Editorial standards and fact-checking

Primary sources only

Every rule, fee, amount and time limit in our guides comes from the body that sets it: GOV.UK (DVSA, the Office of the Traffic Commissioner and the Senior Traffic Commissioner’s statutory documents) and the revised legislation on legislation.gov.uk. We use other websites only to find a primary source, never as the source itself. Where two official pages disagree, we say so on the page and cite the more specific source, such as the statute or the detailed guide.

Each guide lists its sources at the end, with the date each source page was last updated by its publisher.

How we check facts

1. We open the primary source on the day we write or change a guide, and read the exact wording. We never write a fee, amount or rule from memory.
2. We record every figure in a claim register: the claim, the value as printed, the source page, the date the source was last updated and the date we checked it.
3. Before publishing, a check confirms that every recorded value still appears in the guide, and that every money amount in a guide has a recorded source.
4. Every week an automated watcher asks GOV.UK whether any cited page has been updated, and asks legislation.gov.uk whether any cited provision has changes not yet in force. A change puts the affected guides on our review list.

Register statistics

Figures about the register, such as how many licences are restricted, are not typed into the guides. They are counted from the DVSA operator licence data and filled in automatically, with the DVSA file date, each time a page is built. Every guide and the methodology page quote the same count of the same file. How we read the file is set out in the methodology.

Review cadence

Each guide has a review tier. When a guide reaches the end of its cycle, every fact in it is checked again against its source. A site build is stopped if a guide is past its review date, so an out-of-date guide cannot be republished by accident. We are warned 14 days before a review falls due.

Glossary definitions follow the definitions tier. A change found by the weekly watcher triggers a review straight away, whatever the tier.

Dates on every page

• Updated: the last time the guide’s content changed.
• Facts checked against GOV.UK: the last time every fact in the guide was checked against its source.
• What changed: a dated list at the end of each guide of what was added, updated or corrected.
• DVSA file date: the date of the DVSA file behind every register figure on the page.

We change the “Updated” date only when the content changes, and the “checked” date only when the facts have really been checked again.

Independence and wording

• HaulierScope is independent. It is not part of DVSA or the Office of the Traffic Commissioner, and it is not the official register.
• We describe our data as it is: updated when DVSA publishes a new file. We never call it live, real-time or official.
• A licence missing from a newer DVSA file is “not in the DVSA file dated” that date. We never say it was revoked unless a published decision says so.
• We never publish director, partner or transport manager names, and we never name sole traders or partnerships in lists or examples.
• Guides are general information about the rules in Great Britain, not legal advice.
• Guides are written and maintained by the HaulierScope editorial team. We do not invent authors, reviewers, quotes or case studies.

Corrections policy

If you think something on HaulierScope is wrong, tell us through the corrections page. We check the claim against the primary source. If we were wrong, we fix the page, record the fix in that guide’s “What changed” list as a correction, and list it in the corrections log below. We do not delete or quietly rewrite corrections. For a licence record, we reproduce the DVSA file, so an error in the file stays until DVSA publishes a fix; we say so on the page.

Review status of every guide

26 guides and 80 glossary terms. Dates are when every fact was last checked and when the next full check is due.

Corrections log

• 2 October 2026, Applications and Decisions: how to read the Traffic Commissioner's bulletin: The traffic commissioners' target is an average of 35 working days for applications decided without a hearing. We had written 35 days.
• 2 October 2026, How to check a haulier's operator licence: The DVSA open data file is published by DVSA from its Vehicle Operator Licensing records; we no longer say GOV.UK's search draws on the same file.
• 2 October 2026, How to check a haulier's operator licence: Transport manager check: we now point to the Applications and Decisions bulletins and the DVSA open data, which name the nominated transport manager. We could not confirm what GOV.UK's search results page shows.
• 2 October 2026, How to get an operator licence: steps, documents and timescales: The traffic commissioners' target is an average of 35 working days for applications decided without a hearing. We had written 35 days.
• 2 October 2026, Operating centres: rules, objections and how to find one: Shared operating-centre figures now come from our own count of the newest DVSA file (same address line and postcode). The earlier figures (2,375 addresses; 54 licences at one address) could not be reproduced.
• 2 October 2026, Operator licence continuation: fee, date and what happens if you miss it: Almost every licence's continuation date falls on the last day of a month, not every one. We had said every one.
• 2 October 2026, Operator licence continuation: fee, date and what happens if you miss it: Helpline hours and postal orders are on GOV.UK's PSV fees page, not the goods fees page. We now cite both pages.
• 2 October 2026, How much does an operator licence cost in 2026?: GOV.UK's goods fees page asks for cheques by post; postal orders are on its PSV fees page. We now say so.
• 2 October 2026, Traffic Commissioner public inquiries: what happens and how to find them: Removed a line saying that lying at an inquiry may lead to a police referral. We could not find it in an official source.
• 2 October 2026, Transport manager CPC: what it is and who needs one: GOV.UK accepts acquired rights certificates issued since 2011, for HGV or LGV-only operations. We had said new acquired rights certificates for heavy goods vehicles are no longer issued.
• 2 October 2026, Transport manager CPC: what it is and who needs one: How to check a transport manager: we now point to the Applications and Decisions bulletins and the DVSA open data, which name the nominated transport manager. We could not confirm what GOV.UK's search results page shows.
• 2 October 2026, How to vet a subcontracted haulier: a checklist: The DVSA open data repeats each licence once for each director, partner or transport manager, and joins all operating centres into one field. We had said each licence appears once per operating centre.
• 2 October 2026, How to vet a subcontracted haulier: a checklist: Operating centre figures now come from our own count of the newest DVSA file. The earlier figures (13,813 licences with more than one centre; 23 on one licence) could not be reproduced.
• 2 October 2026, How to vet a subcontracted haulier: a checklist: Transport manager check: we now point to the Applications and Decisions bulletins and the DVSA open data, which name the nominated transport manager. We could not confirm what GOV.UK's search results page shows.

See also our methodology, the operator licence glossary and all guides.