Vehicle operators: change to financial standing from 1 January 2017
The levels of financial resources that vehicle operator licence applicants and operators need to show will increase from 1 January 2017.
The law requires traffic commissioner to be satisfied that vehicle operators have enough financial resources to run their businesses and maintain their vehicles properly.
On 1 January 2017, revised financial standing requirements will come into force for standard national and international operator licences.
Standard operator licence
| Vehicles | Previous rates | Rate from 1 January 2017 |
|---|---|---|
| First vehicle | £6,650 | £7,850 |
| Additional vehicles | £3,700 | £4,350 |
The rates are calculated each year against the Euro exchange rate as required under EU Regulation 1071/2009.
In recent years, the amount of money for standard licence holders has reduced. The levels are increasing because of a change in the exchange rate.
Restricted operator licence
There will be no change to the finance which must be available to support restricted licence applications and licences.
| Vehicles | Rate |
|---|---|
| First vehicle | £3,100 |
| Additional vehicles | £1,700 |
Apply for or renew a licence
You’ll be asked to show evidence of your financial standing at the new rates if you’re:
- applying for more vehicles
- upgrading your licence
- continuing your licence
- due to appear at a hearing
Evidence you can use to show financial standing
Most operators use bank statements to prove their financial standing.
If your recent statements don’t show finance at the new levels, check whether you’ve got any other evidence that will be accepted.
The Senior Traffic Commissioner’s Statutory Guidance document on finance gives more information about the financial evidence you can use. The main ones are:
- Building Society accounts
- credit card statements
- overdraft facilities
- invoice finance agreements
- audited accounts
- assets that can be sold quickly (except for your vehicle fleet)
If you can’t meet the new rates
You can ask the traffic commissioner to give you some time to address the situation. This is called a ‘period of grace’.
They can give you up to 6 months to show that you can meet the financial standing levels on a permanent basis.
Write to the traffic commissioner if you want a period of grace. You need to give evidence that:
- it’ll be worthwhile by providing details about the overall financial stability of your business
- you’ll be able to show financial standing at the required level when the period comes to an end
You can also consider reducing your authorised vehicles.