it, so treat it as a contractual expectation.
• ICO data protection fee: organisations that use personal information, sole traders included, must pay unless exempt. The Data Protection (Charges and Information) Regulations 2018, as amended from 17 February 2025, set £52 (tier 1), £78 (tier 2) and £3,763 (tier 3), with £5 off by direct debit. The ICO's self-assessment decides your tier and whether you are exempt; amounts can change.

A realistic sequence

1. Choose your model: ocean and air agent, customs-handling forwarder, or asset-based operator. This decides which of the regimes above you need.
2. Incorporate and verify directors, open a bank account, and arrange employers' liability if you will employ anyone.
3. Apply for a GB EORI, then set up CDS and your customs software or clearance partner if you will lodge declarations.
4. Buy forwarder's liability cover and adopt trading conditions (BIFA's if you join), then pay the ICO fee.
5. Add air cargo status or an operator's licence only when you have the site, staff and volumes to support the application.

What to do next

1. Write down exactly which activities you will perform in year one, and tick each against the three regulated areas: customs, air cargo security, haulage.
2. Check Companies House, GOV.UK and the ICO fee page for current fees, and start director identity verification.
3. Email HMRC, the CAA or the Traffic Commissioner's office with any question the published guidance leaves open, and keep the replies.
4. Get quotes for employers' liability and freight liability insurance before you sign your first customer contract.

More than 29,300 logistics companies are searchable by country and service in the CargoLinked directory, which is a quick way to see how existing UK forwarders describe their services. The public requests board lists freight that shippers have posted for forwarders to quote on directly.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or customs advice, and it reflects the sources as of October 2026. Fees, thresholds and the customs registration proposal can change. Confirm every requirement with HMRC, the Civil Aviation Authority, Companies House, the Traffic Commissioners, the ICO and a licensed professional before you act.