What happens at a roadside check
GOV.UK says "The police and DVSA have the power to carry out spot checks on your vehicle." Checks take place at the roadside or at dedicated testing sites. DVSA officers wear yellow visibility jackets with the DVSA logo and carry a DVSA warrant card. According to the GOV.UK roadside checks guide, examiners check:
- the vehicle's roadworthiness and mechanical condition
- the load, including authorised weights and the type of load permitted
- tachograph records
- that the driver has a valid vocational driving licence
The outcome can be nothing at all, or one or more sanctions. DVSA's enforcement sanctions policy, a long document last updated on 1 May 2026, sets out what examiners should do for each type of offence. The main options are a verbal warning, an inspection notice for defects not serious enough to prohibit, an offence rectification notice, a prohibition, a fixed penalty, and a report for prosecution or to the Traffic Commissioner. The policy notes that "all investigations begin as criminal investigations and therefore have the potential to progress to prosecution."
Encounters where nothing is found still matter. They are recorded as clear events and reduce an operator's OCRS, as explained below.
Immediate and delayed prohibitions
The sanctions policy says "The purpose of a prohibition notice is to remove the risk to road safety, and it is not to be regarded as a penalty." GOV.UK puts the two main types simply: "An immediate prohibition means you're not allowed to drive your vehicle until the problems have been fixed. A delayed prohibition means you have up to 10 days to fix an issue."
For a delayed prohibition, the period depends on the number and seriousness of the defects:
| Defects found | Delay before the prohibition takes effect |
|---|---|
| More than 1 defect in a safety critical area | Up to 3 days |
| 1 defect in a safety critical area, or 5 or more non-critical defects | 4 to 7 days |
| Fewer than 5 non-critical defects | Up to 10 days |
For OCRS scoring, roadworthiness prohibitions fall into four defect categories, per DVSA's OCRS guidance:
- Category 1: immediate prohibition for tyres, brakes and steering defects
- Category 2: immediate prohibition for all other defects
- Category 3: delayed prohibition for tyres, brakes and steering defects
- Category 4: delayed prohibition for all other defects
Prohibitions are not only for mechanical defects. The sanctions policy says current drivers' hours offences "do attract the issue of a prohibition notice", as the breach presents an immediate road safety risk, whereas historical drivers' hours offences never do. GOV.UK also warns that an overloaded vehicle may be immobilised.
To have a roadworthiness prohibition removed, GOV.UK says the vehicle must be taken to an authorised testing facility. A full inspection gives a new MOT certificate as well as a prohibition removal notice; a partial inspection gives a removal notice only.
'S' marked prohibitions
Every defect on a prohibition is also marked for what it says about maintenance. The sanctions policy uses three markings: 'S' for significant failure of roadworthiness compliance, blank where the defect may or may not be down to poor maintenance, and 'X' where the defect "is no reflection on the maintenance system", such as a random bulb failure.
A prohibition is endorsed 'S' if the examiner thinks a defect is something the operator or driver should have known about, for example:
- a long-standing defect that should have been found and repaired at the last safety check
- a defect that should have been found at the first use or daily walkaround check
- a defect that performance, handling or warning systems would have made obvious to the driver
- poor workmanship that should have been apparent to the repairer
- a number and nature of defects that indicates a significant failure in maintenance
GOV.UK adds that an immediate 'S' marked prohibition means the vehicle will be immobilised until the problem is fixed. An 'S' marking also doubles the OCRS points, and it is the trigger for DVSA follow-up with the operator.
Fixed penalties and graduated fixed penalties
GOV.UK says drivers "can be fined between £50 and £300" at the roadside, with more serious offences going to court. The sanctions policy sets four levels: £50, £100, £200 and £300. Some drivers' hours and overloading offences are graduated by severity, so a driver who exceeds a limit by a small margin receives a lower-level penalty than one who exceeds it by hours.
- Fixed penalties can be issued for drivers' hours offences committed in the last 28 days or since the last check. Offences older than that go to conventional prosecution.
- Drivers with a UK address have 28 days to pay or ask for a court hearing. In England and Wales, failing to do either increases the amount by 50%.
- Drivers without a verifiable UK address must pay a deposit on the spot, up to £1,500, or the vehicle can be prohibited and immobilised.
- Endorsable offences add penalty points to the driver's licence.
The policy states that fixed penalties issued to drivers for current offences affect the operator's OCRS, while historical offences from up to 28 days before do not. Where historical drivers' hours fixed penalties are issued, DVSA analyses the operator's systems to assess operator culpability.
How OCRS works
DVSA says it "uses the Operator Compliance Risk Score (OCRS) system to decide which vehicles should be inspected." A higher score makes it more likely your vehicles will be stopped. OCRS has two categories, plus a combined score:
- Roadworthiness: annual tests and MOTs, roadside inspections, and site visits or desk-based assessments that find vehicle defects.
- Traffic: roadside inspections and prosecutions, for example for drivers' hours, tachograph and weight offences.
The score is worked out over a 3-year rolling period by dividing the points for defects or offences by the total number of encounters. Events in the most recent year count in full, the second year at 0.75 and the third year at 0.5. An encounter with no points, a clear event, lowers the score. DVSA re-scores every day.
| Event | OCRS points | With 'S' marking |
|---|---|---|
| Category 1 immediate prohibition | 200 | 400 |
| Category 2 immediate prohibition | 100 | 200 |
| Category 3 delayed prohibition | 50 | 100 |
| Category 4 delayed prohibition | 25 | 50 |
| MOT failure for tyres, brakes or steering | 50 | Not applicable |
| MOT failure for other defects | 25 | Not applicable |
Traffic offences are scored by band, from 12.5 points for band 0 to 300 points for band 5. A DVSA operator prosecution case adds 300 points, plus 100 points per offence.
The bands
| Band | Roadworthiness | Traffic | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green (low risk) | 10 or below | 5 or below | 10 or below |
| Amber (medium risk) | 10.01 to 25 | 5.01 to 30 | 10.01 to 25 |
| Red (high risk) | More than 25 | More than 30 | More than 25 |
| Grey | No score | No score | No score |
Grey means there is no data for you in the 3-year period. A blue band shows an operator in DVSA earned recognition. DVSA says operators have no score if they have a new licence or have had no communication with DVSA in the last 3 years.
Viewing your OCRS
Operators with a GB operator licence can see their OCRS through the operator safety and risk reports, reached by signing in to the Vehicle Operator Licensing (VOL) service. The same service shows MOT pass rates, the causes of test failures and DVSA inspection history for your drivers and vehicles. The OCRS report shows how the score was worked out, the events that affected it, and events removed from the score in the past 90 days.
DVSA says it can only discuss the report with a person named on VOL for the company, such as a transport manager or director, and that bands are not given to a driver at the roadside unless they can show they own or operate the vehicle or are named on the licence. Check the report regularly: an error in an encounter record is easier to query while it is recent.
How roadside results reach the Traffic Commissioner
The sanctions policy says DVSA's area office "will assess all 'S' endorsed immediate or delayed prohibition notices." Depending on the number and seriousness of the defects, the outcome ranges from no further action, through an advisory letter or a request for an explanation, to a visit to analyse the operator's systems, which may include checking further vehicles. "Any adverse findings will be reported to the Traffic Commissioner."
More broadly, where "the nature, number, or seriousness of the offence(s), indicates that there is systemic failure in the management of the operation", examiners investigate with the operator and, where appropriate, report for prosecution and to the Traffic Commissioner. Following a prosecution, a report goes to the Traffic Commissioner for possible action at a public inquiry, unless the matter was dealt with by fixed penalties for current offences or by an advisory or warning letter. The policy also says failure to comply with an offence rectification notice may be reported to the Traffic Commissioner.
What operators can do
- Treat every prohibition as a maintenance system question: find out why the defect was missed, not only fix it.
- Review walkaround checks and safety inspection records for any vehicle with an 'S' marked prohibition.
- Keep records of rectification and of any prohibition clearance.
- Analyse drivers' hours data so offences are found by you first.
- Check your OCRS report regularly and record the bands over time.
Roadworthy Fleet Compliance can record the DVSA OCRS bands from your report, track defects from report to sign-off, and give advance notice of inspections due.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Check DVSA's current guidance and sanctions policy for your circumstances.