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Digital Tachograph Cards — Compliance Guide for Fleet Managers

Updated May 2026 — Covers EU tachograph regulations as retained in UK law

Digital tachograph regulations require most professional HGV drivers and their operators to hold specific smart cards that interact with the vehicle's tachograph unit. Unlike Driver CPC, which is a qualification, tachograph cards are administrative tools — but operating without the right card is treated as a serious compliance failure by DVSA and the Traffic Commissioner.

The four types of tachograph card

The tachograph system uses four card types, each serving a different purpose:

• Driver card — held by the individual driver; records driving times, rest periods, and other activity. Every professional driver must have one.
• Company card — held by the operator; used to download and lock data from tachograph units. Operators must download vehicle unit data at least every 90 days and driver card data at least every 28 days.
• Workshop card — held by approved tachograph calibration workshops; used for installation, calibration, and repair.
• Control card — held by enforcement authorities including DVSA.

As an operator, you need to manage both driver cards (one per driver) and at least one company card for data downloading purposes.

Driver card requirements

Each driver of a vehicle fitted with a digital tachograph must have their own driver card. Key requirements:

• Cards are issued by DVLA in Great Britain and DVA in Northern Ireland
• Valid for five years from the date of issue
• Personal to the driver — a driver cannot use another person's card
• Must be carried during any professional driving and inserted into the tachograph unit
• Lost or stolen cards must be reported and replaced — driving without a card is only permitted for a maximum of 15 calendar days in exceptional circumstances

Company card and data downloading obligations

Operators must download tachograph data at regular intervals and retain it for at least twelve months. The download intervals are:

• Vehicle unit data — at least every 90 days
• Driver card data — at least every 28 days

Failure to download and retain data is a significant compliance failure. The data provides the record of driver hours, rest periods, and speed — the raw evidence of working time compliance. If DVSA request data and it has not been downloaded or retained, the consequences can include fixed penalties and referral to the Traffic Commissioner.

What DVSA checks at the roadside

At a roadside check, DVSA officers will typically:

• Check the driver's card is valid and has not expired
• Download data from the vehicle unit and the driver's card
• Review the previous 28 days of driving data for hours compliance
• Check that the tachograph unit itself is calibrated and in date
• Look for evidence of tachograph manipulation or interference

An expired driver card at the roadside typically results in a prohibition notice — the driver cannot continue until the issue is resolved. The operator is then expected to account for why the card was allowed to expire in their operator licence compliance record.

Managing card renewals across a fleet

Driver cards expire five years from issue — but not all at the same time. A fleet of fifteen drivers might have cards expiring in each of the next five years. Without a tracked renewal schedule, lapsed cards are discovered at the roadside rather than in advance.

The practical steps:

• Record every driver's card expiry date when they join the fleet
• Set reminders at 90 days and 30 days before expiry
• Make renewal the driver's responsibility but verification the operator's
• Confirm the new card has actually been received before the old one expires
• Keep a copy of each current card on file — front and back