Home / What it checks
What DVSA examiners mark PSV operators down for. Caught as the records come in.
Each row on this page is something a DVSA examiner would flag on a maintenance investigation, set against the question it falls under and what PSVault does about it.
A DVSA maintenance investigation works through a published set of questions. The examiner reads your files, inspects a sample of your vehicles and marks each section satisfactory, mostly satisfactory, unsatisfactory or report to the Traffic Commissioners. Because the questions are public, there is no need to wait for the visit to find out how you would do.
PSVault checks in two ways. Day to day, it catches problems as the records come in: on the driver’s walkaround, on the inspection sheet before it is signed, and on the fleet board. Then the maintenance investigation self-check runs the whole question set against your records and suggests an answer for each one, with the reason. The office confirms or changes each answer and signs it off. It is built to be run every quarter.
The tables below are grouped the way most transport offices split the work. The numbers are the question numbers on the examiner’s report. Where a check helps in more than one place, or does not sit neatly under a single question, we have left the number off rather than guess.
Where the questions come from
The question set is DVSA’s, published on GOV.UK, and PSVault names the edition it follows. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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In PSVault
The checks, question by question.
Grouped by where the work happens. Where a check does not sit under a single question, the number is left off.
Records and planning
Office and workshop
Question
What would be flagged
What PSVault does
4c 4e
Inspections done late, with no VOR record to explain it
The fleet board shows what is due and overdue. A late inspection with no VOR record covering the gap is flagged before the sheet is signed, and the VOR release rule looks at planned inspections missed while the vehicle was off the road.
4d
A forward planner that does not look far enough ahead
Each vehicle has its own inspection interval. PSVault checks the planner covers the six months ahead the guidance asks for, and sends the dates to Outlook or Google Calendar.
4b
Inspection sheets that are not fully completed
The sheet is checked the way an examiner would before it is signed. A missing brake test result, no record of who did the brake test, or tyre pressures not taken before pumping up are listed before anyone signs.
MOT, tacho calibration or lift inspection run out
Certificates are held against each vehicle, and upcoming MOT, tachograph calibration, vehicle tax and LOLER dates sit on the fleet board.
4b
Records that could have been changed after the event
Every compliance-relevant change is in an audit trail. Nothing is deleted: a mistake is voided with the reason and a name, and the original stays on file.
A vehicle’s history split across two registrations
A plate change keeps the history joined up, so the file an examiner asks for is the whole file.
Drivers and walkarounds
Driver’s phone and gate checks
Question
What would be flagged
What PSVault does
5a
Defects the drivers should have reported
When an inspection, a gate check, a roadside check or the office finds a defect a driver should spot, PSVault looks back at the walkarounds since the item was last confirmed sound and records each one that marked it OK, against that driver.
5a
Hundreds of walkarounds, hardly any defects
The self-check compares what drivers report with what inspections find, so a nil-defect culture shows up before an examiner points it out.
5a
Checks finished too quickly to be real
A minimum check time, timed by the server from the start of the check. Short checks are flagged, and each driver’s median check time is on their record.
5a
No proof the check was done on a clean day
Nil defect reports are recorded like any other check, with the time the check was actually done, even where the yard has no signal.
5c
Driver defects with no record of the repair
Each defect arrives in the workshop as a job and carries a status through to rectification and sign-off before the vehicle goes back out.
Drivers never told about a known problem
Directed checks put worn tyres, open defects, items being monitored and recent gate check finds in front of the driver, and ask for an answer on each. Marking OK on a tyre PSVault knows is below the legal limit gets a plain warning.
Drivers who pass what a supervisor finds
Gate checks reuse the walkaround items, supervisors can plant tags to see who finds them, and every disagreement goes on the driver’s record.
Inspections, wheels and tyres
Workshop tablet
Question
What would be flagged
What PSVault does
4b
No brake performance recorded
Brake figures with pass and fail guidance based on DVSA’s published brake efficiency requirements, or the roller brake tester printout attached. A missing result, or no brake test after brake work, is flagged before the sheet is signed.
4b
Faults that keep coming back
An item faulted on consecutive inspections is flagged as a repeat, so the cause gets looked at, not just the part.
8
Steer tyres over ten years old
Date codes are recorded and checked against the ten-year rule for front steered axles, on the tyre register and on the sheet before it is signed.
8
A wheel removed with no re-torque booked
Flagged before the sheet is signed. The wheel torque record shows a wheel diagram with the spares, the torque figures and the re-torque check, signed in stages, timed by your own policy.
8
Tyres with no tread or pressure history
A tyre register by wheel position, with tread readings over time and a warning level you set. Pressures are recorded before inflation, and low pressure is recorded as a defect.
Monitor items forgotten by the next walkaround
Items to monitor from a safety inspection are carried forward to the walkaround as directed checks.
Prohibitions, MOT and OCRS
Office
Question
What would be flagged
What PSVault does
10
Prohibitions with no investigation behind them
Each PG9 gets an investigation linking the notice, the repair job, the last full safety inspection, the clearance and that day’s walkaround. It shows what evidence is missing and tracks the follow-up actions.
10
S marks building up over three years
The self-check pulls in every prohibition and S mark from the last three years, so the pattern is in front of you.
6c
An MOT fail rate above the national average
Annual test pass rates are compared with the national average. A failure, or a pass after rectification, gets its own investigation linking the pre-MOT inspection, the previous three safety inspections, the repair and the retest.
An OCRS that creeps up between DVSA reports
A running score from the encounters you enter off the PG35EC, MOT results and DVSA’s encounter reports, shown beside DVSA’s last figure with a forecast.
Question numbers follow DVSA’s maintenance investigation report (PSV). PSVault follows DVSA’s published guidance, including the Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness. It is not approved or endorsed by DVSA.
Each part in more detail.
The feature pages go through how each check works and where it feeds the self-check.
Compliance
DVSA’s question set run against your records, with suggested answers, actions and a trend.
See the feature
Drivers
QR tag walkarounds on the driver’s own phone, with directed checks on what PSVault already knows.
See the feature
Compliance
Gate checks, planted tags and missed defect tracking against each driver.
See the feature
Workshop
Item by item on a tablet, and checked the way an examiner would before the sheet is signed.
See the feature
Workshop
A tyre register by wheel position, date codes against the ten-year rule, and re-torque records.
See the feature
Compliance
An investigation for each PG9 and MOT failure, built from the records already held.
See the feature
Compliance
A running score between DVSA’s reports, with a forecast of where it is heading.
See the feature
Office
The fleet board, forward planner, VOR records and vehicle documents in one place.
See the feature
Questions
Where do the question numbers come from?
From DVSA’s maintenance investigation report for PSV operators, the same numbers the examiner uses. PSVault also has the HGV form, but the numbers on this page are the PSV ones.
Does PSVault answer the questions for us?
It suggests an answer for each question, with the reason and the records behind it. The office confirms or changes every answer, writes its own assessment and signs the self-check.
Why do some rows have no question number?
Some checks help in more than one place, or do not sit neatly under a single question. Rather than guess, we have left the number off.
Does a clean self-check mean we would pass a maintenance investigation?
No. The examiner makes their own assessment, and DVSA has not approved or endorsed PSVault. A clean self-check means your own records answer the same questions well, which is the best position to be in if an examiner does come.
What happens when DVSA changes the questions?
PSVault keeps a register of the DVSA documents it follows, with the edition used. A weekly check of GOV.UK flags when DVSA updates one, so it can be kept current.
See it on a sample fleet.
Look round a read-only sample fleet of ten coaches yourself, straight away. A guided tour takes you through each part, and you can start a free trial whenever you are ready.