| Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency | |
| Agency Type: | Executive agency |
| Headquarters: | Croydon Street, Bristol, BS5 0DA, United Kingdom |
| Preceding1: | Driving Standards Agency, Vehicle and Operator Services Agency |
| Jurisdiction: | Government of the United Kingdom |
| Motto: | Keeping Britain moving, safely and sustainably |
| Employees: | 4,600 |
| Chief1 Name: | Loveday Ryder |
| Chief1 Position: | Chief executive |
| Parent Department: | Department for Transport |
| Keydocument1: | DVSA vision to 2030 |
| Keydocument2: | DVSA strategic plan to 2025 |
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is an executive agency of the UK Department for Transport (DfT).
It carries out driving tests, approves people to be driving instructors and MOT testers, carries out tests to make sure lorries and buses are safe to drive,[1] carries out roadside checks on drivers and vehicles, and monitors vehicle recalls. It is a separate organisation from the similarly named Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).
The responsibilities of DVSA only cover Great Britain. In Northern Ireland, the same role is carried out by the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA).
It was announced on 20 June 2013 that the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) and Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) would merge into a single agency in 2014.[2] The name of the new agency was confirmed as the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) on 28 November 2013.[3]
DSA and VOSA closed on 31 March 2014, and DVSA took over their responsibilities on 1 April 2014.
DVSA was a trading fund from its creation until 31 March 2021.[4]
Between 30 March 2017 and 3 April 2023, DVSA’s stated purpose was “helping you stay safe on Britain’s roads”.[5]
On 4 April 2023, DVSA announced its purpose was changing to "keeping Britain moving, safely and sustainably". It does this by:
On 4 April 2023, DVSA published a vision to 2030[6] setting out how it will deal with challenges including making roads safer, making road transport greener and harnessing new technologies such as self-driving cars.
DVSA is responsible for:
The DVSA appoints vehicle examiners to stop and check vehicles for defects and compliance.[7] They wear uniform, which consists of a shirt and tie/polo shirt, high visibility coat, trousers, boots, and a white-topped cap with a green and white chequered cap band (similar to police traffic officers).[8]
Under the Police Reform Act 2002, section 41 and Schedule 5,[9] Chief Constables could grant powers (under a Community Safety Accreditation Scheme) to DVSA (originally VOSA) officers to stop vehicles for checks on vehicle and driver compliance without the need for police support (later expanded to stop any vehicle, although mainly goods and passenger carrying vehicles). At that time, only police officers had the power to stop vehicles and therefore had to be present. The powers were piloted in 2003, and brought more widely into force in 2004.[10]
Following a consultation in July 2010,[11] the law was overhauled in 2011 to grant VOSA/DVSA officers the power to stop vehicles without relying on police approval through Community Safety Accreditation Schemes as above. This also allowed VOSA/DVSA officers to stop vehicles in Scotland, as well as in England and Wales as previously. The amendment, which was made by the Road Vehicles (Powers to Stop) Regulations 2011, allows "stopping officers" approved by the Department for Transport to stop vehicles for certain reasons.[12]
To be appointed as a stopping officer, a person must:[12]
Officers must be in uniform to stop vehicles.[12] Impersonating or obstructing stopping officers is an offence.[12]