Operator Licence Applications & Compliance

Are you new to the world of running with an operator licence?

Do you understand how to apply or maintain your licence fully to be compliant?

o-licence

The main purpose of goods vehicle operator licensing is to ensure the safe and proper use of goods vehicles and to protect the environment around operating centres. The licensing provisions can be found in the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Act 1995 (the Act), the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Regulations 1995, the Road Transport Operator Regulations 2011, and the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) (Fees) Regulations.

We have had a client contact us that has applied for an operator licence and not done it properly and so already is off to a bad start.

Then they began to read about their obligations and systems needed to keep legal and compliant and realised that on the Government website where they give information about operator licences, the document and information was out of date.

It still shows a guide from VOSA, called ‘Goods Vehicle Operator Licensing Guide for Operators’.  It also states in the guide ‘Take note: Neither the traffic commissioners nor the Department for Transport can provide legal advice to operators. If you are unsure as to whether you are compliant with the law, you should seek independent legal advice’.

Not only do VOSA (The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency) no longer exist, and have been replaced with the DVSA (Driver Vehicle Standards Agency), the guide basically advises operators to get advice about their compliance if they are unsure about being compliant.

It took them a few weeks of trying and taking so much time trying to do everything themselves and seeing that they wanted to focus on growing their business rather than handling a part of it they were struggling to get sorted out and stay on top of.  So they finally realised that it was so much easier to ask us how we could help and keep them compliant all the time, as well as being on hand over the phone.

Even the best operators often still seek independent advice to keep themselves up to date and compliant.  It is so easy to get into habits and miss things out, or not understand changes because most people are busy with the job of running their business and transport on a day to day basis. This is not a problem as long as you have things covered with an external consultant, transport audit, or ongoing updates and advice.

Keep yourself compliant.  We offer a free online consultation to assess your business and how we can assist. We have packages covering all operators small to big, so get in touch for a no obligation assessment to see how we can help you.

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