Driver CPC (DCPC) cards that expire between 1 February and 31 August have been granted a seven-month extension to their validity, the government has announced.
New cards to reflect a revised date of expiry will not be issued and existing cards must still be carried. The extension will be applied automatically. 35 hours’ periodic training must be completed by the new expiry date if the card is to be renewed.
All EU member states “are obliged to recognise the extension” of DCPC cards, the Department for Transport and DVSA say. The change is a result of a temporary alteration to an EU Regulation to take account of disruption caused by the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.
In an associated change, DVSA says it will now carry out enforcement action against drivers between 1 September and 30 September if their DCPC card expires in that period.
That is a revision of its earlier position. DVSA previously said that no enforcement action would be taken against those drivers, which would have given them up to an additional 29 days to complete DCPC training.
Instead, DVSA says there are now enough training courses available to enable drivers whose DCPC card expires in September to renew it in sufficient time.
