jobfacts

Delivery drivers and couriers

SOC 2020 8214

Delivery drivers and couriers collect, transport and deliver goods using a range of vehicles, including bicycles and motor vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes in weight.

Also calledDelivery van driverVan driverMulti-drop driverCourierMulti drop driverDriverand 57 more titles
Typical full-time pay£27,9002025 Provisional
People in the job288,000across the UK
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month10,000↑ 18%on last year · 5th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time delivery drivers and couriers earn between £24,600 and £33,500 a year.

What full-time delivery drivers and couriers earn, 2025
£27,900 typical£21,300lowest 10%£24,60025%£33,50075%£39,600top 10%
Middle half (£24,600–£33,500)
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£21,300
Lowest 20% earn less than£23,800
25%£24,600
Median£27,900
75%£33,500
Top 20% earn more than£34,700
Top 10% earn more than£39,600
Many (28%) of delivery drivers and couriers work for themselves. These pay figures only cover employees, so they may not reflect what self-employed delivery drivers and couriers earn.
Typical pay by regionUK median £27,900
London£30,600
East of England£28,600
North West£28,400
North East!£28,000
South East£27,900
East Midlands!£27,700
West Midlands£27,600
Yorkshire and The Humber£27,200
South West£27,200
Scotland£27,100
Wales£25,600
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £27,900
London£30,600
East of England£28,600
North West£28,400
North East£28,000 (small sample)
South East£27,900
East Midlands£27,700 (small sample)
West Midlands£27,600
Yorkshire and The Humber£27,200
South West£27,200
Scotland£27,100
Wales£25,600
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £25,200
  • 2024 £27,200
  • 2025 Provisional£27,900
↑ 11% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 10,000 jobs for delivery drivers and couriers are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as not high.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (1 in all)
Show as table
Aug 202613,415
Jul 202610,261
Jun 202610,538
May 20267,999
Apr 202610,053
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 20268,526
Jan 20268,183
Dec 20256,076
Nov 202512,511
Oct 202513,109
Sept 202512,187
Aug 20259,876
Jul 20258,528
Jun 20258,305
May 20259,190
Apr 20256,868
Mar 20257,935
Feb 20257,170
Jan 20256,425
Dec 20244,209
Nov 202411,228
Oct 202413,005
Sept 202411,270
Aug 20249,065
Jul 20248,798
Jun 20248,325
May 20248,892
Apr 20247,523
Mar 20245,157
Feb 20244,674
Jan 20245,691
Dec 20234,295
Nov 20239,314
Oct 20238,848
Sept 20237,772
Aug 20237,406
Jul 20237,825
Jun 202310,455
May 202310,277
Apr 202311,181
Mar 20238,232
Feb 20237,004
Jan 20238,672
Dec 20228,299
Nov 202212,596
Oct 202213,445
Sept 202211,492
Aug 202210,933
Jul 202210,351
Jun 202210,426
May 202210,595
Apr 20228,281
Mar 202210,564
Feb 20229,674
Jan 202211,474
Dec 20219,221
Nov 202114,268
Oct 202115,862
Sept 202112,170
Aug 202111,133
Jul 202112,009
Jun 202110,092
May 20219,149
Apr 20216,975
Mar 20218,366
Feb 20214,995
Jan 20215,878
Dec 20205,848
Nov 20208,422
Oct 202011,752
Sept 20209,604
Aug 20207,281
Jul 20205,621
Jun 20205,059
May 20204,086
Apr 20204,302
Mar 20208,207
Feb 20206,769
Jan 20206,929
Dec 20196,559
Nov 201910,195
Oct 201910,456
Sept 20198,074
Aug 20196,539
Jul 20197,162
Jun 20197,859
May 20198,032
Apr 20195,488
Mar 20195,446
Feb 20194,742
Jan 20195,066
Dec 20184,535
Nov 20187,115
Oct 20188,309
Sept 20188,236
Aug 20186,522
Jul 20185,335
Jun 20186,056
May 20184,816
Apr 20184,715
Mar 20186,095
Feb 20184,969
Jan 20185,487
Dec 20174,313
Nov 20175,639
Oct 20176,035
Sept 20175,787
Aug 20175,231
Jul 20175,028
Jun 20176,460
May 20175,902
Apr 20175,372
Mar 20175,661
Feb 20174,104
Jan 20174,477
Is there a shortage of delivery drivers and couriers?
Not high

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment; in 2024 it was elevated.

  • Visas grantedUsual
  • Online job advertsAbove usual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedUsual
Note: uncertain in multiple indicators: change in hourly wage, visa density.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
13%against 27% for all jobs
DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London2,607
Cornwall416
Bristol, City of374
Somerset357
Leeds333
Wiltshire318
Birmingham311
West Northamptonshire297
Glasgow City292
County Durham280
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where delivery drivers and couriers are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. Fewer than 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of delivery drivers and couriers
8.4%!
17%
22%
21%
23%
8.4%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
16–248.4% (small sample)
25–3417%
35–4422%
45–5421%
55–6423%
65+8.4%
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent15%
Higher education below degree5.3%
A levels or equivalent23%
GCSEs or equivalent28%
Other qualifications14%
No qualifications10%
Show as table
Degree or equivalent15%
Higher education below degree5.3%
A levels or equivalent23%
GCSEs or equivalent28%
Other qualifications14%
No qualifications10%

Main employers: other postal and courier activities (22%), retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating (17%), restaurants and mobile food service activities (9.4%), postal activities under universal service obligation (5.9%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
15%
as their highest qualification
Most common qualification
GCSEs or equivalent
held by 28%
Apprenticeships
2
from level 2
Apprenticeships take
1 year
typically
Self-employed
28%
of people in the job

Routes in

You can get into this job through an apprenticeship or by applying directly.

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do an Express Delivery Operative Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship or an Urban Driver Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship.

These apprenticeships take around 1 year to complete.

You may be able to do an apprenticeship with a freight transport company, courier firm, removals company or a retail chain.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship

Apply directly

You could apply directly to work as a delivery driver.

While it's useful to have experience of warehousing or other driving work, this is not always essential.

Employers will expect you to have:

  • a good driving record
  • good road network and geographical knowledge
  • basic English and maths skills
  • the correct driving licence for the type of vehicle in use

What you’ll need

  • have a full driving licence
  • have a category C1 licence to drive a 7.5 tonne delivery lorry
  • have a good level of fitness

Your employer may supply you with a delivery van or lorry, but if you're self-employed, you'll need your own vehicle.

You'll also need to check what type of insurance is required for your vehicle and for the goods you transport, especially if self-employed.

Registration and professional bodies

Career tips

Your pay will depend on whether you're employed by a company or are self-employed. Self-employed drivers tend to be paid per delivery, so rates can vary from month to month.

Further information

You can find out more about being a delivery driver from Generation Logistics.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for delivery van driver. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Apprenticeships

2 for this job
Level 2About 1 year

Urban driver

You gain
Category C drivers licence; Category C1 drivers licence
Employers may ask for
Apprentices must hold a valid UK driving licence (at least Cat B i.e. car licence) in order to access the apprenticeship and must be 18 years old by the time…
Details on Skills England

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • checks tyres, brakes, lights, oil, water and fuel levels and general condition of the vehicle
  • drives vehicle from depot to loading/unloading point
  • assists with loading/unloading and obtains receipts from customers for goods collected/delivered
  • drives vehicle to destination in accordance with schedule
  • maintains records of journey times, mileage and hours worked
  • undertakes minor repairs and notifies supervisor of any mechanical faults

Skills

  • maintain vehicle appearance
  • drive vehicles
  • follow verbal instructions
  • interpret traffic signals
  • lift heavy weights
  • communicate with customers
  • drive in urban areas
  • ensure vehicle operability
  • operate GPS systems
  • control the performance of the vehicle
  • handle delivered packages
  • maintain personal hygiene standards
  • park vehicles
  • read maps

Knowledge

  • road traffic laws
  • effective perception of transport environment
  • mechanical components of vehicles
  • geographic areas
  • health and safety measures in transportation
  • local geography

Suits people who like

  • Practical, hands-on work
  • Organising and following procedures

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for transport and mobile machine drivers and operatives, a group of 14 jobs that includes delivery drivers and couriers.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 6.7%about 80,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 2035748,000including people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.