The Driver CPC Periodic Training Requirement

All drivers, whether they’re new to the Industry or experienced, now have to undertake a minimum of 35 hours of training every five years to ensure that their Driver CPC is current. This is known as Periodic Training, or ‘The Driver CPC Periodic Training Requirement.’

Periodic Training is designed to confirm and expand on existing knowledge and skills of each driver to ensure that they continue to be safe, courteous and fuel efficient drivers. This will enable drivers to keep up to date with ever changing regulations and to benefit from training throughout their whole career.

Who is exempt from the requirements for periodic training?

There are exceptions from the Driver CPC qualification for drivers of vehicles:

1. used for non-commercial carriage of passengers or goods, for personal use;
2. undergoing road tests for technical development, repair or maintenance purposes, or of new or rebuilt vehicles which have not yet been put into service;
3. used in the course of driving lessons for the purpose of enabling that person to obtain a driving licence or a Driver CPC;
4. carrying material or equipment to be used by that person in the course of his or her work, provided that driving that vehicle does not constitute the driver’s principal activity;*
5. with a maximum authorised speed not exceeding 45 km/h;
6. used by, or under the control of, the armed forces, civil defence, the fire service and forces responsible for maintaining public order;
7. used in states of emergency or assigned to rescue missions

*An example of a driver under exemption (also known as “incidental driver”) would be a brick layer who drives a load of bricks from the builder’s yard to the building site and then spends their working day laying bricks. In this case, driving a lorry is incidental to their main occupation.

Drivers can move in and out of an exemption, depending on the circumstances in which they are driving. You might be exempt if you’re driving your horsebox for personal use, for example, but if you get paid to drive a lorry making deliveries, you won’t be.

Retraining must take place every five years. Drivers have flexibility as to how they take the 35 hours training over this time, providing it occurs in blocks of at least seven hours at one time. So, for example, a driver may complete two days in the first year and the final three days in the fifth year. Similarly they could leave all 35 hours until the fifth year. The retraining must be completed every five years until such times as the person no longer wishes to drive category LGV or PCV’s professionally.

You only need to complete 1 set of training every 5 years if you drive both lorries and buses professionally.

The table below shows mandatory completion dates for drivers with acquired rights;

Training block	Lorry driver	Bus or coach driver	Dual-category (lorry, bus and coach) driver
First block of training	9 September 2014	9 September 2013	9 September 2013
Second block of training	9 September 2019	9 September 2018	9 September 2019*
Third block of training	9 September 2024	9 September 2023	9 September 2024

Drivers without acquired rights can check their Driver Qualification Card to see when their 5 year period ends.

The LGV Training Company has a Team of CPC experts who are happy to help you figure out what you need to do in relation to the Driver CPC. To find out more, or simply have a chat, call us on 0800 0744 007 or request a callback.