What is an O-Licence and What Are the Requirements?

3 June 2016

“O-Licence” is the widely used abbreviation for the vehicle operator licence. There are both national and international O-licences. If your business uses goods vehicles above a certain weight you will need a goods vehicle operator’s licence. There are three different licences which you can have;

Standard National Licence

With this licence, you can carry your own goods and that of others within the UK and internationally.

Restricted Licence

With a restricted licence you can carry your own goods, but not other people’s.

Do you Need to Check and Update your O-Licence?

Fleet owners with the use of commercial vehicles must have an O-Licence.  The licence will remain valid as long as every 5 years you pay your continuation fee. Every 5 years, you will be contacted to ensure the correct information is held for your licence. That doesn’t mean you have nothing to do in the meantime. It is important you update your details if your circumstances change, and that you apply to add more vehicles to your licence as you obtain them.

Losing your O-Licence

With tachographs, maintenance inspections, defect reports, driver hours, not to mention health & safety, there are certainly plenty of ways to lose your O-Licence.

And you can add to that list: regular inspections of your drivers’ licences.

Checking driving licences is a legal obligation for all businesses that require employees to drive as part of their job. For transport managers, it’s doubly important. Under European legislation, employees driving without a valid licence is one of the Most Serious Infringements (MSIs) operators can be convicted of, putting your O-Licence at risk and seriously affecting future career opportunities.

At one time it was simply a question of checking your driver’s paper counterpart. But since the paper counterpart was withdrawn, the only legally acceptable source of a driver’s history, penalty points and disqualification details are the central records held by the DVLA. All of which means licence checking has potentially become a much more time consuming and inconvenient task.

Licence Checks for Drivers

Driver Hire’s ‘dh Licence Check’ service saves time, money and hassle. It provides users with a comprehensive update, including information on licence categories, restrictions, endorsements, expiry dates convictions, disqualifications and much, much more.

“For thousands of businesses across the UK who employ people who drive — either as their main job or as an essential part of their job — licence checking is a legal requirement,” says Chris Chidley, Driver Hire’s Chief Executive. “‘dh Licence Check’ reduces the risk of fraud and hassle for increasingly hard-pressed transport managers.” Make sure to also be aware of licence categories and regulations.

For more information on Driver Hire’s dh Licence Check service, get in touch or watch our video and request a demo to find out more.