✓ Compliance, Efficiency & AutomationHGV & PSV operators · England & Scotland
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Driver recruitment checklist

Everything worth checking before you put a driver on your Operator Licence — documents, driver card, right to work, and the knowledge a CPC-qualified driver should already have. Print it blank and write on it, or fill it in on screen.

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Fleet Transport Consultants
Driver Recruitment & Interview Checklist

Candidate

Candidate name
Position / vehicle type
Interview date
Interviewed by

1 · Before the interview

Application or CV receivedEmployment history complete, with dates
References requestedLast two or three employers — ask about attendance and conduct, not just dates
Candidate told what to bringLicence, DQC, tacho card, right-to-work evidence or share code

2 · Documents — checked physically, in the driver's presence

Handle the originals yourself. Check the photograph against the person sitting opposite you.

Photocard licence — front and backCategories held, photocard expiry, address matches the applicationexp:
Vocational entitlement in dateRenewed every five years from age 45, annually from 65 — check it separately from the photocardexp:
DVLA licence check run with the candidate presentTheir check code, your screen, result seen by both of you at the same time. Note endorsements, points and any disqualification.pts:
Driver CPC card (DQC)In date, name matches, 35 hours completedexp:
Digital tachograph driver cardIn date (five-year expiry), undamaged, not defacedexp:
Other tickets as requiredADR, HIAB / lorry loader, Moffett, FLT, DGSA

3 · Driver card read

The most revealing five minutes of the interview. The card shows what the driver has actually been doing, not what the CV says.

Card read and downloadedConfirms the card is present, in date and readable
Recent activity reviewedWhat have they been driving, and how much?
Gaps and discrepancies against the CVUnexplained gaps, or activity during a period they said they were not working
Infringement patternOccasional and explainable, or routine and unmanaged?
Notes on the card read

4 · Right to work in the UK

Must be completed before employment starts. A correct check gives you a statutory excuse against a civil penalty for illegal working.

Online check via Home Office share codeOr original documents where an online check is not availablecode:
Photograph on the check matches the candidate
Any time limit on their right to work recordedDiarise a follow-up check before it expiresuntil:
Evidence retained with the date of checkKeep for the duration of employment plus two yearsdate:

5 · Copies and data protection

Only take copies once the candidate is likely to be successful, and only what you actually need.

Candidate told what is being copied, why, and for how long it is kept
Copies stored securely with access restrictedNot a shared drive everyone can browse
Destruction date set for unsuccessful candidatesSix months is the common practice — whatever you choose, apply itdate:

6 · Employment history, conduct and fitness

Reasons for leaving previous roles
Every gap in employment explainedProbe them. A gap can be illness, a ban, or a custodial sentence.
Ever dismissed, or any prosecution pending?
Medical declaration — anything affecting fitness to driveNotifiable conditions include sleep apnoea, diabetes and cardiac conditions
Eyesight — number plate read at 20 metrespass / fail

7 · Knowledge a CPC-qualified driver should already have

Not a test to catch them out. You are looking for whether the answers come easily, and whether they think in terms of rules or in terms of getting away with it.

Daily driving limit — and how often can it be extended?9 hours; 10 hours twice a week
Weekly and fortnightly driving limits?56 hours in a week, 90 across a fortnight
When is a break due, how long, and how can it be split?After 4.5 hours; 45 minutes, splittable as 15 then 30
Daily rest — and how often can it be reduced?11 hours; reducible to 9 up to three times between weekly rests
Weekly rest, and what follows a reduced one?45 hours regular, 24 reduced — with compensation
What is POA, and when would you use it?Listen for whether they treat it honestly or as a way to make the numbers work
You find a defect on your walkaround. What do you do?Report it, record it, do not move the vehicle if it is safety-critical
Who do you report a defect to, and what if nobody is available?
What happens at a DVSA roadside stop — and what is a PG9?
Who is responsible for load security?The driver. If they say the loader, that is a conversation.
You have a minor collision. What happens next?Bump card, third-party and witness details, photographs, report it
What would you do if a manager asked you to run over your hours to finish a job?The most important answer of the interview. It tells you whether this driver protects your licence or spends it.
Notes

8 · Practical assessment

Walkaround check observedWatch them do one. Do not accept a description of one.
Driving assessment on the relevant vehicle type
Coupling / uncoupling or reversing, if relevant

9 · Decision

Outcome
Start date / conditions
Reason for the decision
Interviewer signature
Date

Free checklist from Fleet Transport Consultants — theftc.co.uk · 0113 534 8006. General guidance, not legal advice. Check current DVLA and Home Office requirements before relying on it.

Why this matters more than most recruitment

A driver you take on is a driver on your Operator Licence. If they run out of hours, drive a defective vehicle or turn out never to have held the entitlement they claimed, it is your licence in front of the Traffic Commissioner, not theirs. Recruitment is the cheapest point at which to catch any of that.

The three checks people skip

Running the licence check in front of them. It takes two minutes with their check code, and it removes any later argument about what was disclosed. It is also, quietly, the most informative moment of the interview.

Reading the driver card. A CV is a claim; a driver card is a record. It shows what they have actually been driving, when, and whether there are gaps or infringement patterns that the conversation has not mentioned. If you have tacho analysis running already, reading a candidate's card costs you nothing.

Watching a walkaround. Not asking about one. Watching one. You will learn more in four minutes at the vehicle than in forty in an office — and if you want the walkaround itself recorded and evidenced from day one, that is what DDIR is for.

Once they start

The checks do not stop at recruitment. Licences, DQCs and tacho cards all expire, and entitlements can change without anyone telling you — which is why expiry tracking is on our list of the basics operators most often get wrong.

FAQs

Frequently asked questions

Should I check a driver's licence in front of them?+
Yes. Run the DVLA check with the candidate present, using their check code, so you both see the result at the same time. It removes any argument later about what was or was not disclosed, and a candidate's reaction to their own endorsements loading on screen is often more informative than the endorsements themselves.
Why read a driver's tachograph card at interview?+
Because it shows what the driver has actually been doing rather than what the CV says. A card read reveals recent driving activity, gaps, whether they have been working elsewhere, and any pattern of infringements. It also confirms the card itself is present, in date and readable.
Can I take copies of a driver's documents?+
Yes, but only take what you need and preferably only once a candidate is likely to be successful. Tell them what you are keeping, why and for how long. Right to work evidence must be retained for the duration of employment plus two years. Documents held for unsuccessful candidates should be destroyed on a defined timescale, commonly six months.
When must a right to work check be done?+
Before employment starts. A correctly conducted check gives you a statutory excuse against a civil penalty for illegal working, and the penalties are substantial. Most candidates can be checked online using a Home Office share code; some must be checked using original documents. Record the date the check was carried out.
Get in touch

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We run bulk licence and CPC checking, tacho analysis and full External Transport Manager support — so the expiry dates chase you rather than the other way round.

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