A mate of mine runs a small flatbed operation out of Coventry — five vehicles, three regular drivers, sensible bloke. Two years ago he got a PG9 at a DVSA check on the A5 near Weedon. Brake efficiency on the offside rear drive axle. The vehicle sat at the roadside for four hours while he sorted a recovery.
Three days to get it cleared. Customer in Immingham rescheduled, found another carrier. The work was gone. The OCRS shifted to amber the following month. And he spent the best part of a week on the phone to DVSA, ATF booking systems, and his solicitor — because nobody had ever explained to him what the clearance process actually looks like.
This is the post I wish someone had given him. Or me, before I learned the hard way that there's more to a PG9 than just the notice itself.
PG9 vs PG10 — same form, very different situation
Both are prohibition notices. The letter you get tells you which one it is.
A PG9 is an immediate prohibition. The vehicle cannot move under its own power until the defect is remedied and the prohibition is formally cleared by a DVSA vehicle examiner. Full stop. No exceptions for 'just getting it to the depot'. If the examiner hasn't specifically said the vehicle can be moved to a nearby facility — and that has to be in writing or clear verbal authorisation — you don't move it.
A PG10 is a delayed prohibition. There's a specified time limit — often ten days from the date of issue — within which the defect must be fixed and evidence provided. The vehicle can still work in the meantime. But that window closes fast, and if you're still presenting the vehicle uncorrected when the time's up, you're looking at a PG9 on top.
The distinction matters because the clearance paths are different. PG10 gives you breathing room. PG9 gives you nothing. The clock on your OCRS and your customer delivery promises starts immediately.
What happens the moment a PG9 is issued
The DVSA examiner hands you the notice. Or hands it to the driver. Either way, it's now on record — logged against the vehicle registration and the operator's licence number.
The driver is in an awkward position. They didn't build the vehicle and didn't do the last PMI. But they're the one standing at the roadside with a piece of paper saying the truck can't move. Their job at this point is simple: ring the TM or operator immediately. Don't try to negotiate with the examiner. Don't make promises about what you'll fix and when. Ring the operator, tell them what it says, read them the defect code, and let them deal with it.
For drivers on agency: ring the agency, ring the hirer. Both. The hirer's vehicle, the hirer's problem — but the agency needs to know because they'll need to sort alternative work and because the client relationship is theirs to manage.
Getting the vehicle off the road safely
If the vehicle is blocking the carriageway or in an unsafe position, the examiner can authorise it to be moved to a safe location. Get that in writing if you can, or at minimum get the examiner's name and badge number and note the time they gave verbal authorisation.
Recovery is usually the next call. An immediate PG9 for something like brake failure means you're not limping it anywhere — you're on the phone to a recovery operator and you're paying for it. The cost sits with the operator. That's not the driver's problem, but it's worth flagging so the TM knows what's coming.
The vehicle goes to a workshop. Not just any workshop — it needs to go somewhere that can carry out the repair AND has a DVSA-approved vehicle examiner who can issue the clearance, or somewhere near an Authorised Testing Facility. More on that in a moment.
The clearance process — where most operators lose time
This is the bit that trips people up. A PG9 isn't cleared by a fitter saying the work's done. It's cleared by a DVSA vehicle examiner — either at an Authorised Testing Facility (ATF) or through a DVSA-attended inspection.
An ATF is a private site (usually a commercial vehicle workshop or truck dealership) that DVSA examiners attend to carry out tests and inspections. You book an appointment. The examiner comes out or you bring the vehicle to them. They inspect the defect, verify the repair, and if they're satisfied, they issue the clearance document and the prohibition is lifted.
DVSA will also attend roadside if arranged, but that takes longer to book and is less reliable for timing. For anything that needs a quick turnaround, finding your nearest ATF and booking the inspection is usually faster.
The ATF booking system can be busy. That's the reality. My mate's three-day clearance time was partly down to ATF availability — the nearest one with a slot was 48 hours out. You can try multiple ATFs. They're listed on GOV.UK. Ring around.
How the PG9 hits your OCRS
The Operator Compliance Risk Score is a rolling calculation that DVSA uses to decide which vehicles and operators to prioritise for roadside checks. More prohibitions = higher risk score = more checks. It's a self-reinforcing cycle if you're not careful.
A PG9 registers against the operator's licence and the vehicle. DVSA records all prohibition encounters and their outcomes. An OCRS in the red zone means DVSA's targeting system will flag your vehicles for roadside checks more often — sometimes at dedicated check sites, sometimes using ANPR to identify your vehicles on the network.
Prohibitions stay in the OCRS calculation for 24 months. They don't disappear overnight. What changes is the weighting as time passes — a prohibition from 23 months ago counts for less than one from last week. But you're carrying it either way.
Operators with high OCRS scores can also attract Traffic Commissioner attention. Two prohibitions in six weeks, or a pattern of defects, and you might get a letter from the TC's office. That letter is the start of a process that can end in a public inquiry. Nobody wants to be in that room.
Most common PG9 triggers — the ones DVSA keeps finding
Brakes come up most often. Brake efficiency below the required standard — and DVSA's roller brake test at an ATF can catch efficiency issues that your own PMI might have missed, especially if the test was done unladen or the brake balance was slightly off.
Tyres. Tread depth below the legal minimum, a tyre with exposed cord, a cut deep enough to reach the ply — any of these will get an immediate PG9. The driver can't see every tyre on every axle from the cab, but the walkaround check exists for a reason. Check the tyres, every time, properly.
Lighting. A cluster of blown bulbs on the rear. A broken side marker. It sounds minor. It isn't, if DVSA finds it at a roadside check with a full vehicle inspection underway.
Steering. Play in the steering system, worn track rod ends, anything affecting directional control — these get immediate prohibitions.
Overloading. Not a mechanical defect, but a weighbridge finding that puts the vehicle over its plated gross weight will also produce a prohibition. And the operator gets a graduated fixed penalty on top.
What the transport manager needs to do in the first 48 hours
When a PG9 comes in, the TM's job starts immediately. Not the next working day. Now.
First: document everything. Get a copy of the prohibition notice. Log the date, time, examiner name, defect codes, and location. This goes in the vehicle's maintenance file.
Second: notify your insurance company if the defect is significant — a brake failure prohibition might have reporting implications depending on your policy wording. Check with your broker.
Third: arrange the repair. Make sure the repairing workshop knows the PG9 must be cleared by a DVSA examiner before the vehicle can work again. Some workshops don't fully grasp this and will hand the vehicle back with a job card saying 'completed' — that job card doesn't lift the prohibition. Only the DVSA clearance document does.
Fourth: review the last PMI for this vehicle. If a brake efficiency issue got through a PMI, you need to know why. Was the test carried out correctly? Was the vehicle laden? Was the result recorded accurately? If there's a systemic problem with your maintenance inspection process, fixing the brake on this vehicle doesn't fix the problem. It just delays the next PG9.
Fifth: look at your other vehicles. If the defect type suggests an inspection gap — worn brake pads, for example — it's worth pulling in the rest of the fleet for a check before DVSA does it for you at the roadside.
The clearance document — keep it
When the DVSA examiner is satisfied and lifts the prohibition, you get a clearance document. Keep it. It goes in the vehicle's maintenance file alongside the original PG9. If you're ever asked at a public inquiry about the prohibition, you want to show the document trail — defect found, defect repaired, examiner verified, clearance issued. That narrative demonstrates a functioning maintenance system. The absence of that narrative is what gets operators into trouble.
If you're tired of tracking vehicle compliance in a notebook or spreadsheet, ShiftOwt tracks 561/WTD compliance automatically — £5.99/mo for drivers, agency pricing on request.
Can you appeal a prohibition?
Yes, but it doesn't suspend the prohibition while the appeal runs. The vehicle stays off the road. The appeal process exists to formally challenge the finding — if you believe the examiner got it wrong, you can contest it. In practice, for clear-cut mechanical defects, appeals are rarely successful and delay clearance. The faster route is usually to get the vehicle repaired and cleared through the normal process, then raise a dispute separately if you genuinely believe the prohibition was wrong.
The short version
PG9 = immediate. Vehicle stops. Call the operator, arrange recovery, book an ATF slot. PG10 = time-limited. Fix it before the deadline.
Clearance requires a DVSA vehicle examiner at an ATF — a workshop job card doesn't lift it. The prohibition feeds your OCRS for 24 months. The TM's first 48 hours matter — document, repair, review, and look at the rest of the fleet.
My mate in Coventry now has an ATF booking number saved in his phone and a checklist his drivers run through before any vehicle leaves the yard after a PMI. Two years on, he's back in green. It cost him a customer and a lot of phone calls to get there.