Vehicle operator licences: convictions and cautions that must be declared
Published 17 April 2025
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
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When you apply for a vehicle operator licence, you must declare certain convictions or cautions.
Whose convictions you must declare
You must declare convictions if they relate to:
- you (the applicant)
- any company where you are or were a director
- any director of your company
- any linked company (associated with a director)
- any partnership member, parent company, employee, or agent involved in your business
What you must declare
1. Serious offences
A 鈥榮erious offence鈥� is any conviction where one of the following penalties was imposed:
- imprisonment for more than 3 months
- a fine exceeding level 4 on the standard scale (this is currently 拢2,500)
- a community order or similar requiring unpaid work for more than 60 hours
You must also declare any equivalent punishment issued outside the UK.
2. Road transport offences
These include offences related to:
- drivers鈥� hours of work or rest periods
- overloading or vehicle weight limits
- road or vehicle safety
- protection of the environment (for example, illegal waste disposal)
- professional liability
- vehicle maintenance, including failure to keep required inspection records for vehicles
- licensing of drivers or vehicles
- illegal use of rebated fuel (鈥榬ed diesel鈥�)
- transporting dangerous goods
- forgery, false statements, or withholding information related to permits or licences
You must disclose road transport offences committed in the UK or abroad.
Spent convictions
You do not need to declare spent convictions. However, the traffic commissioner can ask for details of older offences and decide if they are relevant.
A spent conviction is one that no longer needs to be disclosed after a certain amount of time has passed. The length of time depends on the type of offence and the penalty.
Custodial sentences over 4 years can never become spent.
Other convictions may become spent after a few years, provided you have no further offences.
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 sets out the rules for when convictions become spent. Once a conviction is spent, you do not need to disclose it unless specifically required by law.
Check if your conviction or caution is spent.
If you have relevant convictions
The traffic commissioner will assess your 鈥榞ood repute鈥�.
They must conclude you are not of good repute if you have:
- more than one conviction for a serious offence
- multiple road transport offences
Get legal advice if you are not sure what you need to include.