There are two types of highway licence - those which you will have to pay for and those which are free.
Examples of licences which have to be paid for:
- opening streets for private works
- temporary road closures
- dropped kerbs (domestic vehicular access crossings)
- scaffold licences (only issued to scaffolding contractors)
- skip licences (only issued to skip hire companies)
- festive decorations on the highway.
Free licences include:
- building bus shelters,
- erecting village signs,
- installing grit bins,
- installing hanging baskets,
- installing seats on grass verges and pavements,
- planting (for example flowers on roundabouts, bulbs and trees in highway verges),
- putting advertising banners across streets.
We cannot issue licences to trade from the highway eg in laybys - please contact your borough or district council.
If you want to close a street for a sporting event such as a fun run or race, social event or other entertainment such as a fair, please read the information on our road closures or diversions for events on the highway, including street parties page on this website.
To apply for a highway licence, please contact our Customer Service Centre on 0845 6066171.
If you want to apply for a highway licence on a Trunk road (PDF, 88.15KB), please contact the Highways Agency Information Line.
