New regulations that bring smaller LCVs travelling to the EU in scope of international operator licensing requirements will place key demands on fleets in the future, says FleetCheck.

From 21 May 2022 all organisations running vehicles of between 2.5-3.5 tonnes that cross international borders in the EU and conduct activities for ‘hire or reward’ will need to obtain an International Operator’s Licence

As revealed by Van Fleet World earlier this week, from 21 May 2022 all organisations running LCVs of between 2.5-3.5 tonnes that cross international borders and conduct activities for ‘hire or reward’ will need to obtain an International Operator’s Licence as part of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

The rules apply to those transporting goods in the EU, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

They are also being applied to both cars and vans towing trailers as well as vans or other light goods vehicles used for hire and reward in the EU, such as pickup trucks; anything where the gross combination weight of the vehicle and any trailer being used exceeds 2.5 tonnes.

Requirements for operators include appointing a designated transport manager with a valid International Transport Manager Certificate of Professional Competence (TM CPC) qualification as well as a range of commitments to systems monitoring areas such as maintenance and drivers.

As such, it represents quite a jump in the level of responsibility for fleets who find themselves in this position, according to FleetCheck managing director Peter Golding.

“Until now, they’ll have operated 2.5-3.5 tonne vans using the same arrangements as for cars and the smallest LCVs.

“Now, however, they will be placed under a range of much more stringent demands, from professional qualifications to audit systems to show that they are meeting a whole series of fleet management standards.

“Especially when it comes to vehicle maintenance and drivers, there is a lot of specific information required in much more detail and meeting more stringent requirements than these fleets will have recorded previously.”

Golding added that many operators would need to make a real-world decision over whether the work is worth the additional cost and commitment – if so, action will need to be taken in a wide number of areas before the rules come into play on 21 May.

FleetCheck is already working with some of its fleet customers to help them extend their existing international O licence arrangements to vehicles affected by the new move. It’s also received enquiries from companies looking to upgrade their systems.

“As soon as businesses start looking at the demands of the licence, they tend to quite quickly conclude that some kind of digital infrastructure is the best way to move forward because of the need to record information across wide areas in an auditable fashion. It’s not impossible using paper systems but it is difficult, time-consuming and much more prone to human error.”