No law says you need a licence to hire or operate a digger in the UK, and a car driving licence is not needed to use one. What you need depends on where and why you are digging: at home on your own land, no card is required; on most construction and commercial sites, the people running the site will ask for a CPCS or NPORS card before you get on the machine.
Digging on your own land
If you are hiring a mini digger for your own garden, driveway or smallholding, there is no card or licence you have to hold. Hire companies will usually talk you through the controls when the machine is delivered, and some ask you to confirm you are confident using one. If you have never used a digger before, ask for a proper demonstration, start slowly on level ground, and keep everyone well clear of the arm and the swing of the machine.
Before you dig, find out where underground services run. Gas, water and electricity cables and pipes are often shallow, and hitting one is dangerous as well as expensive.
Using a digger at work
At work, the law that applies is the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER). It says employers must make sure everyone who uses work equipment has received adequate training for health and safety. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) does not name a particular card for diggers: what counts as adequate depends on the job, the person's experience and the site.
In practice, most principal contractors and major house builders set their own rule that plant operators must hold a recognised card. The two schemes you will meet are:
- CPCS (Construction Plant Competence Scheme), the card most large sites expect
- NPORS (National Plant Operators Registration Scheme), accepted on many sites, though some contractors specify CPCS only
A CSCS card on its own shows you can be on a construction site; it does not cover operating plant. The card schemes themselves are not a legal requirement, but on a site that asks for one you will not be allowed to operate without it.
If you do not have a card
For work on a site that requires a card, most plant hire firms can supply the digger with a qualified operator, charged by the hour or day. This is also a sensible choice for bigger or trickier jobs at home, such as digging near buildings, on slopes or close to underground services.
Getting the digger to the job
Towing a mini digger on a plant trailer is a separate question from operating it. Since 16 December 2021, anyone who passed their car test can tow a trailer up to 3,500kg maximum authorised mass without an extra test, but you must stay within your vehicle's towing limit, shown in the handbook and on the VIN plate. A 1.5 to 2 tonne digger on its trailer can be close to that limit, so check the combined weight first. Many hire firms deliver and collect, which removes the question altogether.
Before you book
- Decide whether you will operate the digger yourself or need an operator
- If the work is on a construction site, ask the site which card it requires
- Ask the hire firm for a handover demonstration if you are new to diggers
- Check where underground services run before you dig
- Check whether delivery is included, or whether your vehicle can legally tow the digger and trailer
You can compare plant hire companies across the UK on Brent, including firms that hire diggers with or without an operator.
