Transport Management

Transport Management – Vehicle operators with a standard national or international operator’s licence need to have a transport manager.

What a transport manager does

As a transport manager, you need to make sure that:

• drivers have a valid licence
• vehicles are taxed and insured
• vehicles have a valid MOT and are properly maintained
• vehicles are loaded safely and not overloaded
• drivers do not speed or break the drivers’ hours rules
• the vehicle operator does not break safety rules

You can be called to appear before a traffic commissioner’s public inquiry if the vehicle operator breaks the law. You can be permanently or temporarily banned from being a transport manager if the traffic commissioner finds that you are responsible – for example, if staff loaded a vehicle in an unsafe way because they were not properly trained.

The traffic commissioner can also make you complete further training before you can work as a transport manager again.

Find out about what you need to do as a transport manager.

If you are in Northern Ireland, the public enquiry will be held by the Transport Regulation Unit instead of the traffic commissioner.

Becoming a transport manager

You need a professional qualification called the Transport Manager Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) to become a transport manager. You do not need a driving licence.

After you are qualified, a vehicle operator needs to apply to add you as their transport manager on their operator’s licence.

You must be approved by the traffic commissioner before you start work – or the Transport Regulation Unit if you are in Northern Ireland. You may not be approved if you have been convicted of a crime or given a penalty for breaking UK or EU transport laws.

You must keep your knowledge up to date to continue working as a transport manager.

If you have more than 10 years’ experience

You may be able to become a transport manager without getting the Transport Manager CPC if both of the following apply:

• you’re going to work for a vehicle operator that transports goods out of the UK in a van, or in a van or car towing a trailer
• you have at least 10 years’ experience in managing fleets of vehicles

You will be recognised as a transport manager until 21 May 2025. You will need the CPC qualification to continue as a transport manager after that date.

Find out more about being temporarily recognised as a transport manager for vans and cars.

Working for more than one vehicle operator

You can either:

• be employed by a single vehicle operator – called an ‘internal transport manager’
• work as a freelance transport manager for more than one vehicle operator – called an ‘external transport manager’

You can work as a freelance transport manager for up to 4 different vehicle operators at a time. The maximum total number of vehicles you can manage is 50. You need to have a contract with each operator that sets out what you will do.

Getting added to an operator’s licence

Before you can start working for a vehicle operator as a transport manager, they need to apply to add you to their operator’s licence.

The application must be approved by the traffic commissioner, who checks whether:

• you’re qualified to be a transport manager
• you’ll be working enough hours to manage the vehicles in your fleet
• your knowledge is up to date
• you have any criminal convictions or have been given any penalties for breaking UK or EU laws

It usually takes 7 weeks for an application to be approved but can take longer. If the traffic commissioner has questions about your eligibility, they will write to the vehicle operator.

If you are in Northern Ireland, the application will be checked and approved by the Transport Regulation Unit instead of the traffic commissioner.

If you’ve been given any criminal convictions or penalties

The traffic commissioner will take into account any criminal convictions or penalties you have been given when deciding if you can be a transport manager.

Your application may be rejected if you have broken any UK or EU laws on:

• driving licences
• driver training or qualifications
• driving time, working hours and rest periods
• setting up and using recording equipment in vehicles
• the maximum weight and size of vehicles used to take goods outside the UK
• the roadworthiness of commercial vehicles
• setting up and using speed limiters in vehicles
• the paperwork needed to take goods or passengers in or out of the EU
• transporting dangerous goods
• transporting animals
• being a transport manager or a vehicle operator

Your working hours

There are recommended working hours for all transport managers. They are set by the traffic commissioner and are based on how many vehicles you will be managing.

Number of vehicles	Hours per week
2 vehicles or less	2 to 4 hours
3 to 5 vehicles	4 to 8 hours
6 to 10 vehicles	8 to 12 hours
11 to 14 vehicles	12 to 20 hours
15 to 29 vehicles	20 to 30 hours
30 to 50 vehicles	30 hours to full time
More than 50 vehicles	Full time and another staff member needed

If you are not going to work the recommended hours, you will need to explain why when you apply. The traffic commissioner may reject your application to be a transport manager if they think that either:

• your working hours are not long enough to manage the number of vehicles in the fleet
• you’re working too many hours for different vehicle operators to do your job well

You may need to work longer than the recommended hours if the vehicles are pulling trailers.

Keeping your knowledge up to date

The traffic commissioner may ask you to show how you have been keeping your knowledge up to date if:

• your qualification is more than 10 years old
• you’ve already been added on another operator’s licence
• the vehicle operator is updating their existing operator’s licence

You can prove that you have been keeping up to date by sharing examples of when you have:

• taken refresher training, including online courses
• attended events and conferences about managing fleets of vehicles
• shared your knowledge with others, for example by giving presentations

If the traffic commissioner approves the application

You will get an email from the traffic commissioner to tell you you have been added to the vehicle operator’s licence.

If the traffic commissioner rejects the application

The traffic commissioner will do one of the following:

• ask you to take more training before working as a transport manager
• ban you from working as a transport manager for a set period of time
• permanently ban you from working as a transport manager

If you disagree with the traffic commissioner’s decision, you can:

• ask for a public inquiry – if you have not already attended one
• appeal to the Upper Tribunal – if there has already been a public inquiry

If you stop working for a vehicle operator

If you stop working as a transport manager for a vehicle operator, you need to tell the traffic commissioner within 28 days.

Source – Traffic Commissioners