Road Legal

What standards must I meet to get an O-licence?

O-licence applicants must comply with detailed regulations to be given an O-licence and must continue to maintain standards to keep an O-licence once they have it.These include being a fit person to hold a licence; making proper maintenance arrangements for vehicles; controlling drivers’ hours, records and loading; running a suitable depot (known as the operating centre); having adequate financial resources and, for standard national and  international licences, possessing the necessary professional competence qualifications. For full details see Requirements for O-licence applicants on the VOSA website.

Are the requirements the same for all types of O-licence?

No, there are more regulations for national and international licence holders than there are for restricted licence holders. National and international licence holders must show that they are of good repute, meet professional competence requirements and satisfy more rigorous financial criteria.

How are fitness and good repute decided?

For fitness to hold a licence, which applies to all licence applicants, Traffic Commisioners (TCs) will look at any previous vehicle-related convictions: these  include defective vehicle offences, drivers' hours breaches, overloading or any convictions relating to vehicle testing or plating.

In deciding good repute, which applies to all standard licence applicants but not specifically to those applying for restricted licences, all the offences above – as well as any other convictions in the UK or abroad – are considered by the TCs. It is a legal requirement to declare all convictions to your TC.

What are the vehicle maintenance requirements?

Vehicle maintenance is one of the main objectives of the operator licensing system.

You must keep your vehicles roadworthy and if you do not do the maintenance yourself the TC will want to see a written agreement with the garage that does your maintenance. For further details see the VOSA website under Vehicle Maintenance Requirements in appendix 6 of the Guide for Goods Operators.

What are the financial requirements?

For all licences, you will need to show that you have enough money to keep your vehicles fit for the road. You will also need to declare any recent financial difficulties, such as bankruptcy, liquidation, insolvency or any disqualification in business.

Requirements for standard national and international licences are again more rigorous than for restricted licences. Those applying for standard licences will be required to fill in an extra form (GV79F), which asks detailed questions on the amount of working capital available in order to persuade the TC that you are able to sustain your business. Full details are again available on the VOSA website.

Do I need a professional qualification?

If you want a standard national or international licence you probably will. The main way of establishing competence is passing the Certificate of Professional Competence Exam (CPC). However there are two alternatives: one is another of the recognised qualifications (see appendix 4 of the VOSA Guide for Goods Operators, and the other is if you have “grandfather rights”, for which you will need to have been in operation before 1 January 1975. If you do not already hold a grandfather rights certificate you cannot now claim one.