Roadworthiness · 4 min read · Updated
O-licence maintenance records - what to keep and for how long
Operators must keep maintenance records - safety inspections, laden brake tests, driver defect reports, repairs and test history - for at least 15 months and be able to retrieve them fast. A record you cannot produce on request is treated as a record you do not have.
Keeping the right maintenance records is an undertaking on every operator's licence, and in practice it is what a DVSA investigation stands or falls on. The work being done is not enough - you have to be able to prove it, quickly, going back over a year.
The 15-month rule
The DVSA Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness expects maintenance records to be kept for at least 15 months. That covers more than a full year plus the annual test cycle, so an examiner can see an unbroken history. Keep them retrievable, not just retained - a record you cannot find on request is treated as a record you do not have.
What counts as a maintenance record
| Record | What good looks like |
|---|---|
| Safety inspection sheets | At your declared interval, signed, with every item assessed and defects noted |
| Laden brake test results | A roller-brake test result attached to inspections, not a visual guess |
| Driver defect reports | Daily walkaround checks, including nil-defect reports |
| Repair records | Each reported defect linked to its rectification |
| Annual test (MOT) history | Pass and fail history for every vehicle and trailer |
| Prohibitions and their clearance | Any PG9 and the evidence it was cleared |
| Wheel/tyre and recall records | Torque re-checks, tyre management, outstanding recalls actioned |
Keep the thread joined up
The value is in the links between records, not the records alone. A defect on a walkaround check should trace to a repair. A safety inspection should carry its brake test. An annual-test failure should be explained by what happened next. Examiners follow those threads; broken ones are where credibility is lost.
Digital beats a filing cabinet
A shelf of paper is fine until DVSA asks for one specific vehicle's last 15 months while standing in your office. Digital records that are searchable by vehicle, dated, and exportable turn that from a scramble into a click - and they do not get lost in a cab or a skip.
How OperatorCompliance helps
OperatorCompliance holds safety inspections, brake results, driver defect reports, prohibitions and test history together against each vehicle and trailer, keeps them for the retention period, and exports a complete compliance pack per vehicle or driver for the Traffic Commissioner file. The threads stay joined - a defect links to its repair, an inspection carries its brake test - so the record tells the whole story an examiner wants. See how it works or start a free 14-day trial.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Always check the current rules on GOV.UK and the DVSA Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness.
Frequently asked questions
How long must operators keep maintenance records?
The DVSA Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness expects maintenance records to be kept for at least 15 months. That covers a full year plus the annual test cycle, so an examiner can see an unbroken history. Keep them retrievable as well as retained, because a record you cannot find on request is treated as a record you do not have.
What maintenance records do I need to keep?
Safety inspection sheets at your declared interval, laden brake test results, daily driver defect reports including nil reports, repair records linked to each defect, annual test pass and fail history, and any prohibitions with evidence they were cleared. Wheel, tyre and recall records count too. The value is in the thread joining a defect to its repair, not the sheets alone.
Do maintenance records have to be digital?
No, paper is allowed, but it must be complete and quickly retrievable. The practical problem with a filing cabinet is producing one specific vehicle's last 15 months while an examiner waits in your office. Digital records that are searchable by vehicle, dated and exportable turn that from a scramble into a click, and they do not get lost in a cab or a skip.
Do I keep records for vehicles I have sold?
Yes. The 15-month retention applies even after a vehicle or trailer leaves your fleet, so do not discard the history when you dispose of an asset. An examiner reviewing your systems may still ask about vehicles you no longer run, and a gap looks like a record-keeping failure rather than a disposal.
Sources
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