The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) carries out maintenance investigations of vehicle operator licence holders in England, Wales and Scotland.
The investigations check if the operator has suitable systems, facilities and arrangements in place.
DVSA may report the outcome of a maintenance investigation to the Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain.
The questions used during the maintenance investigation are set out in this guide, including the question requirements and assessment criteria. There may also be additional instructions and further information for each question.
How to use this guide
The maintenance investigation visit report has 14 question sections:
Operator legal entity
Condition of vehicles examined at the fleet check
Operating centre
Inspection and maintenance records
Driver defect reporting
Maintenance facilities and arrangements
Vehicle emissions
Wheel and tyre management
Load security heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) only
Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR) public service vehicles (PSVs) only
Prohibition assessment
Security requirements
Previous reported shortcomings, conditions and undertakings
Transport manager/responsible person
Request for explanation response (where applicable)
There is a maximum of 4 assessment outcomes for a question section:
satisfactory the operator does not need to take any action
mostly satisfactory DVSA gives advice to the operator
unsatisfactory operator action and explanation required
report to the Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain operator action and explanation required
Investigation outcome
Satisfactory and mostly satisfactory
The operator does not need to take any action, unless DVSA has given them advice to improve any systems or procedures.
Unsatisfactory
The operator must respond with an explanation to show what action theyll take to address the issues. Further action depends on the operators response but could include:
DVSA closing the case
deferred checks by the DVSA Remote Enforcement Office
DVSA sending the maintenance investigation visit report with any operator explanations to the Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain
Report to the Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain
The operator must respond with an explanation to show what action theyll take to address the issues. DVSA will send the maintenance investigation visit report with any operator explanations to the Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain.
Published 3 September 2020 Last updated 4 May 2023 +show all updates
## Question 4a* safety inspection records must now also include the details of the external maintenance provider who carried out the inspection* all details on safety inspection records must be legible## Question 4b* operators must now also have documents relevant to safety inspections, for example, brake testing reports or while fixing retorque records* hard copies of safety inspections must be made available on request they do not need to be prepared in advance unless asked for* roller brake tests must be laden and at least 3 should be carried out each year as well as the one at the MOT* decelerometer tests for rigid vehicles must include a brake temperature measurement* electronic braking performance monitoring system (EBPMS) assessment can be used for any vehicles now, not just trailers* road test removed as an option for brake testing during a safety inspection## Question 4fOperators must now regularly check for safety recalls.## Question 8bTyre management system must now monitor that tyre tread depths are measured using a calibrated gauge.## Question 11Section replaced with new questions and requirements. Original question 11a is split up over two questions:* question 11a is about site security measures* question 11b is about vehicle security procedures.
The separate guides for HGV and PSV investigations have been combined into a single guide.##2. Condition of vehicles examined at the fleet checkChanged number of vehicles the examiner will inspect when investigating an operator.There are two new questions:* 2a: State the number of vehicles and trailers in possession for the scope of the investigation* 2b: Were any vehicles or trailers inspected?The old question 2b is now question 2c.##3. Operating centreQuestion 3b now has mostly satisfactory as an assessment outcome if parking appears adequate but minor issue observed.## 4. Inspection and maintenance recordsChanged number of files the examiner will use as a sample when investigating an operator. This is now based on whether the operator has any prohibitions issued in the last 15 months.Question 4b is now Are records completed?Question 4g no longer allows PSV operators to use other incident reporting forms when telling the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency about an incident.## 5. Driver defect reportingQuestion 5a now has There is clear evidence that walkaround checks are not carried out as a reason to report to traffic commissioners.Question 5c now has Clear evidence of vehicles being used with reported safety defects as a reason to report to traffic commissioners.##6. Inspection facilities and maintenance arrangementsQuestion 6b now has Clear evidence there are no maintenance facilities or arrangements in place as a reason to report to traffic commissioners.Question 6c now has the following as reasons to report to traffic commissioners:* clear evidence of poor maintenance standards resulting in safety-critical defects* clear evidence of no management control##7. Vehicle emissionsQuestion 7a now requires operators to use manufacturers type approved values when testing emissions systems.Question 7a now has There is clear evidence of deliberate modification or removal of manufacturers emission plate values as a reason to report to traffic commissioners. ##8. Wheel and tyre managementQuestion 8a now has Clear evidence of no effective system in place leading to a wheel off incident as a reason to report to traffic commissioners.Question 8b now has Clear evidence of the manufacturers date code be
