A Driver CPC (or Driver Certificate of Professional Competence) is a qualification some drivers will need in order to legally do their job. This is something additional to your particular vehicle and licence training. Not all drivers need this, however, so here’s a quick guide if you’re not sure where you stand.

Professional drivers

If you’re looking to drive buses, coaches or HGVs for a living – and this will be the chief part of your job – you’ll need a Driver CPC.  Not only will you need to pass your Driver CPC training, but you’ll also need to undertake 35 hours of training every 5 years in order to stay qualified.

Consequences of not having a Driver CPC

It’s vital that you never skip the Driver CPC if you need one. If you’re found to be driving without a Driver CPC when you should have one, you could be fined up to £1000. A court can ultimately decide whether you need a Driver CPC or not, even though the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) are the issuers of Driver CPCs. For this reason, it’s important to get some legal advice if you’re not sure.

When you don’t need a Driver CPC

If you’re not planning on driving professionally, and are learning purely so you can legally drive for leisure or other unpaid reasons, you don’t need a Driver CPC. The same also applies if you’re simply taking a vehicle for repairs or a MOT.

1. Personal use

If you’re carrying people, materials or goods of any kind for your own personal use, and not for professional purposes, you don’t need a Driver CPC. This counts as non-commercial activity. Some examples of this might be if you’re moving house or helping someone else to move house as an unpaid favour.

You may need to hire a lorry to do this, but you don’t need a Driver CPC. Likewise if you’re using a lorry – either hired or not – to help someone transport their property from one place to another, but purely as a favour and not for financial compensation. This is classed as non-commercial carriage of goods and doesn’t require you to have a Driver CPC, although you may need to prove it’s a personal task if you are stopped.

2. Passenger transportation

Driving passengers around for non-commercial purposes, where you’re not being paid directly for doing so, doesn’t require a Driver CPC. This could be in your personal time for leisure or to do a favour. In these cases, your driving would be classed as ‘not for hire or reward’. However, if you’re transporting passengers as part of your job, you will need a Driver CPC.

3. Transporting work materials

If you’re driving materials you need for your job from one location to another, you don’t need a Driver CPC as this type of driving is not the main part of your job and the materials are for you to use. This could be because you’re a self-employed labourer transporting your tools from one jobs to another, where driving is not your actual job and the materials you’re transporting are for your own use.

However, if you’re driving materials from one place to another for someone else’s use – even if this doesn’t make up a large part of your job – you will still need a Driver CPC. When the goods being transported are livestock, you will still need a Driver CPC even if the livestock belong to you. However, if you’re a farmer transporting tools and materials to build or fix something of yours, perhaps on your land, then you don’t need a Driver CPC as the materials are your own.

More examples, You don’t need a Driver CPC:

• If you’re driving to a pre-booked appointment like a test or MOT.
• If you’re driving to a Driver CPC test or driving licence test.
• If you’re road-testing a vehicle, testing it for repair needs or to prepare for technical work on it. For this reason, you don’t need a Driver CPC if you’re transporting vehicle parts.
• If you’re delivering something in your vehicle. This could be cars from a manufacturer which are finished and ready to sell.
• If you’re driving for the military, police, fire or other emergency services or prison services.
• If driving isn’t the main part of your job, and you’re driving within 62 miles of your base without any other passengers or delivery items. This could be because you’re driving an empty bus from one depot to another, for example.
• If you’re a workshop manager who sometimes drives empty trailers to deliver them to depots closer than 62 miles from your base.
• If you’re a valet who collects and delivers for customers and are employed by a vehicle hire company, driving within 62 miles of the base.
• If you’re a mechanic who sometimes drives trucks or HGVs from one place to another within 62 miles of your base.
• If your vehicle doesn’t drive or isn’t allowed to drive faster than 28 miles per hour.
• If you drive a lorry, coach, minibus etc and are a national of any EU country or a country outside the EU but your employer is based within the EU.

If you need more information, just give one of our expert customer support team a call or send us an email and we will be happy to assist you in any way we can. Here is some more additional information:

• Low Cost Bus Driver CPC Training Course
• What You Need to Be A CPC Qualified Coach Driver
• Get Certified Fast With Our Intensive CPC Courses
• Find Low Cost – Top Quality – CPC Driver Training Courses
• The Road to Your CPC Qualification Begins Here
• UK Wide – Low Cost Professional CPC Training Courses
• Driver CPC Certification Training – Top Quality UK Wide Courses
• Driver CPC Training & Certification FAQs