Guidance

DVSA roadside checks: fines and financial deposits

Updated 29 January 2019

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

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1. Introduction

In this section:

What is the graduated fixed penalty and financial deposit system

The fixed penalty system is an effective way of enforcing road traffic law for commercial vehicles, because:

• the right of individuals to challenge alleged offences in court is preserved
• the number of cases brought before the courts is reduced
• the system is widely accepted by the motoring public
• it complies with human-rights legislation

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) can:

• issue fixed penalties to UK and non-UK residents, even if the offence means penalty points will be added to their driving licence
• request a financial penalty deposit from any offender who has no fixed abode in the UK

About this guidance

This guidance has been produced by DVSA after consultation with the Department for Transport and trade bodies.

It’s not legally binding on DVSA or their staff, but will normally be followed unless there are good reasons not to.

Graduated fixed penalties and financial deposits

Fixed penalties are graduated, meaning the amount can vary depending on the circumstances or the severity of the offence.

Currently, this approach is used in the case of offences such as breaches of drivers’ hours rules and the overloading of vehicles.

Fixed penalty notices can mean any of the following:

• a £50 fine, non-endorsable
• a £100 fine, non-endorsable or endorsable, 3 penalty points
• a £200 fine, non-endorsable or endorsable, 3 penalty points
• a £300 fine, non-endorsable

Deposit payments may be made for a:

• fixed penalty
• guarantee for a fine if a prosecution is going to court

Alleged offenders can choose to contest the offence in court if they want to.

DVSA mainly use this system when dealing with commercial goods and passenger carrying vehicles, covering areas such as:

• brakes
• steering
• drivers’ hours

But, a DVSA examiner can deal with any vehicle on the road, and issue a fixed-penalty notice or notices if appropriate.

Examiners will issue graduated fixed penalties and financial deposits in line with the DVSA enforcement sanctions policy. Sometimes, discretion will be necessary, but it will be done fairly.

2. An overview of fixed penalties

In this section:

Legal regulations for England and Wales

In England and Wales section 54 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 allows an examiner to issue a fixed penalty notice for an alleged offence.

Legal regulations for England, Wales and Scotland

In England, Wales and Scotland, section 75 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 allows an examiner to issue a conditional offer of a fixed penalty for alleged offences. DVSA will only issue conditional offers of a fixed penalty for offences detected in Scotland.

The 2 legal regulations achieve the same thing: allowing the alleged offender to pay a fixed penalty rather than being taken to court. But, you can still choose to have it dealt with by a court.

Fixed penalties apply regardless of nationality. A deposit may be payable if you can’t give a satisfactory UK address^{[footnote 1]}.

The decision to take enforcement action

A fixed penalty notice is one of the options open to examiners when deciding the right course of action.

Other options available include giving a verbal warning or issuing:

• an offence rectification notice (ORN)
• a prohibition notice: mechanical, weight, drivers’ hours, dangerous goods, overloading
• a fixed penalty or, in Scotland, a conditional offer
• a report for a court summons (written at roadside and sent to the court)

Examiners will consider any mitigating factors before taking action.

Graduated penalties

Graduated fixed penalties:

• reflect the severity and circumstances of the offence and
• help deter the more extreme offences

The main graduated offences cover:

• commercial vehicle drivers’ hours
• overloading

The penalties are graduated to reflect the:

• length of time that you’ve spent driving or working over the legal limit
• degree of shortfall below the necessary rest period
• degree of overloading

The level of graduation is set out in legislation and is not at the discretion of the DVSA examiners. Each graduated offence band carries a different financial penalty.

Offences that can be dealt with by fixed penalty but aren’t graduated carry a single fixed penalty amount.

Issue of notices for multiple offences

Examiners can issue more than one notice at a time if you have committed more than one offence.

The law does not limit how many fixed penalties can be issued. However, each traffic examiner or vehicle examiner can issue up to 5 fixed penalty notices or conditional offers each per encounter - meaning up to 10 is possible.

This will include fixed penalty and deposit notices to be issued for drivers’ hour’s offences found to have been committed in the previous 28 days, but only one notice for an endorsable offence within the encounter.

The table shows the possible combinations.

Combinations per examiner	0 endorsable	1 endorsable	2 or more endorsable
0 non-endorsable	-	Fixed penalty or conditional offer	Summons
1 non-endorsable	Fixed penalty or conditional offer	Fixed penalty or conditional offer	Summons
2 non-endorsable	Fixed penalty or conditional offer	Fixed penalty or conditional offer	Summons
3 non-endorsable	Fixed penalty or conditional offer	Fixed penalty or conditional offer	Summons
4 non-endorsable	Fixed penalty or conditional offer	Fixed penalty or conditional offer	Summons
5 non-endorsable	Fixed penalty or conditional offer	Summons	Summons
6 or more non-endorsable	Summons	Summons	Summons

DVSA’s action will be fair, consistent and proportionate. It will require the same standard of evidence before issuing a fixed penalty as is required to issue a court summons.

Summary

If the infringement is serious, depending on the circumstances, the examiner will consider giving a:

• fixed penalty
• offence rectification notice
• appropriate prohibition
• report for summons

If the infringement is minor, the examiner may just give a verbal warning.

A fixed penalty notice or conditional offer (if in Scotland) is an alternative to a summons, not an alternative to a verbal warning.

The guidance is different where immediate roadworthiness prohibitions are being applied.

3. Offences you can be fined for

In this section:

Drivers’ hours offences

When a fixed penalty notice or conditional offer is issued for an offence, the examiner may also prevent the vehicle going any further.

This is to:

• stop you from continuing to drive if you’ve exceeded your hours
• preserve road safety

Fixed penalties and conditional offers will be issued for drivers’ hours offences that are:

• currently being committed
• have been committed in the last 28 days

For example, failure to take:

• a break from driving
• enough daily rest

The fixed penalty will be the usual penalty for drivers’ hours offences except where the:

• maximum number of notices which can be issued on one occasion is reached
• offence is so serious that a fixed penalty isn’t suitable

The drivers’ hours offence penalty graduations reflect the seriousness and circumstances. Meaning, how far you’ve exceeded the limits or failed to meet the requirements of the legislation. For example:

• the amount of rest time you’ve failed to take when required
• the amount of time spent driving above the limits

Example: exceeding the 4.5 hour driving limit

Severity - time driving beyond the 4.5 hour limit	Endorsable	Fixed penalty amount
Less than one hour	No	£100
One hour up to (but not including) 2 hours	No	£200
2 hours and over	No	£300

The legislation shows the first hour as a £100 penalty, but DVSA examiners will generally allow 15 minutes’ leeway before issuing a notice. However, if you repeatedly use those 15 minutes then the examiner may still take action.

Roadworthiness offences

When a fixed penalty notice or conditional offer is issued for a construction and use offence, the examiner may also prevent the vehicle going any further.

This is to protect people from unsafe vehicles.

Careful thought will be given to your responsibility for the vehicle defects. Generally, this will be the main consideration when issuing of a fixed penalty notice for roadworthiness offences.

But, for immediate roadworthiness prohibitions - one where the vehicle can’t be used until the defect is repaired - the guidance below will be followed.

Immediate prohibitions involving a vehicle used by a GB operator

A fixed penalty notice or conditional offer may be issued for the offence if the examiner thinks the defect is serious and shows a significant breakdown of maintenance procedures (this is known as an ‘S’ marked prohibition). That is if they consider either that the defect would have been obvious:

• to you during your daily walkaround inspection - such as a tyre defect
• during your use of the vehicle (for example a steering defect)

The examiner will take into account whether:

• the defect is likely to have first occurred on the journey currently being undertaken
• you couldn’t have been aware of it

If this is the case:

• the immediate prohibition issued wouldn’t be ‘S’ marked
• a fixed penalty notice wouldn’t be issued.

In situations where the significant defect points to poor general maintenance, the operator will:

• be visited
• have their maintenance systems checked

The matter may also be reported to the Traffic Commissioner and/or they could be prosecuted.

Immediate prohibitions involving a vehicle used by a foreign or Northern Ireland operator

Sanctions imposed by a traffic commissioner won’t be available in the case of a non-GB registered vehicle.

Instead, a fixed penalty notice or conditional offer may be issued where there’s an immediate prohibition because of a risk to road safety that is:

• current
• imminent

Fixed penalties for certain roadworthiness matters mean mandatory endorsement of the driving licence (with penalty points).

These are the only offences DVSA deal with that carry the mandatory endorsement of the driving licence.

If you commit an endorsable offence, you’ll only be offered a fixed penalty if the extra points do not cause a mandatory disqualification. If that’s the case, the matter must go to court.

If the fixed penalty notice or conditional offer relates to offences carrying an obligatory endorsement, you’ll be issued it regardless of whether you or not you have a UK driving licence.

Excess weight offences

When a fixed penalty notice or conditional offer is issued for an excess weight offence, the examiner will also prevent the vehicle going any further.

This is to:

• stop an overweight vehicle being used on the road
• preserve road safety

A fixed penalty is the preferred option for dealing with excess weight offences unless:

• the offence is too serious
• the maximum number of penalty notices would be exceeded

The table below shows the current graduated penalty levels for excess weight matters.

Severity	Endorsable	Fixed penalty amount
Less than 10%	No	£100
10% up to but not including 15%	No	£200
15% and over	No	£300

A £100 penalty will be given for a 0% to 9.99% overload, but DVSA examiners will allow a 5% leeway before issuing a fixed penalty or prohibition, unless the relevant weight has been exceeded by 1 tonne or more.

Normally, a fixed penalty would be inappropriate for serious cases of overloading - for example when the vehicle is overloaded by 30% and over, or the excess weight is 5 tonnes - so a court summons would be issued instead.

If the excess weight and the way the load is carried is having a significant effect on road safety - for example, serious instability or loss of control, these other offences will mean a court summons, with the excess weight being part of the offence/s.

4. Financial penalty deposit notices

In this section:

Financial penalty deposit notices allow DVSA to deal effectively with vehicle-related offences committed by people who don’t have a verifiable address in the UK.

This won’t apply to the vast majority of UK residents as they’ll generally have a fixed address.

If a deposit has been paid for a fixed penalty or conditional offer - and during the following 28 days you don’t ask for the matter to go to trial, the deposit will be credited as payment of the fixed penalty.

If a deposit has been paid and the matter goes to court, the deposit will be:

• ‘held over’ until the end of the trial
• put towards any fine imposed
• refunded if necessary

DVSA examiners have the power to stop a vehicle from being driven if a person asked to pay a financial penalty doesn’t do so immediately.

Fixed penalty deposit requirement notice

Where it’s appropriate to offer a fixed penalty or conditional offer, but you’re unable to provide a normal address within the UK, a fixed penalty deposit requirement notice will be issued.

You’re expected to pay the deposit immediately. The deposit amount is equal to the total amount of the fixed penalties / conditional offers issued.

If you don’t pay the deposit immediately, the examiner will prevent the vehicle being driven.

The prohibition will be removed when either:

• the total deposit shown on the notices is paid in full
• the fixed penalty / conditional offer is accepted and paid in full
• you’re convicted or acquitted by the court
• you’re told that none of the offences shown on the notice is being investigated further
• the prosecution period has ended - 6 months for summary only offences - and no further action is being taken

You may also be issued with a direction notice, which means you have to move the vehicle to a designated place.

DVSA examiners also have the power to immobilise the vehicle until the financial penalty deposit is paid.

When no payment is made, the examiner may either:

• remove the vehicle
• direct it to be removed

It will be moved to secure storage until full payment is made for the:

• notice amount
• the costs of releasing the immobilisation device
• the costs for removal and storage of the vehicle

If after 3 months no attempt’s been made to remove the prohibitions that led to the confiscation of the vehicle, the vehicle may be sold and the money used to pay any charges.

Court financial penalty deposit requirement notice

If the offences committed are considered too severe, or too numerous for the offer of a fixed penalty, you’ll be:

• handed a notice of intended prosecution
• told the amount of financial penalty deposit on the court financial penalty deposit requirement notice

The level of the financial deposit reflects the number of offences under consideration. The table below shows how.

Number of offences	Amount to be paid
1	£500
2	£1,000
3 or more	£1,500

The amount to be paid is calculated on the number of offences and not their severity (unlike financial penalty deposits issued for a fixed penalty or conditional offer).

There’s an upper limit of £1500 for any single occasion but not to the number of offences that can be shown on the notice

If the court finds you guilty, the money will be:

• used to pay any fine
• put towards the payment of any fine imposed

The money will be refunded with interest if:

• the court finds you not guilty
• the court finds you guilty but no fine is imposed
• any fine is lower than the deposit amount paid

If the deposit isn’t paid immediately, the court financial deposit notice will contain a prohibition on driving the vehicle on a road. The prohibition will no longer apply when:

• the total amount of deposit shown on the notice is paid in full
• you’re convicted or acquitted by the court
• you’re told you’re not going to be prosecuted for the offences shown on the notice
• the prosecution period has ended (6 months for summary only offences) and no prosecution has been brought

You may also be issued with a direction notice, which means you have to move the vehicle to a designated place.

DVSA examiners also have the power to immobilise the vehicle until the deposit is paid. If no payment is received, they may have the vehicle removed to secure storage until payment is received for the:

• notice amount
• costs of releasing the immobilisation device and of removal and storage of the vehicle

After a court financial penalty deposit requirement notice is issued, a prosecution case will be compiled by DVSA. The court summons will be sent:

• by first class post to your home address (as given to the examiner)
• written in your preferred language

DVSA will only issue a notice if the vehicle is stopped in England and Wales. No action in this respect will be taken in Scotland.

5. What to do if you’re fined

In this section:

Procedure for non-endorsable fixed penalty offences

This section sets out the:

• process after a fixed penalty notice or conditional offer has been issued
• details of the options a driver can take
• the consequences of taking no action

These options are available to all recipients of a fixed penalty notice or conditional offer, whether they’ve been asked to pay a deposit.

This section applies where no financial penalty deposit has been imposed.

Fixed penalty notices (England and Wales)

When you get a fixed penalty notice, you have to either:

• pay the fine within 28 days
• complain to DVSA within 10 days
• write to DVSA within 28 days to ask to go to court

If you’ve been fined for more than one thing, you can choose a different option for each offence

If you do not do not do anything within 28 days, DVSA will pass the issue to the courts. You’ll then have to go to court, and your fine will automatically increase by 50%.

Conditional offer (Scotland)

There are 2 options:

• if the offence shown on the offer is accepted, you have 28 days to pay the amount shown as a fixed penalty and the matter is closed

• if you do not accept the offer, then the conditional offer is no longer relevant

If you choose the latter option, the matter will be passed to the procurator fiscal for consideration of court action.

If court action is started, you may then contest the offence.

A different decision can be made, about each offence, if more than one notice was issued at the same time. The same course of action doesn’t have to be taken in relation to all of them.

Paying the fixed penalty notice or conditional offer

There are 3 ways to pay:

• online through the GOV.UK payment portal
• by telephone
• by post

You can’t go to a DVSA address to pay fixed penalty notices or conditional offers in person.

Pay online

During a roadside encounter, the DVSA vehicle examiner will issue you with a:

• payment reference
• link to the GOV.UK payment portal

The link will take you straight to your outstanding payments.

You can pay by debit or credit card.

You’ll get a receipt by email once you’ve made the payment.

Pay by phone

You can pay by calling DVSA on +44 (0)300 123 9000.

You’ll need a credit or debit card and one of the following:

• the payment code that DVSA sent to you in a text message or email
• your fine reference number from a fixed penalty notice
• the vehicle registration number (number plate)

You can only pay by phone Monday to Friday, 7:30 am to 6 pm. But you can make online payments 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Pay by post

If you’re a UK driver or operator, you can pay by cheque or postal order.

You’ll need to:

• make it payable to ‘DVSA Fixed Penalties Office’
• write your payment code on the back

DVSA Fixed Penalties Office
Ellipse
Padley Road
Swansea
SA1 8AN

Request a court hearing (England and Wales)

If you want to go to court instead of paying the fine, you must fill in and send part 2 of the notice to DVSA within 28 days. If you don’t want to accept the notice in relation to an offence, you can ask in writing for the matter to be dealt with in court.

To do this, complete part 2 (on the reverse) of the fixed penalty and post it to the address shown.

All sections should be completed in block capitals:

• full notice reference number (top right on the front)
• full name
• date of birth
• address
• postcode
• signed
• date of signing

Do not fill in the payment slip or send a payment if you’re asking to go to court.

Lost or defaced notices

Call DVSA if you lose or damage the notice you were given. They will send you another copy.

You’ll need to give the:

• name and date of birth of the person the notice was issued to
• date and time (approximately) it was issued

The 28 day deadline to pay the fine cannot be extended because you lost or damaged the notice.

All time limits will run from the issue date of the original notice. Duplicates will have the same issue date on them as the original.

If you accept a fixed penalty, the amount can be paid by credit or debit card at the same time as arranging for the duplicate notice to be sent.

If you’re contesting an offence or seeking legal advice, the customer service centre staff will arrange for a duplicate of the notice to be sent.

Failure to respond within 28 days

England and Wales

If the fixed penalty isn’t paid within 28 days, and no court hearing is requested, the penalty will be registered with the courts as an unpaid fine.

This will mean a 50% increase in the amount owed to the court

Example

A notice showing a payment of £50 will increase to £75.

Once the notice has been registered with the courts as an unpaid fine, the option to request a court hearing or to pay the fine is no longer available. The court will then take the normal steps to recover the money.

Scotland

If a conditional offer is issued in Scotland but not paid within 28 days, a file will be sent to the procurator fiscal. They’ll consider whether to start court proceedings for the offence.

The option to pay the fixed penalty will then no longer available.

Procedure for endorsable fixed penalty offences

The information about paying the penalty or requesting a court hearing also applies for endorsable offences and the same time limits apply.

DVSA must also check the driving licence to make sure that accrued points, including those for the fixed penalty being issued, won’t reach or exceed the threshold for disqualification.

Driving records at DVLA: GB and non-GB issued licences

DVSA examiners have access to information allowing them to check:

• the category of vehicle the licence entitles the holder to drive
• any endorsements (penalty points) already on the licence

DVLA also holds a computer-based driving record for non-GB licences. Penalty points are recorded for unlicensed or foreign offenders.

This means fixed penalties for endorsable offences can be issued to anyone who:

• doesn’t hold a licence
• has a non-GB licence

The examiner can decide whether you would be disqualified from driving in Great Britain due to your penalty points.

This means that unlicensed and foreign alleged offenders can be treated in exactly the same way as GB licence holders.

Driving licence produced at roadside

If the offence is endorsable and you hold a GB licence, the examiner can only offer the fixed penalty if any current endorsements won’t lead to disqualification.

If you decide to surrender your licence at the roadside, the examiner will issue you with a receipt and keep the licence. The receipt also acts as a temporary driving licence until the real one is returned.

Once they’ve received your licence, the fixed-penalty office will send you a:

• payment reference
• link to the GOV.UK payment portal

Driving licence not produced at roadside

If the full licence isn’t available at the time, the examiner will still issue a fixed penalty, but it will be provisional.

Once they’ve received your licence, the fixed-penalty office will send you a:

• payment reference
• link to the GOV.UK payment portal

It can’t become a full offer of a fixed penalty until:

• the licence is produced
• the accrued points check is made and shows that mandatory disqualification doesn’t apply

The issue of the provisional notice means you have to:

• produce their driving licence within 14 days
• send it to DVSA at the address shown

You must produce the photocard even if you intend to:

• request a court hearing
• allow the matter to go to the procurator fiscal

When DVSA receives the licence, the endorsements will be checked. If penalty points can be added without causing disqualification, the provisional offer becomes a full fixed penalty.

You must then decide if you want to:

• accept and pay the penalty (a payment reference and link will then be sent to you)
• contest the offence and request a court hearing

If the driving licence doesn’t show your current name and address, the appropriate sections of the licence should be completed and signed before it’s surrendered for endorsement.

For an endorsable offence, you can’t online until your licence has been produced.

Return of driving licence

When the penalty is accepted and paid within 28 days, the licence will be endorsed with the penalty points and returned to the address shown.

You must tell DVLA if you’ve changed address.

In England and Wales, if you ask for the matter to be heard by a court, the licence will be returned to you with no points added.

If it does go to court, the licence will need to be surrendered to the court.

Failure to surrender the driving licence or to pay the penalty amount

England and Wales

If the licence isn’t produced within the 14 day period the matter will go to court.

If the licence is produced within that period and the provisional offer becomes a full offer, but the penalty isn’t paid within 28 days:

• the licence will be endorsed and returned
• the notice will be registered as an unpaid fine with the court and the amount increases by 50%

Scotland

If the licence isn’t produced within 14 days the matter will be passed to the procurator fiscal who will decide whether to take further action.

If the licence is produced within the period and the notice is confirmed, but you don’t pay within 28 days, the matter will pass to the procurator fiscal who will decide whether to take further action.

Paying a financial penalty deposit

This will only be necessary when you haven’t been able to provide a satisfactory UK address.

The amount will be shown on the notice.

When the deposit is for a fixed penalty notice or conditional offer, you can still choose to:

• accept the penalty
• request a court hearing

The notices also state that driving the vehicle isn’t allowed until the deposit is paid.

DVSA can also immobilise the vehicle and have it removed.

As soon as the full deposit amount is paid the prohibition is lifted, so payment will allow the vehicle to be driven as long as any:

• other prohibition notices issued at the same time are also removed
• fees for release of the immobilisation device are paid
• costs for removal and storage of the vehicle are paid

Payment methods

The deposit amount must be paid in full. Part payments won’t be accepted.

The following payment options are available at the roadside.

Pay online

During a roadside encounter, the DVSA vehicle examiner will issue you with a:

• payment reference
• link to the GOV.UK payment portal

The link will take you straight to your outstanding payments.

Cards taken, include:

• Visa
• MasterCard
• Switch
• Delta
• Maestro
• Cirrus

You’ll get a receipt by email once you’ve made the payment.

Pay the examiner

You can pay:

• in cash, using pound sterling notes (no coins) - Euros can’t be taken
• as a mixture of cash and using the GOV.UK payment portal

Pay by phone

Call DVSA and pay by credit or debit card - more than 2 cards can be used for each payment.

Later payment

The vehicle can’t be driven and may be immobilised until the deposit is paid in full.

Once examiners have left, you can only make a payment by using the GOV.UK payment portal or calling DVSA and using a debit or credit card. You can use more than 2 cards per payment.

After the deposit has been paid: fixed penalty notice or conditional offer

Once the penalty is paid, if you want to accept the penalty (and if, in the case of an endorsable offence, the driving licence requirements have been complied with), then you don’t need to do anything else.

The deposit amount equals the fixed penalty amount and 28 days after the notice issue date the deposit payment will be automatically allocated to pay the fixed penalty.

If you want to contest the penalty, you must request a court hearing within 28 days in the same way as if no deposit had been paid.

6. Complain about a fine

You can complain to DVSA if you think it’s wrong that you were given a fixed penalty. The fixed penalty terms and conditions will still apply while you complain.

DVSA will cancel a fixed penalty if it was issued in error.

You don’t have a legal right to complain, as the law doesn’t say that DVSA has to provide a complaints procedure for fixed penalties. However, the process is in place to allow appropriate matters to be resolved:

• without a court hearing
• before the penalty is paid

Get legal advice if you don’t know what to do.

How to complain

You can complain if you’ve been given a:

• fixed penalty notice
• conditional offer
• deposit requirement

For example, if you disagree with the examiner’s analysis of the driver’s hours.

You must complain within 10 days of the issue date of the notice, except in exceptional circumstances.

Before you complain

Check the standards the examiner applied. Information can be found in the:

• categorisation of defects
• enforcement sanctions policy

Make your complaint

Call DVSA to complain.

If the complaint is about a prohibition, state whether a fixed penalty was issued for the offence.

DVSA customer service centre Telephone: 0300 123 9000 Monday to Friday, 7:30am to 6pm Find out about call charges

What happens next

DVSA will record the date you complained and send you an acknowledgement.

DVSA will investigate your complaint. You’ll get a response within 15 days.

If your complaint is upheld, it’s likely that the fixed penalty will be cancelled.

If you’re unhappy with the outcome, you can still ask for the matter to be heard by a court rather than accepting and paying the penalty.

Making a complaint affects the statutory 28 days within which either a request for a court hearing or a payment must be made.

7. Driver offence record

To help monitor repeated and/or serious cases of offending, DVSA will maintain information on all offences whether it:

• lead to a court conviction
• was dealt with by way of a fixed penalty

If you have a vocational driving licence you may be referred to the Traffic Commissioner if it’s thought disciplinary action is necessary.

6. How fixed penalties affect vehicle operators

In this section:

Vehicle operator notification letter

If the vehicle was operated by a GB operator, a notification letter will be sent to either:

• the person or company the driver said was operating the vehicle at the time
• to the person or company shown by the records as the owner or operator

Notifying the Traffic Commissioner

The main purpose of the letter is to allow organisations holding an operator‘s licence to be able to fulfil their legal obligations. That is, tell the relevant traffic commissioner of notifiable fixed penalties issued to their employee or agent.

Failure to do so:

• is a breach of the licence conditions
• could result in a public inquiry about fitness to hold a licence

Operators and fixed penalty notices

You won’t receive fixed penalty notices unless you’re:

• also the driver
• operate as a sole trader or partnership

Infringements which may partly be down to you (and/or user of the vehicle or employer of the driver) may mean further enforcement action. It depends on the nature and circumstances of the case.

A prosecution may be brought, and where the breaches involve the holder of an operator’s licence, those matters will be reported to the Traffic Commissioner to consider disciplinary action

Operator Compliance Risk Score (OCRS)

OCRS is a mechanism used to calculate the likelihood of an operator being non-compliant.

It isn’t a rating system. It’s used to inform DVSA examiners of the probability of an operator being compliant or not.

OCRS means:

• effective targeting to stop the non-compliant operators
• a reduction in the number of occasions compliant operators are subject to stops and full inspections

When a driver is issued with a fixed penalty notice, the operator of the vehicle at the time may also be liable for an offence. So, a fixed penalty notice may be used as part of the operator’s compliance risk score.

At the moment, DVSA doesn’t use historical offences as part of the operator’s risk score. This makes sure there’s no effect on an operator’s risk score when it is impossible to determine the identity of the operator at the time of the historical offence.

An operator may be called to a public inquiry as a direct result of the number and type of fixed penalty notices issued to their drivers. This is the same as if the offences went before the court.

8. More information

Where to get help

Contact DVSA if you have questions about fixed penalties or need the options available to you explained.

Get legal advice if you need more help.

Legislation

Information about the law on fixed penalties and financial deposit payments can be found in this primary legislation:

• Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988
• Road Traffic Act 1988
• Road Safety Act 2006

Further information can be found in this secondary legislation:

• The Road Safety (Financial Penalty Deposit) (Appropriate Amount) Order 2009
• The Road Safety (Financial Penalty Deposit) (Appropriate Amount) (Amendment) Order 2013
• The Road Safety (Financial Penalty Deposit) Order 2009
• The Road Safety (Financial Penalty Deposit) (Interest) Order 2009
• The Fixed Penalty (Procedure) (Vehicle Examiners) Regulations 2009
• The Fixed Penalty Offences Order 2009
• The Fixed Penalty Order 2000, as amended by the Fixed Penalty (Amendment) Order 2009
• The Community Drivers’ Hours Offences (Enforcement) Regulations 2018

Offence penalty levels

From time to time, DVSA may refer to ‘offence bands’.

Each band shows the action that DVSA intends to take about a single offence.

The band meanings and action are:

• band 0 - verbal warning
• band 1 - issue fixed penalty level 1 - £50
• band 2 - issue fixed penalty level 2 - £100
• band 3 - issue fixed penalty level 3 - £200
• band 4 - issue fixed penalty level 4 - £300
• band 5 - court prosecution

Verbal warnings may be used if the breach is:

• isolated
• minor

Court action is taken if the breach is:

• too serious to be dealt with by a fixed penalty
• not a fixed penalty offence

A full list of fixed penalty offences can be found in the enforcement sanctions policy.

1. A satisfactory address is an address in the UK where it’s possible to find someone in connection with the legal process.

   DVSA will try to find a UK address via the driving licence record held by DVLA, but examiners may use other methods.

   The following addresses aren’t usually acceptable:

   • bed and breakfast (B&B)
   • hotel
   • employment agency
   • solicitor

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