Can anyone tell me, or perhaps I should say, remind me if it is an offence to DRIVE a commercial vehicle on the road without displaying an operators licence disc 
I’m self-employed as an agency driver and was asked by a major supermarket distribution office to drive such a vehicle for them. I refused. I was given another vehicle but was later told that the first truck offered could be used because it was leased and it was ok to use it without an operators disc for up to a month? I think they were wrong!! Anyone put me right please. Geoff
Discs are not issued for vehicles which are authorised, but not specified, eg, those on short-term hire for up to one month.
Provided they have the spare capacity on their O Licence,they can hire a vehicle and use it for a period of one month without specifying it, in this case the vehicle will have no disc. So if the facts they gave you were correct and the vehicle had been hired for less than one month, you could have taken it out.
Thanks coffeeholic! PS loved the book. Gonna read it again soon. Geoff
the actual time scale is 28 days provided the operator has a margin on the licence.
advice is offered that as it takes time to process the application for the vehicle to be added to the licence it is best to apply early rather than late and the fee for the o licence is based on the amount of vehicles stated on the o licence and not those included in the margin which is probably why some operators are reluctant to add temporary vehicles to their o licences.
28/01/2006 Hearts 4 Hobos 1. Carslberg don’t do an Edinburgh Derby but if they did, it would be this good
4 wins out of the last 10 games 
Remind me how good is Carslberg 
The ‘grace period’ that a vehicle can be in the possession of an Operator before it needs specifying on a licence (provided the licence has a margin on it) is one calendar month. This period may well change in the near future if s264 is ever confirmed by Parliament, this would reduce the time to zero as it is envisaged that Operators can update their vehicle details using the VOSA website.
Whilst the nice man from VOSA may not get very excited about an HGV not showing a disc, in a case like this, watch what happens when a PSV doesn’t have a disc displayed. You are more likely to visit a VOSA site if no disc is displayed, it gives them a chance to see if it’s an unlicensed Operator and see if they want to impound the vehicle.
johnny:
the actual time scale is 28 days provided the operator has a margin on the licence.
Vosa say one month Johnny, as do Croners.
From the VOSA website.
What do I do if I want to use more vehicles?
Your licence when first issued will authorise you to use up to a maximum number of vehicles and trailers. If the number of vehicles specified on your licence (ie recorded by registration mark on the vehicle list and issued with a disc) is less than the number you are authorised to use, you can take on extra vehicles at any time provided you do not exceed the maximum number authorised, and provided any conditions attached to your licence allow you to do so. The difference between the number of specified vehicles and the maximum number of vehicles authorised on your licence is commonly called ‘the margin’.Any vehicle which is being used on the margin can only be so used for one month. The vehicle ceases to be authorised if you do not notify the Traffic Commissioner about that vehicle within the month, and pay a prescribed fee. At that time you must complete a form GV80 listing registration marks.
funnily enough, we had a wagon to pick up from the garage the other day. the mechanic pointed out that the O licence was out of date so it stayed put. it ran out June last year and it was one of our own 
didnt affect me though, my unit is covered til March so i was ok 
Are those trucks on different O Licences Scanny? An O Licence runs for 5 years and the discs would display the same date as the O Licence expires, and would be the same for all trucks on that licence.
i shouldnt think so mate. the one with an out of date disc was a rigid. it belongs to us but its based in exeter. all of the other rigids were licenced on that same date but the licences were replaced with new ones. the artic units are a few months older so their licences are a few months older too (i guess).
cant say much more than that. it wasnt me picking it up and it was the union rep who gave us a lift. he wouldnt allow the other driver to collect the vehicle with an out of date disc
ho does it work for a new vehicle then?
ie. one you’ve just had delivered?
i shouldnt think so mate. the one with an out of date disc was a rigid. it belongs to us but its based in exeter
There’s your answer then. Different Operating Centres have to have seperate O-Licences. Hence the date difference as Coffeeholic explained. 
dennisw1:
ho does it work for a new vehicle then?
ie. one you’ve just had delivered?
When you apply for the new disc it will run until the O Licence expires, be that the full 5 years or less. All vehicles on the same O licence will have discs displaying the same expiry date regardless of when they were added.
scanny77:
i shouldnt think so mate. the one with an out of date disc was a rigid. it belongs to us but its based in exeter.
Yep, different O Licence.
scanny77:
all of the other rigids were licenced on that same date but the licences were replaced with new ones. the artic units are a few months older so their licences are a few months older too (i guess).
Doesn’t work like that scanny, all vehicles on the same licence will have the same expiry date on their licence discs, which will be the date the O Licence is due for renewal. When they are added to the licence makes no difference, if you add a vehicle when the licence only has a month left to run it’s disc will only be valid for a month.
Coffeeholic:
dennisw1:
ho does it work for a new vehicle then?
ie. one you’ve just had delivered?When you apply for the new disc it will run until the O Licence expires, be that the full 5 years or less. All vehicles on the same O licence will have discs displaying the same expiry date regardless of when they were added.
What i mean is, when you have a new vehicle delivered it doesnt come with an o-licence does it?
So can you use it for like the 30 days or what ever until you get a disk for it?
Sorry, i see what you mean now. 
Yes, you could use it for one month provided you have the margin on your licence. There would be no real advantage to doing so though because the disc for it would still expire at the same time as the licence and you wouldn’t gain a month by delaying specifying it. You are not breaking any laws running the vehicle while waiting for the disc to come through.
no need for me then so i will keep stum
Coffeeholic:
johnny:
the actual time scale is 28 days provided the operator has a margin on the licence.Vosa say one month Johnny, as do Croners.
From the VOSA website.
What do I do if I want to use more vehicles?
Your licence when first issued will authorise you to use up to a maximum number of vehicles and trailers. If the number of vehicles specified on your licence (ie recorded by registration mark on the vehicle list and issued with a disc) is less than the number you are authorised to use, you can take on extra vehicles at any time provided you do not exceed the maximum number authorised, and provided any conditions attached to your licence allow you to do so. The difference between the number of specified vehicles and the maximum number of vehicles authorised on your licence is commonly called ‘the margin’.Any vehicle which is being used on the margin can only be so used for one month. The vehicle ceases to be authorised if you do not notify the Traffic Commissioner about that vehicle within the month, and pay a prescribed fee. At that time you must complete a form GV80 listing registration marks.
i’m so glad i’m not still in the rha - they say 28 days in their rha haulage manual 2001-2002.
sorry for the wrong information there, i’ll go back to using information from a reliable source - thats you neil.
Johnny, I have just checked the RHA Haulage Manual for 2006, which landed on the door mat a couple of days ago, and on page 194 they still say 28 days. The VOSA website and Croner’s Road Transport Operation both say one month. I know which I would trust, as in my experience the RHA often give out incorrect information.
I am probably going to regret this 
Im not sure that an O licence automatically runs for 5 years. It only is valid for as long as the period that was payed for., ie, If you only pay for a year, it only lasts a year
I may have misunderstood Coffees post and shall crawl back into my hole