How to Manage Driver CPC and Licence Expiry Dates

Driving a goods or passenger vehicle without a valid licence or Driver CPC is an offence. The driver can receive a fixed penalty notice, and the operator can face action against their O-licence. For operators, allowing an unlicensed driver to drive is a serious compliance failure that Traffic Commissioners treat severely.

The challenge for operators is that expiry dates are spread across multiple drivers and document types — licences, CPC certificates, and medicals (D4 forms). Without a tracking system, it is easy to miss a deadline.

For every driver, you should record:

• Driving licence number and category entitlements (B, C, C1, CE, D, D1, DE, etc.)
• Licence expiry or review date
• Driver CPC expiry date (periodic training is required every 5 years)
• Medical certificate (D4) expiry date — typically every 5 years from age 45, annually from 65
• Training records for CPC periodic training

Different documents need different amounts of notice. A CPC renewal requires arranging and completing training, which can take weeks. A medical requires booking an appointment with a GP. Set your alert windows accordingly:

• 90 days before: Initial alert — start arranging renewals
• 60 days before: Reminder — confirm arrangements are in progress
• 30 days before: Urgent alert — renew immediately or stop the driver from driving

FleetForge lets you configure these alert windows for your organisation so every driver is alerted consistently.

Tracking expiry dates is only useful if you act on the information. The most effective approach is to prevent drivers with expired documents from being allocated to jobs in the first place. FleetForge flags drivers whose licences or CPC have expired when you are scheduling jobs, so an unlicensed driver cannot be assigned to drive.

This removes the risk of human error — a manager does not need to remember to check each driver's expiry dates manually before allocating a job.