You must be an approved training centre to provide Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) periodic training courses.

You have to apply for approval from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) for each course you want to run. Your course will be approved for one year, after this you’ll need to apply for approval again.

Types of Driver CPC training

There are 2 types of Driver CPC training:

• International Driver CPC - for drivers who want to drive in the EU and the UK
• National Driver CPC - for drivers who only want to drive in the UK

You must say which type of Driver CPC your training course will be when you apply.

International Driver CPC

International Driver CPC courses:

• must be at least 7 hours long
• can be split over 2 consecutive days
• can be run in-person or remotely using video call software
• can include e-learning, or be e-learning only
• can be run as a modular course made up of 2 or more modules lasting 3 hours 30 minutes which can be delivered in any combination

National Driver CPC

National Driver CPC courses:

• must be at least 3 hours 30 minutes long
• can be run in-person or remotely using video call software
• can include e-learning, or be e-learning only

Apply for course approval

To apply to get your course approved, you need to send:

• a course approval application form
• a course summary
• information about your trainers, their qualifications and experience

Fill in the application form

Check the guidance on how to fill in the Driver CPC training course application form (PDF, 400813 KB, 910 pages) before you fill in the application form.

Create a course summary

You must send a course summary. This is a breakdown of the course content which shows:

• a list of all parts of the course with references to the relevant parts of the Driver CPC syllabus
• the length in minutes of each part
• the length of breaks and lunch (these will not count as training time)
• the title, length and a written summary of the main points of any DVD used
• the delivery method - either classroom, practical or e-learning
• details of contingency planning
• details of the end of day summary/course evaluation sessions
• a list of resources you’ll use, for example, classroom sizes, vehicles, videos, IT equipment
• how you’ll check the identity and licence entitlement of your trainees

Download an example of:

• an International Driver CPC course summary (ODT, 26.2 KB)
• a National Driver CPC course summary (ODT, 22.5 KB)

Create a record of your trainers’ qualifications and experience

You must send a list of the trainers for each course.

You also need to send the qualifications and experience of all your trainers including:

• photocopies of training qualifications
• testimonials
• references
• their driving licence number

Download a template that you can use to record details of your trainers and their qualifications and experience.

Check the guidance on the details you need to provide for each trainer (PDF, 187 KB, 10 pages) before you send your evidence.

Send your application to DVSA

Send your applications and supporting documents to DVSA by email or post.

Pay the course application fee

You have to pay the application fee of £36 per hour of course length when you apply. Courses containing a half-hour are rounded up to a full hour when working out the fee.

For modular courses, you’re charged for the total amount of time your modules add up to. It will be rounded up to a full hour if the total time is part of an hour.

Example course fees

How to pay

You can pay the fee by:

• credit or debit card (DVSA will call you to take the payment after you have applied)
• cheque made payable to ‘DVSA’
• postal order
• BACS

What happens next

Your application will usually be dealt with in 15 working days. It can take longer if you do not include all the right information.

You might be asked to send extra information. You should do this within 30 working days.

Applying to get a ‘return to driving’ course approved

‘Return to driving’ training courses are 7 hour courses that allow drivers who are returning to professional driving to start driving professionally in the UK straight away.

Drivers who complete this course get a Driver CPC card that lasts for one year. They need to do another 28 hours of training within that year if they want to stay qualified after this.

There are no changes to the fees or how you apply for this type of course.

This course:

• must be 7 hours long
• can be split over 2 consecutive days
• can be run in-person or remotely using video call software
• can include up to 2 hours of e-learning

You can run them for either:

• HGV drivers
• bus and coach drivers

Return to driving for HGV drivers syllabus

The course must cover the following topics.

Return to driving for bus and coach drivers syllabus

The course must cover the following topics.

Applying to run modular courses

A modular course is a 7-hour course made up of 2 separate modules lasting 3 hours 30 minutes. You can apply to run modular courses for International Driver CPC training courses.

You could have 4 modules lasting 3 hours 30 minutes approved (A, B, C, D). You can run these in any combination to make a 7-hour course, for example, AB, CD, BC, AD, AC, or BD.

All the individual modules in a course must be approved at the same time and cannot be added to later.

1. Send a separate application for each module.

2. Send an application for the modular course as a whole.

You do not need to include trainer information or a course summary for the overall modular application. These will be included with each module application.

Being monitored when you’re approved

Your courses will audited when you’re approved. This is to make sure that you’re keeping to the right standard.

Checking your courses

Your courses can be audited without you being given notice. This is to make sure courses are being run correctly.

The auditors will mainly look at:

• your procedures for checking the identity of drivers
• your attendance registers
• whether a fair processing notice is issued
• whether the course is being delivered in line to the course summary
• the course duration
• quality and delivery of training

DVSA can take action against you if an auditor visits your site and you haven’t told them the course has been moved or cancelled.

You must update the course record online if you need to make changes or cancel a course.

Download a self-assessment checklist to prepare for a course audit.

Having your approval suspended or withdrawn

A consortium can have its approval suspended or withdrawn if a single member does not follow the approval conditions.