Start with the licence number
An operator licence number looks like OB1234567 or PC1234567. The first letter says whether it is goods or passenger work, the second says which traffic area granted it. Ask for it, and check it says what the operator says it does.
If a business cannot give you a licence number, that is the answer to the question. You can also find it from the company name, the town, or the postcode of the yard — search the register on any of them.
The six checks
- 1
Is the licence in force?
A licence that has been revoked, surrendered or terminated is not a licence. Check the status recorded against it, and the date the record was last published. - 2
Is it the right class for the work?
A restricted licence cannot carry your goods for payment at all. Standard national cannot take them abroad. If the job crosses either line, the licence has to match it. - 3
How many vehicles does it authorise?
This is the ceiling, not the fleet. An operator promising twenty vehicles on a licence authorising four either has another licence or a problem. - 4
Where is the operating centre?
Vehicles are kept at the centres named on the licence. A haulier quoting national coverage from one small yard is worth a second question. - 5
What have the Traffic Commissioners published?
Applications, grants, refusals, revocations and public inquiry decisions are all published. A recent call-in is not proof of anything, but it is something to ask about. - 6
Who is behind the licence?
Match the licence to the company number, then look at the company: how long it has traded, whether it is still active, and whether the same people hold other licences.
What each check does not tell you
A licence in force means the operator satisfied a traffic commissioner on repute, finance and competence when it was granted, and has not since lost it. It does not mean the vehicles are roadworthy today, that goods-in-transit insurance is in place, that the price is fair, or that the company is solvent. Ask for the insurance certificate and the terms separately; neither is on any register.
Equally, an operator with no published notices is not necessarily better than one with them. Most entries in the record are ordinary applications and variations, not trouble.
Signals worth more than they look
Accreditation. DVSA earned recognition means the operator lets the regulator monitor its maintenance and drivers’ hours records against set standards, continuously. Only a few hundred operators are in it. Its presence is a strong signal; its absence says nothing at all — see who is accredited.
The whole company, not one licence. A firm running from several parts of the country holds a separate licence in each traffic area, and looking at one of them undercounts the business badly. The combined company view joins them on the company number.
Continuation date. Every licence has to be continued every five years. A date coming up soon is not a warning, but it is a sensible thing to know before signing a long contract.
Keep watching, not just checking
A check tells you about today. Licences change: authorisations are cut, centres move, licences are revoked. If a supplier matters to your operation, follow the licence rather than looking it up once — you can watch an operator and see what changes about it.
Common questions
- How do I check if a haulier has an operator licence?
- Search the register by company name, licence number, town or postcode. A licence in force shows the traffic commissioner who issued it, the type of licence, and how many vehicles and trailers it authorises.
- What does the number of vehicles authorised tell me?
- It is the ceiling, not the fleet. An operator may run fewer vehicles than the licence allows, but running more than it allows is a breach of the licence.
- What is DVSA earned recognition?
- A voluntary scheme for operators who let the regulator monitor their maintenance and drivers’ hours records against set standards. Accreditation is a strong signal, and its absence is not a mark against anybody.
- Does a licence mean the operator is insured for my goods?
- No. An operator licence is a licence to run vehicles, and it says nothing about goods-in-transit cover, contract terms or financial health. Ask for those separately.
Check a real licence
Everything above describes the rules. To see how they land on a particular business, look the licence up: the type, the fleet it authorises, where the vehicles are kept and anything the Traffic Commissioners have published about it.