Driver CPC is a qualification professional lorry, bus and coach drivers must hold alongside their vocational licence. Once qualified, you must complete 35 hours of periodic training every five years to keep it. Driving professionally without it can bring a fine of up to £1,000.
The rules changed on 3 December 2024, and again on 1 February 2025. If you last looked at Driver CPC before then, the most important change is one that can stop you working in Europe without you realising. We will come to that.
You need it if you drive a lorry, bus or coach as the main part of your job. It sits alongside your vocational entitlement — it does not replace it.
You may not need full Driver CPC if:
Exemptions are narrower than people assume, and “not the main part of my job” is the one most often stretched too far. If you are relying on an exemption, check it properly rather than assuming.
Since 3 December 2024 there have been two versions of the qualification:
Here is the trap. If you drive in the UK and Europe, every one of your 35 hours must be International courses. GOV.UK puts it plainly: if you include any National training courses, you will get a National Driver CPC and will not be able to drive professionally in Europe.
One National module in a five-year cycle is enough to do it. A driver can complete all 35 hours in good faith, receive a card, and only discover the restriction when a European job comes up. If there is any chance you or your drivers will work in Europe, book International courses throughout.
If you only ever drive in the UK, you have more freedom: all National, or a mixture of National and International — either is fine.
The total has not changed: 35 hours of periodic training every five years. Nor has the flexibility about when — the hours can be done at any point in the five-year period, though leaving them all to the final months is a familiar way to end up off the road.
What did change in December 2024 is how those hours can be built:
For an operator running shifts, the half-day modules are the practical win: you can train a driver without losing them for a whole day.
You only need to complete one set of 35 hours every five years, even if you drive both professionally.
From 1 February 2025 there is a route for drivers returning to the industry whose Driver CPC has lapsed, so a driver who left and wants to come back is no longer facing the full initial qualification from scratch. If this applies to you, check the current requirements on GOV.UK before booking anything, as the detail matters.
To gain the initial Driver CPC you need a full car licence and to be over 18, with some exceptions. The qualification is made up of four modules — though because Module 1 is split into two separate tests, you will sometimes see it described as five tests:
Drivers who held the relevant vocational entitlement before Driver CPC was introduced in September 2009 hold it under acquired rights, often called grandfather rights. Those drivers still have to complete the 35 hours of periodic training like everyone else.
No, and the distinction matters. People often search for a “CPC licence”, but Driver CPC is a qualification that sits alongside your vocational driving licence. You can hold a valid HGV or PCV licence and still be unable to drive professionally because your Driver CPC has lapsed. They expire independently of one another.
Proof of the qualification is your Driver Qualification Card, the DQC. Separately, your vocational licence needs renewing every five years, and every year once you reach 65.
You cannot drive professionally. Doing so risks a fine of up to £1,000, and for an operator it raises questions that reach beyond the individual driver — an O-licence holder is expected to have systems that prevent this happening.
The practical answer is to track expiry dates across your drivers rather than leaving each one to remember, and to book training across the cycle rather than in a scramble at the end.
35 hours every five years, and they can be completed at any point within that period.
National Driver CPC covers professional driving in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. International Driver CPC covers those plus driving to, from and within the EU. If you need to drive in Europe, all 35 hours must be International courses.
Up to 12 hours of your 35 can be e-learning. Since December 2024 that e-learning no longer has to be tied to a classroom session within 24 hours.
No. They are separate, and they expire on separate dates. A valid licence does not mean valid Driver CPC.
You cannot drive professionally until you have completed the training, and driving without it risks a fine of up to £1,000.
Accessible Ltd delivers Driver CPC training for truck, bus and coach operators across the UK, on site or centre based. If you are unsure whether your drivers need National or International courses, call us on 01282 504455 and we will talk it through before you book anything.
Last reviewed August 2026. Driver CPC rules change from time to time. This guide is based on published DVSA and GOV.UK guidance, and you should always confirm the current position at gov.uk/driver-cpc-training before making decisions about your own qualification.
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