Vehicle and operator compliance built for commercial fleets
Businesses operating HGVs, commercial vehicles and trailers who need maintenance, inspection and record evidence in one auditable system.
From £99/month
30-day free trial, no card required, when the platform launches.
HGV & Operator Compliance is the commercial-vehicle edition of Complys. It brings daily walkaround checks, driver defect reports and rectification, scheduled safety inspections, maintenance planning, annual test records, trailers and operator-licence evidence into one auditable system — built around the way commercial fleets and operator-licence holders actually have to keep their records.
It's aimed at the operations where the maintenance and evidence workload is heaviest and the consequences of gaps are most serious: hauliers and logistics, construction and tipper fleets, waste and recycling, plant and materials transport, and mixed van-and-HGV fleets that need commercial-vehicle rigour on part of the fleet.
One thing up front, because it matters: Complys helps you keep and produce this evidence — it does not, by itself, satisfy your operator-licence undertakings, DVSA requirements or any other legal duty. Those responsibilities remain yours; Complys is the record-keeping system that makes meeting and evidencing them manageable.
What HGV and operator compliance software is
For a licensed operator, roadworthiness compliance is largely a record-keeping discipline: prove that vehicles are checked before use, that defects are found and fixed, that safety inspections happen on schedule, and that maintenance records are complete and kept for the required period. HGV compliance software is the system that holds all of that together and makes it produceable on demand.
The DVSA Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness is the benchmark Traffic Commissioners use to judge whether an operator's arrangements are satisfactory. Complys is designed to map onto those expectations — walkaround checks, defect reporting, safety inspections, maintenance records and retention — so the evidence behind your licence undertakings is organised rather than scattered.
Who it's for
- • Transport operators and hauliers running goods vehicles under an operator licence
- • Construction, tipper and aggregate fleets
- • Waste, recycling and municipal fleets
- • Plant and materials transport, including vehicle-and-trailer combinations
- • Mixed van-and-HGV fleets that need commercial-vehicle workflows on part of the fleet
The record-keeping the framework expects
The recurring obligations for a UK operator resolve into records that must be kept and produced. The specifics below reflect current DVSA guidance:
Daily walkaround checks
A driver or responsible person must carry out a walkaround check before a vehicle is used on the road, with at least one check in every 24-hour period the vehicle is in service. Complys captures these on a phone, with photos, tied to the vehicle and driver.
Driver defect reporting
Drivers must report defects — or symptoms of defects — that could affect safe operation. Written reports should record the vehicle, the defect, the reporter and the rectification action, and be kept, with repair records, for at least 15 months. Complys runs defects from report through repair to verified and closed, and keeps the trail.
Safety inspections (PMI)
Operators run periodic safety inspections at declared intervals (commonly 4–13 weeks depending on the operation), covering the items in the statutory annual test. Complys schedules inspections, stores the completed records and flags what's due.
Maintenance records and retention
Safety inspection records and driver defect reports must be kept for at least 15 months — including for vehicles taken off the licence or disposed of. Complys retains these records against the vehicle even after it leaves your operational fleet.
Operator-licence undertakings
Goods operators undertake that there are satisfactory arrangements to keep vehicles fit and serviceable (section 13C(4) of the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Act 1995), and maintenance arrangement changes are updated on the Vehicle Operator Licensing Service. Complys organises the evidence behind those arrangements — it does not make the undertaking or discharge it for you.
Drivers, the responsible person and shared responsibility
Roadworthiness isn't only a back-office task. Drivers have a legal responsibility for the condition of the vehicle while it's in use and must report defects, or symptoms of defects, that could affect safe operation. A nominated responsible person oversees that checks are done and that defects are acted on. Getting this right depends on the driver, the workshop and the transport office all working from the same information.
Complys links drivers to the vehicles they use, captures their walkaround checks and defect reports on a phone, and routes those reports into the rectification workflow so nothing is reported verbally and lost. The transport office sees which checks were done, which defects are open, and which vehicles are grounded — and the record shows who did what and when, which matters when responsibility is examined after the fact.
What Complys keeps for a commercial fleet
- • An HGV and commercial-vehicle register, with trailer records and vehicle/trailer combinations handled properly rather than treating a trailer as an ordinary vehicle
- • Maintenance planning and safety-inspection schedules, with reminders
- • Inspection records and driver defect reporting with a rectification workflow
- • Annual test records and maintenance evidence
- • Operator-licence information and document storage
- • Tyre records and maintenance-provider records
- • Driver records and driver/vehicle linkage
- • Insurance, expiry and inspection reminders, a Do Not Use control, a compliance dashboard, compliance reporting and a complete audit history
Setting and evidencing safety inspection intervals
One of the harder parts of operator compliance is setting safety inspection intervals correctly and then actually holding to them. DVSA guidance points to inspection frequencies commonly in the 4–13 week range, chosen according to the type of vehicle, its age, mileage and the conditions it works in — a tipper on rough sites is not on the same cycle as a lightly-used box van.
Complys lets you set an inspection schedule per vehicle, generates the plan, reminds you before each is due, and stores the completed inspection record against the vehicle. Because the schedule and the completed records live together, you can show not just that an inspection happened, but that it happened on the interval you declared — which is exactly what scrutiny of your maintenance arrangements looks for.
First-use inspections, brake tests and the link between a reported defect and its rectification all sit in the same place, so the maintenance story for each vehicle is continuous rather than assembled after the fact.
Audit-ready maintenance arrangements
Traffic Commissioners judge operators on whether their arrangements to keep vehicles fit and serviceable are satisfactory, using the DVSA guide as the benchmark. In practice that means being able to produce, on request, your walkaround check records, defect reports and their rectification, safety inspection records and maintenance history — for the required retention period, and for vehicles that have since left the fleet.
Complys is designed to make that production straightforward: the records are complete, retained for at least the 15 months the guidance requires, attributable and time-stamped, and organised by vehicle. Operators pursuing schemes such as DVSA Earned Recognition need robust, systematic record-keeping of exactly this kind — Complys helps you keep it, though it is you, not the software, that holds any accreditation.
Mixed van-and-HGV fleets
Many operators don't run only HGVs. A construction firm might run 38 vans and 12 HGVs, and shouldn't need two systems. In Complys a mixed fleet stays in one account: your base plan is set by your total active vehicles, and HGV/operator functionality is enabled for the vehicles that need it, so commercial-vehicle workflows appear only against the relevant vehicles.
That keeps one compliance picture across the whole fleet while giving the HGVs and trailers the heavier maintenance, inspection and record-keeping they require.
What Complys does and does not do
Complys is compliance record-keeping software. It stores and organises your walkaround checks, defect records, safety inspections, maintenance evidence and operator-licence documents, keeps them for the required periods, and produces them on demand — so you can manage and demonstrate compliance.
It does not, by itself, satisfy your operator-licence undertakings, DVSA requirements or any other legal duty, and it is not approved or accredited by DfT, DVSA or the Traffic Commissioners. Meeting the obligations remains the operator's responsibility; Complys makes doing so, and evidencing it, considerably easier.
Last reviewed: 20 September 2026. This page describes DVSA and operator-licensing duties in general terms against the sources below and is not legal advice; always check current DVSA guidance and your own operating conditions.
Sources
- • DVSA — Guide to maintaining roadworthiness: commercial goods and passenger carrying vehicles (GOV.UK, updated 28 April 2025)
- • Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Act 1995, s.13C(4) (legislation.gov.uk)
What HGV & Operator Compliance includes
Commercial vehicle compliance
Launching with the vehicle platform- HGV and commercial vehicle register
- Trailer records
- Vehicle and trailer relationships
- Maintenance planning
- Safety inspection schedules
- Inspection records
- Driver defect reporting
- Defect rectification
- Maintenance evidence
- Annual test records
- Operator licence information
- Driver records
- Tachograph-related record management
- Tyre records
- Maintenance provider records
- Vehicle documents
- Insurance records
- Expiry and inspection reminders
- Do Not Use controls
- Compliance dashboard
- Compliance reporting
- Complete audit history
Fleet vs Self-Drive vs HGV & Operator
All three run on the same vehicle-compliance engine; the workflows on top differ. Badges show current availability, not a live feature.
| Capability | Fleet | Self-Drive | HGV & Operator |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle compliance records | Launching | Launching | Launching |
| Documents & expiry tracking | Launching | Launching | Launching |
| Checks & inspections | Launching | Launching | Launching |
| Defect reporting & rectification | Launching | Launching | Launching |
| Maintenance records | Launching | Launching | Launching |
| Driver / vehicle linkage | Launching | Launching | Launching |
| Customer / hirer workflow | — | Launching | — |
| Hire agreements & e-signatures | — | Launching | — |
| Check-out / check-in & damage evidence | — | Launching | — |
| Bookings & payments | — | Planned | — |
| Safety inspection (PMI) planning | — | — | Launching |
| Operator-licence record organisation | — | — | Launching |
| Trailer & vehicle-combination records | Where applicable | — | Launching |
HGV & Operator Compliance pricing
Pay based on your number of active vehicles. No per-user charges. Sold, disposed and archived vehicles don’t count. Pay annually and get 12 months for the price of 10.
| Active vehicles | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| 1–10 | £99/mo | £990/yr |
| 11–25 | £199/mo | £1,990/yr |
| 26–50 | £349/mo | £3,490/yr |
| 51–100 | £599/mo | £5,990/yr |
| 101–250 | £999/mo | £9,990/yr |
| 251–500 | £1,599/mo | £15,990/yr |
| 501–1,000 | £2,499/mo | £24,990/yr |
| 1,000+ | Enterprise | Enterprise |
30-day free trial, no card required, at launch. Managing more than 1,000 vehicles? Talk to us.
Frequently asked questions
What does HGV & Operator Compliance cover?
An HGV and commercial-vehicle register, trailer records and vehicle/trailer combinations, maintenance planning, safety inspection schedules and records, driver defect reporting and rectification, annual test records, operator-licence information, tyre and maintenance-provider records, documents, insurance, reminders, a Do Not Use control, a compliance dashboard, compliance reporting and a full audit history.
Does using Complys mean we meet our operator licence and DVSA obligations?
No. Complys stores and organises your compliance records and evidence so you can manage and demonstrate them, but it does not by itself satisfy your operator-licence undertakings, DVSA requirements or other legal duties, and it isn't approved or accredited by DfT, DVSA or the Traffic Commissioners. Responsibility for meeting those obligations stays with you.
How long do safety inspection and defect records need to be kept?
Current DVSA guidance says safety inspection records and driver defect reports must be kept for at least 15 months, including for vehicles removed from the licence or disposed of. Complys retains these against the vehicle even after it leaves your operational fleet.
How often are walkaround checks and safety inspections needed?
A walkaround check should be carried out before use and at least once in every 24-hour period a vehicle is in service. Safety inspections run at declared intervals — commonly every 4–13 weeks depending on the operation. Complys schedules both and flags what's due. Always set your intervals against current DVSA guidance and your own operating conditions.
How is it priced?
By active vehicles, from £99/month for 1–10. No per-user charges; sold, disposed and archived vehicles don't count. Pay annually and get 12 months for the price of 10.
We run vans and HGVs — do we need a separate account?
No. A mixed fleet stays in one account: your base plan is set by total active vehicles and HGV/operator functionality is added for the vehicles that need it, so HGV features appear only against the relevant vehicles.
Are trailers handled separately?
Yes — trailers are first-class records with their own inspections and evidence, and can be linked to the vehicles they run with as combinations, rather than being treated as ordinary vehicles.
Can it stop an unroadworthy vehicle being used?
A serious defect can place a vehicle into a Do Not Use state, with the reason, source, timestamp and required action recorded, so it's clear the vehicle should not be operated until rectified.
Does it keep an audit trail for Traffic Commissioner or DVSA scrutiny?
Yes. Checks, inspections, defect rectification, document uploads and status changes are recorded with who did them and when, so the evidence behind your maintenance arrangements can be produced on demand. The records support your case; they don't replace the underlying duty.
Is there a free trial?
Yes — a 30-day free trial with no card required when the platform launches. Book a demo or register your interest.
Explore Complys vehicle compliance
- Vehicle compliance software → — compare all three solutions
- Fleet Compliance → — for company cars and vans
- Self-Drive Hire → — for rental and hire businesses
Be first on HGV & Operator Compliance
Book a demo or register your interest, and we’ll get you set up as soon as the vehicle platform launches.