DBAQ - DVSA Desk Based Assessment Questionaire

The Remote Enforcement Office of the DVSA (Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency) send to o'licence holding vehicle operators, most often via email, a document known as a DBAQ (Desk Based Assessment Questionaire). The request accompanying this official document is that the operator answer all questions in this eighteen page questionaire, giving detailed explanations and evidence of all the required maintenance and traffic systems they have in place to ensure legal compliance.

Most often the responsibility for completing and returning this document falls to the Transport Manager named on the operator's licence, or a Responsible Person, which can only be a director in the company, or one of the partners of a partnership, or the owner named on the licence where it is issued to a sole trader.

The standard deadline by which the fully completed document must be returned to the DVSA is usually 7 or 14 calendar or working days from the date of the notice letter or email.

If an operator cannot meet the strict deadline then they must request an extension in writing as early as possible.

Failing to comply with the request for information, the deadline imposed, or failing to engage with the DVSA will lead to unsatisfactory compliance findings and / or regulatory action.

Before filling in the DBAQ attention should be paid to the guidance and any particular instructions or questions received with it.

Best advice I can give for dealing with a DBAQ is to download the document, familiarise yourself with what is required (in other words fill it in), and then ensure that you make any changes to the document as and when applicable, keeping it for reference.

The day that you receive one of these for real, you're already ahead of the game and will be able to respond without fuss in a timely fashion.

Download a PDF of this document from our secure repository below.