PG9 prohibitions explained. What happens next matters.

A PG9 is a prohibition notice. It bans a vehicle from being driven on the road until the defects listed on it have been put right and the prohibition has been removed. For a PSV operator it does three jobs at once: it takes the vehicle off the road, it tells the Traffic Commissioner, and it puts points on your OCRS. How you handle the days after it is issued says a lot about your maintenance system, and examiners read it that way.

Where the power comes from

The power sits in section 69 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. If an inspection shows that, because of defects, a vehicle is or is likely to become unfit for service, a vehicle examiner can prohibit it being driven, either absolutely or for particular purposes. The examiner has to give written notice straight away, listing the defects and saying whether the prohibition takes effect immediately or after a set period. It stays in force until it is removed.

DVSA’s categorisation of vehicle defects is the manual examiners use to decide what to do about each defect. Each entry is marked I for an immediate prohibition, D for a delayed prohibition, or IN for an inspection notice. The introduction to that manual explains that prohibitions also tell the Traffic Commissioner that prohibitable defects have been found and let DVSA target more checks on operators whose record suggests poor maintenance. DVSA is required by law to send a copy of each prohibition to the relevant commissioner.

Immediate and delayed prohibitions

An immediate prohibition is issued where the examiner thinks the defects are such that driving the vehicle would put anyone at risk of injury. The vehicle stops there. An examiner can grant a written exemption, for example to let the vehicle be towed away for repair, under conditions set on the exemption.

A delayed prohibition is issued where there is no such immediate risk. The vehicle can carry on until the prohibition comes into force, which by law must be no later than ten days from the inspection. DVSA picks the delay from three bands.

DVSA defines safety critical defects as ones that could affect the control or directional stability of the vehicle. A delayed prohibition still has to be cleared before it takes effect if you want to keep using the vehicle after the deadline.

Defects that are not serious enough to prohibit go on an inspection notice, or for a bus or coach spot check, the PG35EC roadside inspection report. The manual is clear that an advisory notice does not make the vehicle legal. Carrying on with a defect listed on a delayed prohibition or an inspection notice still risks prosecution, so repair it as soon as practicable.

The S mark, and the other endorsements

Every defect on a roadworthiness prohibition is endorsed by the examiner:

• S for a significant failure of roadworthiness compliance
• blank where the defect may or may not come from poor maintenance
• X where the defect is no reflection on the maintenance system, such as a bulb that has just failed or a new crack in a spring leaf the driver could not have seen

A prohibition, immediate or delayed, is S marked if any defect on it shows a significant failure. DVSA’s test is whether the operator or driver should have known about it, because:

• it was a long-standing defect that the last safety inspection should have found and fixed
• the first use or daily walkaround check should have found it
• performance, handling or warning lights would have made it obvious to the driver
• poor workmanship should have been obvious to whoever did the repair
• at annual test, it was something that should have been found before the vehicle was presented
• the number and nature of the defects on the notice show a significant failure in maintenance

DVSA’s roadside checks guide adds that an immediate S marked prohibition is likely to mean the vehicle is immobilised, you could be prosecuted, and DVSA will follow up with an assessment of your maintenance procedures.

What a PG9 does to your OCRS

Each prohibition adds roadworthiness points. Defects on tyres, brakes or steering score twice as much as other defects, and an S mark doubles the score again.

Those figures are from DVSA’s OCRS guidance. The points stay for three years, at full weight in year one, three quarters in year two and half in year three. Because OCRS is an average across all your encounters, a single 400 point event can put the roadworthiness score into red on its own for an operator with only a handful of encounters on record, even if every other one was clear. Our guide OCRS explained goes through the arithmetic.

What it means for your operator licence

Under section 17 of the Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981, a Traffic Commissioner may revoke or suspend a PSV operator licence, or vary its conditions, on several grounds. One of them is that a prohibition under section 69 has been imposed on a vehicle the licence holder owns or operates. Another is a conviction for breaching a prohibition. The holder can ask for a public inquiry before any such action.

The roadworthiness guide lists the issue of prohibition notices as one of the triggers for a DVSA maintenance assessment. In that investigation, section 10 of the maintenance investigation questions asks whether any prohibition shows a weakness or significant failing in your maintenance system. The examiner looks at every roadworthiness prohibition in the sample period, which is the most recent of: since your last public inquiry that considered prohibitions, since the last investigation fleet check, or the last three years. They check S and X endorsements against your records, and can endorse a blank one if your records show which way it should go. A prohibition defect showing a significant failing, or a trend of prohibitions for safety critical defects, is marked for report to the Traffic Commissioners.

The same questions say a category 1 S marked prohibition would generate a most serious infringement investigation, and an investigation started that way must be reported to the commissioners whatever its outcome. Where prohibitions have been issued in the last 15 months, the examiner also checks all the prohibition files where possible and runs a detailed analysis of 15 months of records to find the root cause. Read more in how to avoid a public inquiry.

Getting the prohibition cleared

Repair the defects, then take the vehicle to an authorised testing facility to be inspected and have the prohibition removed. You pay for the repair and the inspection. The PG9 tells you which kind of inspection is needed:

• A partial inspection looks at the defects that caused the prohibition and some other safety items, such as brakes and steering. A pass gets you a removal notice and your MOT expiry date stays as it was.
• A full inspection is the same as an annual test. A pass gets you a removal notice and a new MOT certificate.

The Guide to maintaining roadworthiness says a prohibition is not removed until an examiner is satisfied the vehicle is fit for service, which at minimum means looking at the components and systems affected. Do not present a vehicle where only the listed item has been fixed and something next to it has been ignored. Using a vehicle while a prohibition is in force is an offence, and so is permitting it.

If you think the prohibition was wrong, complain to whoever issued it, the police or DVSA. Do not have the vehicle repaired or adjusted while the complaint is being dealt with. If you are unhappy with how DVSA handles it, DVSA’s guide says to go back to it within 14 days of getting the prohibition.

Investigating the cause

DVSA’s OCRS guidance says operators need to make sure prohibitions and test failures are investigated. Clearing the PG9 fixes one vehicle. The investigation is what stops it happening on the next one, and it is what the examiner and the Traffic Commissioner will ask to see. Work through it in this order:

1. Gather the papers. The PG9 itself, the PG35EC if there was one, the defect repair job, the clearance, the last full safety inspection on that vehicle, and the driver’s walkaround for that day.
2. Ask whether the driver should have seen it. Was the defect on the walkaround list? Did the driver mark it OK? Was there a nil report that morning, and how long did the check take?
3. Ask whether the inspector should have seen it. Was the item marked serviceable at the last inspection? Was it flagged to monitor? How long ago was the inspection, and was it on time?
4. Look for a pattern. Has the same item come up on this vehicle before, or on others? Are intervals right for the work the vehicle does?
5. Decide what changes. Driver retraining, an inspection procedure change, a shorter interval, a supplier conversation. Give each action an owner and a date.
6. Close it off. Record what you found and what you did, sign it, and check later that the actions were done.

PSVault builds this file for each PG9 from the records it already holds, shows what evidence is missing, and tracks the follow-up actions. See prohibitions and investigations.

Common ways operators get caught out

• Fixing and clearing the vehicle with no written investigation at all.
• Treating an S mark as bad luck rather than a finding about the system.
• Missing the deadline on a delayed prohibition and running the vehicle after it took effect.
• Not telling the owner when a prohibition is issued on a hired vehicle.
• Walkaround records that show the item as OK that morning, with no explanation.
• The same defect type turning up on several prohibitions over three years.