Updated 22 Oct 2026
Some of the messaging around D-TRO regulation has made compliance sound further away, and more complicated, than it is. But the DfT position is clear. So is the route to meeting it.
What D-TRO compliance actually means
- Traffic authorities in England will need to submit their new TROs and TTROs to the DfT’s D-TRO Data Store, in the standard D-TRO data format.
- Digitising historic orders is not currently required, and the New Burdens funding is not intended to cover it.
- DfT expects the legal requirement to come into force after February 2027, with at least 12 weeks’ notice.
- The D-TRO service is live now. It has been in public beta since September 2025, and authorities can publish today.
That is the requirement. If you can publish your new orders correctly to the Data Store, you are compliant.
Your English Local Authority now has New Burdens funding available to meet the D-TRO mandate.
DfT set the one-off payment of £37,000 per authority based on the cost of one year of D-TRO software licensing.
The question is how far that funding goes. With Mapper Lite, the answer is three years.
Our Mapper Lite package fits within the New Burdens funding available to your English authority. The funding covers three annual licences, so you stay compliant without budgeting for renewals each year.
What’s included in Mapper Lite
- D-TRO compliance through a direct API connection to the DfT’s D-TRO Data Store
- Built-in support for the D-TRO data model
- 2 full user licences and 5 read-only licences for wider authority visibility
- Static and moving orders on a cloud-hosted map
- ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials certified
- Purchase available via G-Cloud 14
No change to how you work
You keep your existing order-making process. Upload your documents alongside the digital map data, and Mapper Lite publishes your data to the DfT. Onboarding is minimal, so your team gets up and running fast, and can be publishing well before the 12-week notice period begins.
Nothing charged on top with Mapper Lite
The package price is the price. There are no extra charges to get you compliant or to keep you compliant across the three years.
”Councils need compliance without extra procurement headaches or a surprise bill in year two. This package gives them both. Their New Burdens funding covers three full years of Mapper Lite, everything is included, and we don’t charge anything on top. This is the easiest way to get compliant and stay compliant. D-TRO compliance is really easier than some of the market would have you believe.
Mike PotterHead of Commercial, AppyWay
Room to grow
Mapper Lite is the foundation of our Traffic Suite. When your team is ready for full order management, schedule generation or public consultation, you upgrade without starting again.
If DfT later sets out requirements for historic orders, you can plan that work on your own terms, from a platform you already use, rather than paying for it before it is needed.
Act now: secure your funding
The New Burdens funding is not ring-fenced. Most authorities outside London were due to receive the payment in mid-October 2026, with London boroughs and authorities within a mayoral authority receiving it via their regional body.
- Confirm with your finance team where the payment has landed, and earmark it for D-TRO.
- Brief your head of service. D-TRO is a statutory requirement for every English traffic authority, and the funding was provided to meet it.
- Get compliant now. There is no reason to wait for the 12-week notice to arrive.
How to digitise your traffic orders with Mapper Lite
See the details in the quick video:
