Operators licence

[dazrecoverymad]

im was thinking about getting a large tipping trailer to help me with my buisiness delivering building materials im regularly on my weight limit thefore thought getting a trailer would sort this problem /but then found out that i may need an operators licence due to being over
3500 kgs ,
i already have a tacho but im always signed up for business so theres no getting out of the operators licence???

has anybody else had this problem becasue when i looked into geting one it looked like more hassle than it was worth ,a new cpc competence has now become part of it etc /

has anyone else had this problem,
my dad was wanting to buy a 7.5 tonne skip lorry and was face with the same thing needing an operators licence how hard and expensive is it really to get one?

[uksoftware]

I want to know the same.. I did go to college many many years ago and passed part 1 of my CPC, but failed part 2.. (I Was loved up at the time, bet you cant imagine what took up all my time?).

I`ve heard things have changed A LOT since the good old days, so any info would be good.

[madmark_50484]

right I dont know if what I know is helpful but I will let you knwo anyway

I have recently become a bus driver to be a proffesional driver I had to do 2 tests so far and must do at least 35 hours of training every 5 years

The first test was a case study where they give you a study then several questions on it
The second test is questions about the vehicle and different scenarios this was called section 4 I dont know what relevance that has to anything.

Now I know it will be different as mine was for PCV and not for the vehicle only for myself so I apologise if this different to the extent its useless

[Ken B]

Assuming you have the licence to tow large trailers to start with( i dont know your age). As far as i know the 3.5ton operators applies only to the vehicles gross weight, not any trailers that may or not be attached. So I would have thought if you stick with the transit with trailer idea you'll be ok, but you'll deffo need to use the tacho. You need to check for 100% with your local VOSA.
If you go for a 7.5 skip lorry, then I'm afraid theres no getting out of needing Standard Operators licence plus all the cr** that goes with it. That means showing proof you have the resources to maintain your lorry, keeping tacho's blah blah.
As for CPC's. you can do this on a one day a year basis, or do the whole lot in one 5day hit type thing. That covers you for 5 years then. As for the costs, it cost the firm I work for about £80 per person for one a day session, as thats how we do it. That was for twenty drivers in one sitting.
Currently all cpc session have to be completed by 2013(I think and cant remember the date) as all drivers have currently been given "grandad" rights to cpcs. BUT, If you haven't completed 5 days training by then, you WILL lose your rights and are not allowed to drive HGV for a living. After that again you can sit 5 days all one hit or do it on a yearly basis. All cpc sittings are logged by DVLA nad you are issued with certificates. So theres no getting out of this one.
7.5tonne and above for private use is not affected by CPC....yet.
HTH

[ME]

As long as the Trailer is under 1020 kgs net there is no need for a O licence.

[jay]

you need to ask yourself is it really going to pay after getting the O licence.and are you better off just getting a lorry..Dont forget you will need a permanant base to be issued with a O licence but there are ways round this for people who dont have there own yard they rent a space in another yard so in effect that space is your yard from where you park up and start and finish from..

[robsbird]

for give me if im wrong but i only thought you needed a operators licence if you had 4 or more vehicles with
tacho........

[Ken B]

As long as the Trailer is under 1020 kgs net there is no need for a O licence.

Yep looks like he's correct. 1020kg unladen....scroll to page 33

http://www.ohto.co.uk/Operators_20Licence_20Guide.pdf

[Ken B]

you need to ask yourself is it really going to pay after getting the O licence.and are you better off just getting a lorry..Dont forget you will need a permanant base to be issued with a O licence but there are ways round this for people who dont have there own yard they rent a space in another yard so in effect that space is your yard from where you park up and start and finish from..

I'm not sure that is legal anymore.
I know my bosses who are two brothers(two companies with slightly varied names), used to "rent" the lorries to each other and used the same yard until very recently to get around this problem. VOSA basically said that was now illegal, and had to apply for a licence for the correct amonut of vehicles.

[psv-hgv-flt]

ask all with vosa

[Carpetcone]

There has been lots of confusion in the replies you've got so far.

There is a CPC required for an operators licence. The driver CPC is a totally separate thing.

Your operating centre can be wherever you will be parking the vehicle when it is not in use (well, legally!) so quite often small outfits use their nominated maintenance contractor.

You cannot (legally) lend out your operators discs or borrow one from another operator.

Your best bet is a read through the VOSA guidebooks, which are easily downloaded for FREE from the VOSA web site.

[campervan06]

hi all going back about 5/6 years now
i had ford cargo 17-18 you need a cpc to have an operaters licence or a transport manager ie somone who has a cpc not a driver cpc , my friend was mine he charged me 50pound a month was taking it but only passed part one
you have to put advert in a proper paper to say where vec will be parked(cut out and show on aplication form ) not allowed on street max weight about 5 ton i think
you must show that you are either competent to repair your truck or have a maint aggrement with a garage
plus sufficent funds in bank it was £3000 then but i am led to belive its about 3 to 5000 now per vec so if you have two ie its 6000 ect but if your going through all the rig marole of gettin one it might pay tro get a bigger truck rather than a 7.5 ton get biger one and down rate it to keep tax down i downrated mine from 17ton £1300 yer tax to 13 ton abot £350 tax
beter still stcik to a transit and do 4 trips