Free downloads · Free Excel · for O-licence operators
Every date that keeps a driver on the road, in one sheet
Ten drivers is forty-odd dates: photocards, D4 medicals, licence checks, DQCs, driver cards, downloads. This tracker puts them in one row per driver, colours every date on the familiar thresholds and adds up each driver's CPC hours from a simple training log — so you see who's short of hours while there's still time to book a course.
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What's in the tracker
- Drivers tab — photocard and C/D entitlement expiry, last licence check with your own check interval, penalty points, DQC expiry, driver card expiry, last card download and ADR — one row per driver.
- CPC training log — one row per course with date and hours. The Drivers tab adds up the hours that fall inside the current five-year DQC window and shows how many are still needed.
- Colours — red, amber and yellow on 30 and 90 days for expiry dates; a tighter 3- and 7-day scale for the 28-day driver card download; amber and red on CPC hours when a driver is short with less than a year or six months to go.
- Dashboard — expired and overdue items, what's due within 30 and 90 days, overdue licence checks and downloads, and drivers short of CPC hours — counted automatically.
Why the driver dates slip
Vehicle dates have a natural home: the maintenance planner, the MOT booking, the inspection sheet. Driver dates don't. They sit on the driver — in a wallet, on a GOV.UK account the employer can't see, in a course certificate in someone's inbox — and they surface at the worst moment: a roadside check, a missing DQC, a driver who can't legally take the load on Monday.
The CPC hours are the classic trap. Nothing forces a driver to spread 35 hours over five years, so the gap only becomes visible in year five, when every course near you is full. Logging each course as it happens turns that into a number you can see years ahead.
Licence checks are the other one: no fixed legal interval, so they happen when someone remembers. Setting an interval per driver — tighter for drivers with points — makes the next check a date like any other.
Frequently asked questions
How often should I check my drivers' licences?
There's no fixed legal interval, so set one and stick to it. Quarterly is common, and many operators check drivers with points more often. The tracker uses 90 days unless you enter a different interval for a driver, and colours the next check like any other date.
How does the tracker count Driver CPC hours?
It adds up the hours in the CPC training log for that driver with a completion date in the five years before the expiry date on their current DQC — the window that counts towards the next card. What's still needed is 35 minus that total. Drivers can see their official recorded hours through the GOV.UK Driver CPC service; the log is your own record of what's been booked and done.
When does a lorry driver need a D4 medical?
Lorry and bus entitlement (C1, C, D and so on) runs to age 45, then has to be renewed every five years until 65 and every year after that. Each renewal needs a D4 medical. Put the date on the licence in the 'Entitlement expiry (C/D)' column and the tracker flags it 90 days ahead.
How often does the driver card have to be downloaded?
Driver card data has to be downloaded at least every 28 days. Enter the date of the last download and the tracker works out the next one, turning amber three days before it's due.
Can I bring the tracker into Certly later?
Yes. Certly tracks the same driver dates with reminders at 90, 60 and 30 days, and drivers can upload their renewed card or DQC through their own link. Start a free trial and upload this same file on the import page — every driver's dates come across in one go.
Further reading
- Driver CPC and DQC expiry: the 35-hour rule explained
- Tachograph calibration and download intervals
- Preparing for a DVSA roadside check
- Already have a spreadsheet? Run it through the free expiry scan
Rather have this happen by itself?
Certly tracks certificates, inspections and licences automatically: reminders at 90, 60 and 30 days, escalation at 14 and 7, and an evidence pack at the press of a button. Trying it costs nothing.