A vehicle inspection report, usually shortened to VIR report, is the signed record of a vehicle’s condition on a set date: who inspected it, what was measured and how each defect was put right. UK goods vehicle operators must keep these records for at least 15 months. A road check inspection report instead records a roadside check by DVSA or the police.
For fleet operators, these reports are the main evidence that a maintenance system works in practice. DVSA examiners check them during maintenance investigations, and missing or incomplete records can lead to a public inquiry before a traffic commissioner, with the operator licence at risk. The template and guidance below apply to HGVs, vans and trailers.
Table of Contents
Vehicle Inspection Report Template
The template below follows the layout of the example safety inspection record that DVSA publishes with its guidance, and it works for HGVs, vans and trailers. Record a reading or a result against every line, including the lines where nothing was wrong, because a blank box does not show that an item was checked.
| Section | What to record | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicle details | Registration, VIN, fleet number, make and model, odometer reading | |
| Inspection details | Date, location, inspector’s name, type of inspection (periodic, first use or ad hoc) | |
| Brakes | Method used (laden roller brake test, EBPMS report or risk assessment), service, secondary and parking brake efficiency, printout attached | |
| Tyres and wheels | Tread depth for each tyre, pressure, condition, wheel fixings | |
| Steering and suspension | Free play, joints, mountings, power steering fluid | |
| Lights and electrics | Each lamp, indicator and warning light, pass or fail | |
| Bodywork, glazing and load security | Damage, corrosion, windscreen, mirrors, load restraint points | |
| Fluids and leaks | Engine oil, coolant, brake fluid, AdBlue where fitted, any leaks | |
| Defects | Description, severity (green, amber or red), action taken, who repaired it and when | |
| Declaration | Inspector’s statement that the vehicle is or is not roadworthy, signature and date, and a manager’s countersignature once defects are rectified |
What a VIR Report Must Record
Commercial operators deal with two kinds of inspection record, and each needs a different level of detail. The driver’s daily walkaround check record shows that the vehicle was checked before use: the registration, the date, the driver’s name, whether any defects were found, the driver’s signature and, where a defect was reported, what was done about it before the vehicle went out.
The periodic safety inspection report goes much further. A competent inspector assesses the full mechanical condition of the vehicle, including brakes, steering, suspension, tyres, lights, bodywork, fluids and load security, and records measurements rather than ticks. DVSA’s Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness sets out the standard these inspections are judged against and includes example records for HGVs, light goods vehicles and trailers.
What a Road Check Inspection Report Means After a DVSA Stop
In the UK, a road check inspection report usually means the paperwork a driver receives after a roadside check by a DVSA examiner or the police. Examiners can stop a commercial vehicle and check its condition, load, weight and the driver’s hours records, and where they find a roadworthiness defect they issue a PG9 prohibition notice. An immediate PG9 stops the vehicle being used until the defect is repaired, while a delayed PG9 allows up to 10 days for the repair.
A prohibition marked “S” means the examiner believes the defect points to a significant failure of the operator’s maintenance system, and it is likely to lead to a follow-up visit to the operator’s premises. A PG9B exemption notice allows a prohibited vehicle to be moved for repair, and a PG10 removal notice confirms the prohibition has been lifted after reinspection. Roadside results also feed the operator’s Operator Compliance Risk Score (OCRS), which influences how often its vehicles are stopped in future.
The roadside check and the operator’s own inspection reports are closely linked. GOV.UK guidance for drivers lists the date of the last safety inspection among the things to check, and a leased, hired or borrowed vehicle should come with evidence that an inspection was carried out within the right interval. When a prohibition is issued, the notice, the repair record and the PG10 belong in the vehicle’s file alongside its periodic inspection reports.
Readers in the United States will know the equivalent document as a Driver/Vehicle Examination Report, issued after a roadside inspection. Under FMCSA rules the carrier must certify within 15 days that any violations listed on it have been corrected.
Legal Requirements for Commercial Fleets
Section 40A of the Road Traffic Act 1988 makes it an offence to use a vehicle on a road in a dangerous condition. For operators, the more direct obligation comes from the goods vehicle operator licence, which commits the holder to keep vehicles fit and serviceable and to keep records that prove it. The Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness is the benchmark traffic commissioners and DVSA examiners use to decide whether a maintenance system is adequate.
Inspection intervals are set by the operator and declared on the licence rather than fixed in law. DVSA has said that HGVs carrying light loads in easy conditions may only need inspecting every 10 to 13 weeks, while vehicles on general haulage may need an inspection every six to 10 weeks. Older vehicles and arduous work justify shorter intervals, and an operator that declares six weeks but runs to eight in practice is in breach of its own undertaking.
Brake testing changed in April 2025. Every safety inspection must now include a brake performance assessment, and DVSA expects a laden roller brake test wherever one is practicable. An EBPMS report can be used for trailers fitted with the system, and where neither is possible a competent person must complete a risk assessment. The brake evidence is attached to the inspection record and kept for 15 months with the rest of the maintenance file.
Drivers must also carry out a walkaround check before the vehicle is used each day and report any defect in writing. That obligation runs alongside the periodic inspection programme and does not replace it. You can check your current system against the standard with the Fleet Audit Checklist.
How to Complete a Vehicle Inspection Report Correctly
The quality of the report depends on how the inspection itself is carried out, as well as on how the form is filled in. Following the same seven steps on every vehicle keeps each VIR report consistent and easier to defend if an examiner questions one.
- Confirm the vehicle’s identity before any mechanical check begins: match the registration and the VIN to the V5C and record the odometer reading, since an unexplained gap in mileage between two inspections raises questions about unrecorded use.
- Work to the same sequence every time, following the order of the inspection form, because departing from a fixed sequence is how items are missed.
- Measure rather than estimate: tread depth with a gauge, brake performance on a roller brake tester or from EBPMS data, and fluid levels against the reservoir markings.
- Record every finding, including items that pass but are wearing. On goods vehicles over 3,500kg the legal minimum tread depth is 1mm across three quarters of the tread width, so a tyre at 2.6mm is legal but worth planning to replace.
- Grade each defect as green (satisfactory), amber (monitor or repair before the next inspection) or red (the vehicle must not be used until the defect is rectified).
- Close every red defect with a repair record and a sign-off confirming the vehicle was returned to service, because a red defect with no repair record suggests the vehicle was used in an unsafe condition.
- Sign and date the report with the inspector’s name and the location of the inspection, then have a manager countersign it once defects are dealt with.
The free Daily Inspection Checklist covers the driver’s side of the system, the walkaround check that comes before each day’s use. The drivers’ check sheets and the periodic reports together make up the maintenance record an examiner reviews.
Worked Example of an HGV Periodic Inspection
The record below is illustrative rather than taken from a real vehicle. It shows the level of detail expected for a 7.5 tonne curtainsider run under a standard national operator licence.
Vehicle: 7.5 tonne curtainsider, registration [example], fleet number 14. Odometer 87,432 miles, 6,226 miles and 10 weeks since the last inspection. Inspected by [inspector name] at the operator’s premises on [date].
Brakes were assessed by a laden roller brake test, with the printout attached. Service brake efficiency was 58% (minimum 50%), secondary brake efficiency 31% (minimum 25%) and parking brake efficiency 21% (minimum 16%), all satisfactory.
Five of the six tyres measured between 3.8mm and 5.2mm and were recorded as satisfactory. The nearside rear outer tyre measured 2.6mm, which is legal, and was graded amber with replacement booked within four weeks.
Two further defects were found. The nearside headlamp bulb was failing and was replaced during the inspection, recorded as red and rectified before the vehicle returned to service. The AdBlue reservoir was at 15% and was topped up, recorded as amber and resolved.
The declaration stated that the vehicle was roadworthy, with the tyre advisory to be actioned within four weeks, and was signed by the inspector and countersigned by the fleet manager. A report that says only “tyres checked” or “lights OK” would not meet the same standard.
Walkaround Checks and Periodic Inspections Serve Different Purposes
The two inspections are often confused, and treating one as a substitute for the other is a common compliance failure. The table sets out who carries out each one, how often and what it is for.
| Inspection | Carried out by | When | Depth | Record | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walkaround check | The driver | Before the vehicle is used each day | Visual and functional check of safety items | Signed check sheet or app record, with defects reported | Use it to catch defects between inspections, never as a replacement for them |
| Periodic safety inspection | A competent inspector | At the interval declared on the operator licence | Full mechanical assessment with measured brake performance | Full inspection report with readings and brake evidence | Keep to the declared interval and file each report with its repair records |
Reviewing Reports to Spot Recurring Defects
A file of completed reports only proves that inspections happened. Reading them together shows whether the maintenance system is working, and DVSA’s guide treats regular review of the system as part of running it properly. A transport manager who looks across several months of reports, alongside the drivers’ defect reports for the same vehicles, will usually find patterns that a single report never shows.
Three comparisons are worth making. The first is between inspection findings and walkaround checks: if periodic inspections keep finding defects a driver should have seen, such as a failed lamp, a damaged tyre or a missing mirror, the daily checks are not being done properly and drivers may need retraining.
The second is between successive inspections of the same vehicle: if the same component is worn or faulty at each visit, the inspection interval may be too long for the work the vehicle does, and the operator should consider shortening it.
The third is between the operator’s own results and the vehicle’s annual test, because a vehicle that fails its annual test on items that passed at the last safety inspection suggests the inspections are not being carried out to the standard the test applies.
Each review should be recorded with the date, what was found and what was changed, so that an examiner can see that problems were noticed and acted on. A short note on file showing that an interval was shortened, or that drivers were retrained, is stronger evidence of a working system than a perfect run of reports with no review behind it.
Digital Records and the 15-Month Rule
Paper inspection records are still valid, but they can be lost, damaged or completed after the event without anyone noticing. When an examiner asks for 15 months of reports for every vehicle, a digital system that time-stamps each check, attaches photographs to defects and links each repair to the defect it fixed is much easier to produce than a folder of handwritten sheets. The DVSA guide accepts electronic records, provided they cannot be altered without leaving a trace and can be produced on request.
Managing This Across a Fleet
A single inspection report is simple to complete. The harder job for a fleet manager is keeping 15 months of reports complete for every vehicle, with each red defect matched to a repair record and every inspection held to its declared interval. Pocket Box fleet management software holds the inspection and service dates for each vehicle and sends reminders before they fall due, and the walkaround checks and defects that drivers report through the Driver App are stored against the vehicle’s maintenance history, so the file an examiner asks for builds up as the work is done.
Odometer readings are the other weak point, because an unexplained gap in mileage between two reports raises questions about unrecorded use. Pocket Box vehicle tracking logs mileage automatically for every vehicle, which gives an independent figure to set against the reading written on each inspection sheet. The free Fleet Compliance Guide (UK) sets out the wider maintenance and record-keeping duties an operator needs in place before a DVSA visit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a vehicle inspection report the same as an annual test certificate?
No, the two are different records. The annual test is carried out once a year at an authorised testing facility and shows the vehicle met the standard on that day. A VIR report is the operator’s own record of the periodic safety inspections carried out between annual tests, and passing the annual test does not remove the need for those inspections.
Do vans under 3.5 tonnes need vehicle inspection reports?
Vans under 3.5 tonnes used for domestic work do not normally need a goods vehicle operator licence, so the licence undertakings on inspections do not apply. The employer’s health and safety duties for vehicles used at work still do, and a regular inspection record is the most practical way to show that vans are kept in a safe condition.
What happens if the report is Not ready when the vehicle is due back on the road?
DVSA guidance allows a roadworthiness declaration in exceptional circumstances, where the full safety inspection report is not available when the vehicle is ready to return to service. The declaration confirms the vehicle is roadworthy, and the full report is added to the vehicle file as soon as it is available.
Does passing a DVSA roadside check count as a safety inspection?
No, a roadside check only shows the vehicle’s condition at the moment it was stopped. It does not replace the periodic safety inspections declared on the operator licence, and the vehicle must still be inspected at its planned interval. A clean roadside result is worth keeping on file, but the inspection programme carries on unchanged.
