Five things to avoid when applying for lorry operator's licence

Operator's licence application can take long time and effort if not prepared correctly. Avoid this five common errors to save time and money.

1. Submitting application without checking that all the requirements are met. When you apply you need to make sure you meet all the criteria to get the operator's licence. If you do not provide required information in time and miss the deadline your application will be rejected. You need to make sure that your organisation meets financial criteria, have suitable parking for your vehicles, have maintenance contract in place, good repute, transport manager and access to at least one vehicle if applying for standard licence

2. Failure to provide financial information in organisations name. The financial standing needs to be met without fail and the bank statements need to be in the same name as the applicant. This means that the director's personal bank account o credit card will not help in meeting the requirement. You will need to provide evidence in form of a documents so your financial standing can be assessed

3. Failure to provide previous licence history or failure to disclose convictions or bankruptcies. Traffic Commissioner needs to be satisfied that people who operate vehicles on the roads are trustworthy and responsible. Failing to notify about previous issues is going to negatively impact the trust from the offset. Traffic Commissioner's team will check all the details anyway so it is better to declare everything in the application ( Even points on the driving licence)

4. Failure to complete public notice in time.

Your application to use any operating centre must be published in local newspaper and the copy of the paper needs to be submitted as part of application. If wording is incorrect, the paper is not circulating in the area in question or you did not meet the 21 day publication rule you will need to reapply and pay the fees again.

5. Using vehicles before operator's licence is granted.

Operating without a licence is a serious breach of regulations and is likely to attract disciplinary action from Traffic Commissioner. If you are under pressure to start operating quickly consider applying for Interim licence