Use a pre-funded account for driving test and Driver CPC services
Apply for and use a Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) pre-funded account to pay for Driver CPC and driving test services.
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
Pay for DVSA services
There are 2 ways that you can pay for DVSA’s business services:
- credit or debit card
- a debit account facility called a pre-funded account (PFA)
You can put money into a PFA using different payment methods.
You can then pay for the services that you use from your PFA. This is useful if you don’t want to give your card details to staff who are making payments on your behalf.
You can use a PFA with the following services:
- book and manage driving tests for your pupils
- record delegated driving test details
- record Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) training you provide
Apply for a pre-funded account
An authorised person in your organisation needs to follow these steps.
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Read and sign the PFA terms and conditions.
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Fill in and sign the PFA application form.
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Send the signed application form and terms and conditions to DVSA by email.
By email
Email a copy of the signed application form and terms and conditions to [email protected].
Use a PFA for more than one service
Each service you use needs a separate PFA.
Example
If you already have a PFA for Driver CPC periodic training, you need to set a new one up to use with the service to book and manage driving tests for your pupils.
What happens next
Your PFA should be available to use within 5 working days of DVSA getting your application and signed terms and conditions.
DVSA will send an email to you with the PFA details, including the account number.
Set up your account
Your PFA will be assigned to your Government Gateway profile for the service selected.
When you sign in to the Government Gateway and select the service, you’ll see the PFA facility. You can manage your account and use the self-service facilities from there.
Credit your account
When your PFA has been set up you need to put at least £200 in your account. You can do this in different ways depending on the service you’re using your PFA for.
| Service | Payment methods for funding your PFA |
|---|---|
| Book and manage driving tests for your pupils | Credit or debit card |
| Record delegated driving test details | Credit or debit card, Bacs and CHAPS, and cheque |
| Record Driver CPC training you provide | Credit or debit card, Bacs and CHAPS, and cheque |
Pay by credit or debit card
You can credit your account using a credit or debit card. You can store card details in your account so you don’t have to enter them each time you want to credit your account.
Pay by Bacs and CHAPS
This method transfers funds from your bank account into a DVSA account. You’ll be given the DVSA account details when your PFA has been created.
Any money transferred will be credited to your PFA within 3 working days of it getting into DVSA’s bank account.
When you transfer money, you must include your organisation reference and PFA account number in the payment reference field, for example, ‘RE30119/00000119’.
You must also email [email protected] to tell DVSA you’ve made a payment. You need to include:
- your organisation reference
- your PFA account number
- the date you transferred the money
- how much you’ve transferred
How to pay for services using a PFA
You can pay for services by selecting the PFA from a list of payment options, your transactions will be shown on your account statement.
You can’t transfer your funds between PFAs or use it to pay for another service.
If your account is blocked, it’s most likely because a query has been raised against a transaction and is being investigated by DVSA.
Your PFA balance
You’ll be told when the balance falls below £100, as there’s no credit facility on a PFA. There’s no maximum balance and your account can be topped up at any time.
Set up another account
If you’re a Government Gateway administrator, you can set up extra accounts for users in your organisation who are already set up on the Government Gateway.
You only need to send in a new application and signed terms and conditions where the extra account is for use against a new service.
When the new account has been created, it can be credited and used straight away in the same way as the existing PFA. However, funds can’t be transferred from existing accounts.
View statements
Go to ‘Statements’ and then select ‘Financial statement’ to view your online business service transactions.
From within ‘Financial statement’ you can select ‘pre-funded account transactions only’ to see credits, withdrawals and current balance for each account.
You can change the date to view a specific time-period or view all transactions that have occurred within that account for a 12-week period.
Close your account
Fill in the and send it to DVSA if you want to close your PFA.
DVSA will close the account and refund any money in the account using the same method that it was credited.
When an account is closed it cannot be reopened. You’ll have to set up a new account if you need to use the facility again.
Help with your account
Contact DVSA if you need help with your PFA.
DVSA
[email protected]
Updates to this page
Published 22 February 2013Last updated 9 October 2023 + show all updates
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Updated PFA application form, PFA closure form and PFA credit form to include current DVSA address.
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Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) causing the suspension of the driving test, the closure of the DVSA customer service centres and the majority of staff to work from home, contact can currently only now be made by email. Also, cheques currently can't be used for crediting PFAs.
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Updated with the latest version of the form with a new address to send it to.
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Updated the application forms and email address for applications and enquiries.
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Updated the information about cheque payments so they're now made payable to 'Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency'.
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Added information to make it clear that you must make cheques payable to ‘Driving Standards Agency’ rather than the ‘Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’ until April 2015.
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First published.