Operator licence continuation
The operator licence is continued each year with the Traffic Commissioner, with the continuation fee and the undertakings confirmed at the same time.
For hgv operators
Operator licence, annual tests and driver hours for haulage
An HGV operator holds a licence from the Traffic Commissioner, and every vehicle, driver and maintenance record on it has to stay in good standing.
No account needed to see the proposed desk.
The recurring work
What hgv operators have to keep on top of
Every one of these has a date attached, a document behind it, and somebody who notices when it slips. This is what goes on the desk.
Annual test and plating
Every vehicle over 3.5 tonnes takes an annual test at a Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency station or authorised testing facility, with the plating certificate kept current.
Tachograph analysis
Unit and driver card data is downloaded every twenty-eight days and analysed, with infringements reported to drivers and signed off in writing.
Driver CPC hours
Drivers complete thirty-five hours of periodic training every five years to keep their Driver Certificate of Professional Competence, recorded against each card.
Driver medicals and licence renewal
HGV entitlement renewals and D4 medicals follow age bands, becoming more frequent after forty-five and annual once a driver turns sixty-five.
Safety inspection intervals
Vehicles are inspected at set intervals, commonly every six weeks, with a written maintenance record kept for each unit as evidence for the licence.
Transport manager cover
The licence must name a qualified transport manager, and any change to that person has to be notified to the Traffic Commissioner within twenty-eight days.
Financial standing evidence
Evidence of financial standing is produced on request and reviewed regularly, with the required sum rising for each additional vehicle authorised.
HGV levy and vehicle excise
The heavy goods vehicle levy and vehicle excise duty run on separate annual cycles per vehicle, and both have to be settled before it is used.
Dangerous goods certificates
Drivers carrying dangerous goods hold an ADR certificate that expires after five years, with refresher training and exams booked before the expiry date.
What it costs to carry it
The licence is only as good as the paperwork behind it, and the Traffic Commissioner can call for that paperwork at any time. A missed inspection interval, an unanalysed tachograph download or a lapsed driver medical turns an ordinary week into a public inquiry. Losing the licence takes the whole operation off the road, and it does not come back quickly.
What the desk takes over
The desk works this list to its own schedule and reports what it did.
Licence register
Vehicle authority, transport manager details and licence undertakings are held in one place and checked against what is actually running.
Test and inspection diary
Annual test slots and safety inspection intervals are booked ahead and confirmed, with the paperwork filed against each vehicle.
Tachograph chasing
Downloads are requested on schedule and infringement reports are sent to drivers for signature until every one is returned.
Driver record checks
Licence, CPC and medical dates are watched for each driver, and renewals are booked before the old entitlement expires.
Evidence packs
Maintenance files and financial standing evidence are kept ready for a site visit or a request from the Traffic Commissioner.
What stays with the hgv operator
The operator decides which work to take, how many vehicles to run and who drives them, and signs anything that goes to the Traffic Commissioner. Judgement about maintenance providers, routes and rates belongs to the person running the business.
Questions
How often must tachograph data be downloaded?
Records are usually downloaded every twenty-eight days, with analysis completed inside the same window so infringements can be dealt with promptly.
What happens if a vehicle misses its safety inspection interval?
It breaches an undertaking on the operator licence, and a pattern of missed intervals can lead to a public inquiry and action against the licence.
Can a transport manager cover more than one operator licence?
It is possible where the Traffic Commissioner is satisfied that the hours are genuinely available, and the arrangement has to be declared on each licence.
Put the hgv operator's recurring work on the desk
Start with a name, a website and one sentence about what the business does. The desk proposes the list; the hgv operator corrects it.