Called to a Public Inquiry? A UK Operator’s Survival Guide

What a Public Inquiry Is

A Public Inquiry (PI) is a formal hearing convened by a Traffic Commissioner — the regulator responsible for issuing and enforcing operator licences in Great Britain. It is the most serious regulatory action you can face short of a criminal prosecution.

At a PI the Traffic Commissioner can:

• Revoke your O-licence (you are out of business as a transport operator)
• Curtail it (reduce vehicle margin, restrict operating centres)
• Suspend it for a defined period
• Disqualify you, your transport manager or company directors from holding an O-licence in future
• Issue formal warnings that sit on your record

A PI is held in public, the decision is published, and your name will be on the Traffic Commissioner's decision register indefinitely.

What Triggers a Call to PI

The most common triggers we see for UK operators:

1. Repeated DVSA prohibitions — especially S-marked
2. Failed PMI maintenance investigation — typically late inspections, missing brake tests or unevidenced rectification
3. Tachograph offences — manipulation, missed downloads, systemic infringements
4. Driver hours convictions
5. Operator licence undertakings breach — e.g. operating from an unauthorised centre, exceeding vehicle margin
6. Convictions of the operator, transport manager or drivers
7. Loss of good repute of the transport manager

A PI is rarely a surprise. It is almost always preceded by months of correspondence — a Maintenance Investigation Visit (MIV), a Traffic Investigation Visit (TIV), preliminary letters, requests for information. Operators who handle those preliminary stages well often avoid the PI altogether.

Before the Inquiry

You will receive a Call-up Letter typically 4 – 8 weeks before the hearing. It will list:

• The reasons for the inquiry
• The undertakings or sections of the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Act 1995 in question
• The documents the Traffic Commissioner expects to see
• The Tribunal address, date and time

This is the most important document you will receive in your career as an operator. Get a transport solicitor immediately. PI representation is specialist work; a general commercial solicitor will not be enough.

What to Bring

Every Call-up Letter is different but typical document requests include:

• 12 months of PMI sheets for every vehicle
• 12 months of driver defect reports
• Tachograph analysis reports and infringement letters
• Driver licence check records
• CPC qualification records
• Maintenance contracts with workshops
• Brake test printouts
• Annual test history (MOT)
• Forward planner showing PMI scheduling
• Maintenance budget and spend records
• Operator licence history

The volume can be overwhelming. Operators relying on paper or spreadsheets routinely take 2 – 3 weeks of full-time work to prepare. Operators on a digital compliance platform can usually produce the entire pack in a day.

On the Day

A PI typically lasts a half-day to a full day. Expect:

1. Opening statements from the DVSA representative
2. Evidence presentation by DVSA examiners (vehicle examiner, traffic examiner)
3. Operator's evidence — you and your transport manager will be questioned under oath
4. Witness evidence — anyone you've called (workshop manager, fitter, etc.)
5. Closing submissions by your solicitor
6. Decision — sometimes given on the day, sometimes reserved for written publication

The Traffic Commissioner is looking for one thing above all else: evidence that you understand what went wrong, that you have fixed it, and that the regulator can trust you going forward. Defensiveness, blame-shifting and partial admissions are punished severely.

What Saves Operators

In the published PI decisions over the last 24 months, the operators who keep their licence consistently demonstrated:

• Voluntary engagement with the DVSA before being called — invitations to inspect, requests for guidance
• Investment in compliance systems — typically a digital platform replacing paper
• External audit — a FORS audit or compliance audit by a transport consultant
• Transport manager development — CPC refresher, additional training
• Driver re-induction programmes
• Personal accountability from directors, not delegation to staff

Operators who lose their licence typically display: blame on drivers, claims of ignorance of basic O-licence undertakings, inability to produce records, and no evidence of changes since the issues arose.

Steps to Take *Today* if You Receive a Call-up Letter

1. Call a transport solicitor. Not tomorrow.
2. Stop trying to fix everything yourself. Get help.
3. Compile a comprehensive maintenance audit — ideally externally verified.
4. Move to a digital compliance system if you aren't already — the Traffic Commissioner's file note will reflect that you're investing in change.
5. Get the directors and transport manager into the room with the solicitor at least twice before the hearing.
6. Write a clear, honest statement of what went wrong, what changed, and why it won't recur.

How Zohti Helps

A PI is the worst possible time to discover that your records are incomplete. Zohti gives you, in a single click:

• The complete PMI history for every vehicle, with brake tests and rectification records attached
• Defect-to-repair chains for every defect in the last 15 months
• Tachograph download status and infringement history per driver
• Driver licence and CPC tracking
• Audit-ready PDF exports formatted for Traffic Commissioner submissions

If you want the records ready *before* you ever see a Call-up Letter, start a free 14-day trial.