Reforms to the driver CPC qualification take effect from early December
The driver Certificate of Professional Competence, or D-CPC, has been a contentious issue since it was introduced to the PCV sector in 2008 and became mandatory from 2013. Most drivers of large vehicles who do so for hire or reward, be it buses, coaches or HGVs, require the qualification, but in a bid to ease the driver shortage and make entering, remaining in or returning to the sector a more viable proposition, in 2023 the Government carried out research on proposals to reform the qualification and the requirements placed on drivers.
The Government has announced the results of that consultation, and (as expected) there have been no moves to scrap the Europe-wide qualification requirement, but there will be some changes made which have been conceived to make it more flexible for people who only drive in the UK.
The first changes will affect how drivers can stay qualified, and how they can return to professional driving after a period of absence during which the qualification has lapsed.
From 3 December 2024, drivers will be able to choose to stay qualified using either the existing International Driver CPC qualification, or a new domestic National Driver CPC. The International Driver CPC is the new name for how the Driver CPC previously worked, and as previously, a driver will need to take 35 hours of International Driver CPC training every five years to be allowed to drive in the EU and the UK.
The are no changes to how it works; courses must be at least seven hours long, though can be split over two consecutive days, and can include a total of 12 hours of online learning towards the 35 hour total.
National Driver CPC
The new National Driver CPC is, says the Government, a more flexible version of the previous Driver CPC. Drivers who only want to drive in the UK will be able to undertake either 35 hours of National Driver CPC training every five years, or a combination of 35 hours of National Driver CPC and International Driver CPC training every five years.
However, the new flexibility means that National Driver CPC courses must be at least 3 hours 30 minutes long (though training providers can still offer longer courses if they wish), will not need to be completed on two consecutive days for a split course (course providers will be free to set their own time limits), can consist solely of e-learning, and allow drivers to do a total of 12 hours e-learning towards their overall 35 hours of training.
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