Throughout your vehicle operator licence (VOL) application, you will be asked for a number of addresses:

1. Registered Company Name and Address

This is the official company name as per Companies House (if you are trading as a Limited Company).

You will also be asked to provide any trading names.  For example, if your company name is ‘John Smith’ (as per your bank account) but you are known as ‘John Smith Agriculture’ in any other capacity (e.g. on your invoices), this trading name should be declared. The trading name must also be declared on the public notice (see below).

2. Correspondence Address

A separate correspondence is required if it is different to the registered address.

3. Establishment Address

The establishment address is more often than not, the main operating centre.  Leave this blank if it is the same as the correspondence address.

4. Operating Centre(s)

You will be asked to include all addresses of locations you operate from and keep vehicles at, and the number of vehicles and trailers that you would like authorised to keep at each address.  You will have to sign a declaration agreeing that you have enough off-street spaces for all vehicles and trailers that you want to keep at each address and that you are the site owner or you have the owner’s permission to park there.

We have covered the requirements of the Operating Centre comprehensively in a previous post.  We recommend you read it here.

Typically, the establishment address should also be added as an Operating Centre.  Please read the importance of this in a previous post here.

You will be asked to submit an aerial view of the operating centre(s).  At the time of publication (December 2022), there is no place in the VOL application that asks for this at the outset, however, we know from experience that this is a standard follow up question that all applicants are now being asked.  It is only a matter of time before the application is updated to reflect this.  So, it is advisable that you submit the aerial image(s) with the application to avoid any delays.  The easiest way to create the image is using Google Maps.  Within the Google Maps functionality, you can mark out boundaries and measure the size of the site.  To submit the aerial photos with your application you will first need to submit it and then edit and update the application with the attachment(s).  When uploading aerial images, make sure the documents are named so that they are easily identifiable to the reader.

If the operating centre is a shared location with other operators, it must have individually marked out parking spaces with enough for each operators’ number of authorised vehicles. And it is important to note that a tractor unit and a trailer equates to two spaces.

As well as adequate parking, the site must have access and egress suitable for commercial/passenger carrying vehicles (whichever is relevant to the application) and there should not be any prohibitive weight or height restrictions on the route to the operating centre.

As part of your application, you must advertise your intention to operate vehicles from the site.  Read more on this in the Public Notice section below.

As outlined in a previous post in this series, we recommend applying for the most vehicles you can afford at each location at the time of your initial application.

You do not have to submit vehicle registration numbers at the time of submitting the new application, particularly because you may not acquire your vehicles until the licence is granted.  This may trigger a query on the VOL application, but as long as you respond with an explanation in a timely manner, it should not impact on the licence being granted.

5. Your Transport Manager’s Addresses

Your Transport Manager’s home address and the address of their place of work if it is somewhere other than the operating centre(s) listed will also be required, although the Transport Manager will complete their section of the application and then submit it for approval by a Company Director.

6. Address(es) of your Safety Inspector(s)

Operator licence holders are required to keep their vehicles in a safe and roadworthy condition and must appoint a maintenance provider (a so-called ‘Safety Inspector’) on the VOL application. The named Safety Inspector can be an external workshop or an internal qualified person.  You can read more on this in another post here.

Public Notice

As part of your application, you must advertise your intention to operate vehicles from the site in a newspaper which is in circulation in the local area.  The advert must appear in the publication within the period from 21 days before to 21 days after you’ve made your application.  For example, if the application is received on 1 June, the advertisement must appear in a newspaper on a day between 11 May and 22 June.  An original copy of the full page of the advert (no photocopies) must be provided with the VOL application, along with the name and date of publication (you can supply it later if you do not have it at the time of submission).

At AJT Transport Consultancy we recommend getting the advert in as soon as possible, before the date of the application if you can.  This is because the purpose of the advert is to give people living in the locality the opportunity to “make representation”, i.e. to object to the licence being granted.  The earlier you do it, the earlier you will find out if there’s any opposition which may prevent you from obtaining the licence.

You can read the full guidance relating to the public notice here.  There is an advert template available at this link, with full instructions on getting the advert right.  It is very important that the correct format is followed for the notice.

One other key thing to get right in the advert is that you must provide the correct address. It must be the exact address so that anyone reading it will know where the address is.  For example, it is not enough to say ‘Brown Road’; it would need to be ‘142 Brown Road’ for the first line of the address.  If the address is not likely to be understood, it is advisable to give a description as well.  For example, ‘142 Brown Road, Town, Postcode – the former site of Treetops Farm’.

Make sure you get a final proof from the publisher and double check all details before the advert is published.  Go through the advert with a fine-tooth comb and check for any mistakes such as typos.

Applications & Decisions

In addition to the public notice, the TRU produces an Applications and Decisions publication every Friday which lists every new application and every variation application.  There is then a 21-day period in which any “statutory objectors” can oppose the application.  This could be a representative from the local council, the Police, DVA Enforcement, DfI Roads, or an industry body (such as the Road Haulage Association or Logistics UK).

Objections could be raised regarding traffic issues, such as safety concerns due to proximity to a primary school, or an objection based on a prior history of poor compliance.  Any objections will have to be considered by the Department.  This does not necessarily mean that the licence won’t be granted, but the DVA could seek further assurances or there could be restrictions attached to the licence, for example, vehicles cannot enter or leave the site between the hours of 8:15 and 9:15 to allay safety concerns relating to the primary school.

There is a lot to consider in relation to the Operating Centre(s) and the vehicles that you wish to have authorisation for.  It is worth taking your time to get this right because if you do not outline your addresses correctly, or you advertise your public notice incorrectly, you may face extra cost and delay of having to re-advertise, or your application may be refused.

If you need expert help with any vehicle operator licence application or variation, please contact John on +44 7894 140796 or info@ajttc.co.uk.