Run a drink-drive rehabilitation course
How to run and manage a drink-drive rehabilitation course, including making bookings, ID checks and issuing certificates.
Applies to England and Scotland
You can apply to the Driver and Vehichle Standards Agency (DVSA) to provide courses to drink-drive offenders to help stop them from reoffending.
Offenders can be offered a rehabilitation course to reduce their driving ban if:
- they’re found guilty of a drink-drive offence
- their ban is for 12 months or more
Their ban will be reduced if they complete the course within a certain time. The ban is usually reduced by a quarter.
You can run a course either:
- remotely online, using video call software
- in a classroom
Offenders guilty of drug-drive offences cannot be offered a drink-drive rehabilitation scheme course.
Make courts and lawyers aware of your course
Make sure local courts and lawyers in your approved area know about the courses you offer.
You can:
- put leaflets in court waiting rooms
- tell them how courses reduce reoffending
You should make sure that your leaflets and advertising materials accurately represent:
- the costs of the course
- the venues you use
Book offenders on to your course
The court will contact you if the offender decides to take the course. It will give a deadline for them to complete the course by. This cannot be changed.
Do not book offenders on to a course or take payment before you’re contacted. Do not book them on to a course where the last session is after the deadline set by the court.
How to book the offender on to your course
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Contact the offender as soon as you get the referral to tell them about your available course dates and to share your privacy notice.
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Contact them again if they do not book a course to make sure they complete it before their deadline.
If the offender wants to book a course in a classroom
If an offender wants to book a course in a classroom you should try to accommodate them. Tell them before they book that the course may not run if you cannot:
- find a local venue
- get at least 4 offenders booked onto the course
If you need to cancel the course and cannot provide a classroom course before their deadline, tell them to find another course.
Provide privacy information when offenders book your course
You must provide privacy information to offenders at the time you collect their personal data from them.
You can do this using a privacy notice. This must be easy to understand and easily accessible.
You can download an .
As a data controller, you’re legally responsible for making sure your actual privacy notice is accurate and explains how you collect and use data.
Check the Information Commissioner’s Office guidance on how to write a privacy notice and what goes in it.
Charging fees and being paid
You can:
- charge up to £250 for a course - including a processing fee
- give a discount, for example, for people on benefits or who book early
- take a one-off payment or instalments
When your approval’s confirmed you’ll be given a copy of the statutory guidance, that will give you more information about booking offenders onto courses.
Send joining instructions
You should send joining instructions to each offender before the course takes place. These should include:
- start and end times
- the cancellation policy
- contact details
- information about high-risk offenders
Register participants and check their identities
You need to check the identity of offenders against the court order by asking them to register their:
- address and postcode
- date of birth
- sentence details and alcohol level at the time of the offence
You can also ask for:
- a signature
- their passport
- a utility or mobile phone bill
- proof they get benefits
You need to ask offenders to sign a course register as proof of attendance at each session.
You can download an
Introduce the course
Set enough time for a welcome and introduction session. This should include:
- health and safety
- facilities
- aims and objectives
- the conduct expected
Tell participants how you’ll use their personal information
You must tell participants about how you collect, use, disclose, keep and dispose of their personal data. You can use a ‘fair processing notice’ to do this.
Train the offenders using your approved course
You can decide how to run the course, but it must meet the learning outcomes of the drink-drive rehabilitation scheme syllabus.
Your course must be at least:
- 16 hours tuition time (not including breaks)
- 3 sessions
- spread over 14 days
Each course session must have between:
- 4 and 15 participants in a remote course
- 4 and 20 participants in a classroom-based course
Use different techniques to suit different learning styles. For example:
- group discussions
- guest speakers
- hand-outs
- role play
Make reasonable adjustments
Make reasonable adjustments for offenders with particular needs.
It’s against the law to discriminate against people because of age, pregnancy, disability, race or religion.
Interpreters
An offender can bring a British Sign Language or foreign language interpreter. The interpreter must:
- be 18 or over
- be able to interpret well enough for the offender to complete the course
The interpreter can be a relative and does not have to be approved.
You should only have one interpreter per course, as having more can distract the rest of the group.
Courses in languages other than English
You can run courses in a language other than English if there’s enough demand. You need a suitable trainer and translated course materials.
Changes or problems with running your course
You can make small changes to the course content and how you run it, as long as it still meets the:
- learning outcomes of the drink-drive rehabilitation course syllabus
- usual rules about course length, number of sessions, number of participants and trainers
If you need to a cancel a course
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Give offenders and DVSA least 20 working days’ notice from the course start date.
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Use the Manage your drink-drive rehabilitation centre and courses service to confirm you’ve cancelled the course.
If you do not have another course running before the offender’s deadline, tell them to find another course.
Collect feedback and evaluate the course
You need to evaluate how well the course helps offenders to achieve the learning outcomes in the syllabus.
You need to get feedback to measure:
- how the offenders reacted to the training
- what they learned
Every offender could be starting from a different level of knowledge or attitude. So, your evaluation should focus on whether they advanced, rather than just met a certain level.
Give a certificate of completion or notice of non-completion
DVSA will send you a blank certificate of completion and notice of non-completion when your course is approved. You can only use these - you cannot create your own versions.
Email DVSA to get replacements if you lose your templates.
DVSA Training Accreditation team
[email protected]
Give a certificate of completion
Send a certificate of completion to the offender within 14 days of the course ending, if they have:
- fully completed each course session
- paid the course fee
You must also send a copy to the supervising court. The court will tell DVLA so that the offender’s ban is reduced.
Give a notice of non-completion
Send a notice of non-completion to the offender if they have not:
- completed each session and paid the fee
- booked a course or communicated with you
You must include the reason you’re giving the notice of non-completion.
The notice tells them how to appeal against your decision.
You do not need to send copies of the notice to DVLA or the court. You should keep copies in case the offender claims they were not sent the notice and the court asks you to provide them.
Record and report on the training you provide
At the end of each quarter, you must:
- pay for the courses completed (£7 for each offender)
- email details of the training you have provided to DVSA
Your email should include:
- your centre’s name
- your account number
- the number of offenders who have completed the training for each area in the last quarter
DVSA Training Accreditation team
[email protected]
Deadlines
You must send this by the deadlines shown in the table.
| Quarter | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Quarter 1 - April to June | 14 July |
| Quarter 2 - July to September | 14 October |
| Quarter 3 - October to December | 14 January |
| Quarter 4 - January to March | 14 April |
Complaints about your course
You must make your complaints procedure available to offenders.
Updates to this page
Published 13 September 2016Last updated 24 May 2024 + show all updates
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Added information about running remote courses, and what to do if an offender wants to book a course in a classroom.
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Added information about providing a privacy notice when offenders book a course, and an example attendance register.
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Updated the section about recording and reporting on the training you provide.
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Edited 'if you need to cancel a course' section - removed 'You need to send the original court referral to the new provider' from the final paragraph.
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Changed content on sending copies of a notice to appeal. Removed content on getting proof of postage.
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Updated information about booking courses and making changes to courses.
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Updates to contact details, as the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency now uses the Joint Approvals Unit for Periodic Training (JAUPT) to help approve and monitor courses.
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First published.