How long to keep maintenance records. Fifteen months, even for the ones you sold.

Your maintenance records are how you prove the vehicles were looked after. A coach can be in perfect order on the day a DVSA examiner turns up, and the operator can still come out of a maintenance investigation badly if the paperwork behind it has gaps. The reverse also holds: a vehicle that picked up a defect can be defended if the file shows it was inspected on time, the brakes were tested and the driver reported what they found.

The rules come mainly from DVSA’s Guide to maintaining roadworthiness, which Traffic Commissioners use as the starting point for judging whether an operator’s arrangements are satisfactory, and from the questions examiners work through on a maintenance investigation. This page pulls together what each says you need to keep.

The short answer: 15 months

The headline figure is 15 months. Safety inspection records, and the record of any repair work that followed, must be kept for at least 15 months as part of the vehicle’s maintenance history. That applies to every vehicle you have operated in that time, including ones taken off the licence, sold or scrapped. Driver defect reports that list a defect must also be kept for at least 15 months, along with the assessment, the rectification work and who did it.

Fifteen months is a minimum. Examiners look back further when it matters: the prohibition review on a maintenance investigation can cover the last three years, and they look for repeat problems over the past five. Keeping records for longer costs little and can answer questions that a 15 month file cannot.

What a complete safety inspection record contains

A safety inspection report must be completed for every inspection. DVSA publishes an example PSV safety inspection record, and the form can be any layout as long as the required details are there. The guide lists what each report should show at least:

• the operator’s name
• the date and ISO week of the inspection
• who carried out the inspection, and where
• the vehicle’s registration or identity
• make and model
• the odometer reading, where appropriate
• a list of every item to be inspected
• the condition of each item
• details of any defects found
• the inspector’s name and signature
• details of any repair work and who did it
• a named, signed and dated statement that all safety defects have been repaired and the vehicle is safe and roadworthy

The examiner’s question 4a checks for these details and that everything is legible. A missing model or a wrong inspection manual reference is a minor omission. A major omission, or records that clearly fall short of the guide, is unsatisfactory.

The documents behind the sheet

Question 4b goes further and asks for the documents that support each inspection, giving brake test reports and wheel re-torque records as examples. Every safety inspection should include a brake performance assessment, and the record should show when it was done, how, and whether the vehicle was laden. A signed printout from the roller brake tester, plate tester or decelerometer should be attached. If the equipment cannot print, the inspector writes the results on the report. Where a laden test was not done, the risk assessment that justifies it goes on file too. Our guide to brake testing at safety inspections covers this in detail.

Re-torque checks after a wheel has been removed must be recorded and kept. Tyre condition belongs on the sheet as well: pressures as found, tread depths, any defects, and the rectification. A tyre aged 9 years should be noted as an advisory, and one over 10 years old in a position where it cannot legally be used, such as a front steered axle, reported as a defect. See our guide to tyre age rules.

Signing off

The report must be fully completed and the vehicle declared roadworthy before it goes back into service. The transport manager, responsible person or someone they have delegated to must have access to the completed sheet. Normally the operator has the record before the vehicle leaves. If a contractor cannot provide it straight away, they must give written confirmation that the vehicle is roadworthy. An inspection sheet with open defects and no sign-off is not a finished record.

Driver defect reports

Any defect found on a walkaround check, while the vehicle is in use or when it gets back to base must be reported in writing. The report should include:

• the vehicle registration or fleet identity
• the date
• the defect or symptoms
• the name of the person reporting it
• who it was reported to
• the assessment of the defect
• the rectification work
• the date the work was completed

Reports go to someone with authority to act, which may mean taking the vehicle off the road. If a defect is not going to be fixed straight away, record why with the report. Nil defect reports are good practice rather than a legal requirement, but they are the simplest way to prove a check happened on a day nothing was wrong, and a Traffic Commissioner can require them. Examiners use the two together: inspection defects that a driver should have reported, with no matching report, count against you under question 5a. More in our guide to PSV walkaround checks.

The rest of the maintenance file

Inspection sheets and defect reports are the core, but an examiner will ask for more. Keep these on file too:

• Forward planner. Inspection, MOT and calibration dates at least six months ahead. See our guide to safety inspection intervals.
• VOR records. The date and reason each time a vehicle is declared off the road.
• First use inspections for hired, borrowed or newly acquired vehicles, or the evidence that one was not needed.
• Intermediate safety checks, clearly marked as such.
• Safety recalls. The notification and evidence of the fix, on the vehicle file.
• Maintenance contracts. If inspections are contracted out, a signed written contract covering the vehicles, interval and work, kept on file and produced on request.
• MOT results, including the reasons for any failure and what was done.
• Prohibitions and how each was cleared.
• PSV112 reports for safety-related incidents reported to DVSA.
• Driver instructions. Written responsibilities each driver has signed for.

If you hire, lease or borrow a vehicle, you are responsible for its roadworthiness and must hold copies of any inspections carried out while it was with you. If a vehicle changes hands, the records from your time with it must still be available to you.

Electronic records

Electronic records are acceptable, and you do not need a paper copy if the inspection report is stored electronically. A tablet can replace the paper checklist. But the guide and the examiner’s questions set out what a computer system has to do:

• produce hard copies on request
• be tamper-proof, so records cannot be changed later
• show clearly what was checked and by whom
• keep a clear end-to-end audit trail
• hold the maintenance records for the whole fleet
• meet data protection requirements
• be backed up, with a disaster recovery plan

Electronic walkaround systems need a suitable digital signature, secure storage, reliable date and time stamping, confirmation the vehicle is roadworthy at the start of the day, easy access to photos by date and vehicle, and a paper fallback if the system fails. The system should also be able to produce at least the current day’s record at the roadside. Computer records must hold the same information as the equivalent paper form, and enough people must have access to keep control when someone is off. Choosing a system does not move responsibility: the operator must make sure it meets the standard.

PSVault keeps every compliance-relevant change in an audit trail and never deletes a record; a mistake is voided with the reason and the name of the person, and the original stays on file. Its safety inspection sheets are checked the way an examiner would before they can be signed, and driver walkarounds work offline and record the time each check was actually done.

Common ways records let operators down

• Sheets signed by the inspector but with no roadworthiness declaration after repairs.
• No brake test printout, and nothing to say how brakes were assessed.
• Defects marked on the sheet with no record of the repair or who did it.
• Records missing for vehicles that have since been sold.
• A wheel changed at inspection with no re-torque record.
• Driver defect reports that stop at the defect, with no assessment or repair date.
• A contractor’s records held only by the contractor, not by you.

A practical checklist

• Keep a file for every vehicle operated in the last 15 months, including disposals.
• Check each inspection sheet has every required detail and a signed roadworthiness declaration before the vehicle goes out.
• Attach the brake test printout, or the recorded results and any risk assessment, to every sheet.
• File re-torque records against the inspection or repair that caused them.
• Make sure every driver defect report shows the assessment, the repair and the date.
• Keep nil defect reports for at least three months.
• Hold signed copies of maintenance contracts and recall records on file.
• If your records are electronic, test that you can print any record and that changes leave a trail.