FORS, the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme, is a voluntary accreditation scheme for fleet operators. It has three levels, Bronze, Silver and Gold, and each level builds on the one beneath it. Customers and contractors can ask their suppliers to be FORS accredited, which is why more operators are preparing for an audit. If you haul for the construction industry, our guide to whether you need FORS to work on construction sites explains how FORS, CLOCS and the Direct Vision Standard fit together.
If you are still at the start of the process, our guide to how to apply for FORS accreditation walks through registration and preparation. This article goes deeper on the audit itself: what the auditor is testing, the policies and records they expect to see, and how to get those policies in front of your drivers in a way that passes the audit and actually works.
It is based on the FORS Standard, version 7.2, which is effective from 1 September 2026. FORS updates the Standard from time to time, so check the FORS website that you are working to the latest version.
What a FORS audit is
A FORS audit is an independent check, carried out by an approved FORS audit provider, that your operation meets the requirements of the FORS Standard. It is about evidence. The auditor is not asking whether you are a good operator in general terms; they are asking whether you can show, with documents and records, that your systems exist, are in date and are being used.
Bronze accreditation is valid for 12 months, so Bronze operators are re-audited every year. Silver and Gold build on Bronze and add further requirements, including performance data, environmental plans and enhanced vehicle safety equipment.
One point worth knowing: the Standard itself states that FORS accreditation and FORS audit reports must not be used as a defence in court, at a public inquiry or during an enforcement investigation. Accreditation shows you met the Standard at audit. It does not replace your legal duties as an operator between audits.
What happens at the audit
The detail depends on your operation and your auditor, but the audit generally follows this pattern:
- Document review. The auditor checks your written policies, procedures, risk assessments and registers against the Standard.
- Records and evidence. They sample the records that prove the policies are being followed, such as driver licence checks, walkaround check records, training records and maintenance plans.
- Conversations. They speak to your responsible person and may ask how drivers are told about your policies.
- Findings. Anything that does not meet the Standard is recorded as an action point, which you must address before accreditation is awarded.
If you run fewer than five vehicles and have fewer than five employees, the Standard lets you explain some policy requirements verbally. Even so, written policies are recommended, and they make the audit much easier to pass.
How documents are judged: the rules in requirement M1
Before looking at which policies you need, it helps to know how auditors judge them. Requirement M1 sets the rules for every FORS document:
- Policies must be written, approved and signed by a senior manager.
- They must be readily accessible to staff.
- They must be reviewed at least every 12 months, and sooner if the law, your working practices or an incident changes things.
- Each document needs version control, showing at least the version number, the review date and the reviewer’s name.
- Reviews must be recorded.
- Policies must line up with your risk assessments.
The commonest weak points are simple: policies that have never been signed, review dates that have passed, and no clear version number. They are easy to fix and easy for an auditor to spot.
The Standard also sets how long records must be kept. For example, drivers’ hours records for 12 months, working time records for 24 months, and vehicle safety inspection, defect and maintenance records for 15 months. Other records are kept until your next FORS audit.
The policies and procedures you need
The Bronze requirements fall into four areas. Annex 3 of the Standard is the key checklist: it shows which requirements need a written policy, a procedure, and a risk assessment or method statement. What follows is a practical summary of what an operator typically needs in place. The Standard sets out the detail for each requirement, so use it alongside this list.
Management
- Health and safety policy (M8), naming the person responsible and describing how accidents and near misses are reported, supported by risk assessments.
- Complaints policy and procedure (M9). Complaints must be recorded and investigated within 10 working days.
- Transport infringements policy (M10), covering fixed penalties, penalty charge notices, prohibitions, tachograph infringements and similar.
- A way of keeping up to date with industry changes (M11), with relevant changes passed on to drivers.
- Organisation chart, job descriptions and a recruitment procedure (M4), including pre-appointment checks on drivers.
- A records procedure (M2), setting how long each type of record is kept.
- A named responsible person (M3). If your Transport Manager is external, see our page on External Transport Managers.
- A vehicle fleet register (M6) and a procedure to make sure your licences and permits are correct and in date (M7). Our Operator Licence support covers the licence side.
Vehicles
- Serviceability and roadworthiness policy (V1), with an inspection and maintenance plan showing at least 15 months of history and a rolling six-month forward plan. See what DVSA expects from a maintenance system.
- Daily walkaround check and defect reporting procedure (V2), with a check at least once in every 24 hours and defects recorded properly.
- Insurance evidence (V3) and a vehicle tax procedure (V4).
- Load safety policy (V5), covering loading, load restraint and weights.
- Vehicle safety equipment evidence (V6), such as side under-run protection and close-proximity mirrors on HGVs.
- Tyre management policy (V7).
Drivers
- Driver licence checking procedure (D1), using a service that accesses DVLA data, at least every six months and more often for drivers with penalty points.
- Driving standards policy (D2), with drivers having access to the Highway Code.
- Induction procedure and checklist (D3).
- Professional development plans (D4), covering the mandatory FORS Professional Development training.
- Hand-held phone and in-vehicle communication policy (D5).
- Fitness to drive and eyesight policy (D6), with eyesight checks and a drugs and alcohol procedure.
- Working time and drivers’ hours policy (D7), including how tachograph data is downloaded and analysed. Our article on smart tachographs covers the equipment side.
Operations
- Routing procedure (O1).
- Fuel, emissions and environmental policy (O2), naming a Fuel and Emissions Champion.
- Road traffic collision policy (O3), naming a Road Risk Champion.
- Passenger safety and specialist operations policies (O4 and O5), where they apply to you.
- Security and counter-terrorism policy (O6), naming a Security and Counter-terrorism Champion.
Risk assessments and safe systems of work
Many FORS policies must be backed by risk assessments, method statements or safe systems of work. Requirement M8 lists the health and safety risks that should be covered where they apply, including slips, trips and falls, manual handling, lone working, hazardous substances, access to vehicles and working at height, working around moving vehicles, reversing, manoeuvring and turning, and coupling and uncoupling trailers.
Operational risks need assessing too: seat belts, speed, distraction and adverse weather, in-vehicle communications, load restraint, routing, passenger safety, specialist operations, and security and counter-terrorism.
If you would rather not write these from scratch, our FORS documents and audit page has editable risk assessment and safe system of work packs, plus a free sample pack so you can see the format before you buy.
How the policies reach your drivers
This is the part many operators underestimate. Having a policy is not enough: the Standard requires you to communicate it. Requirement M5 says operators must communicate operational information and organisational policies and procedures through a staff or driver handbook and supporting documentation.
That makes a driver handbook the natural centrepiece. It turns your policies into plain instructions a driver can follow. A good handbook for a FORS operator covers, in language drivers can use:
- driver responsibilities and your driving standards, including seat belts, speed, distraction and adverse weather;
- your hand-held phone rules, and what office staff must do when calling drivers;
- fitness to drive, eyesight checks, medication, and your drugs and alcohol procedure;
- working time and drivers’ hours, and what to do about tachograph issues;
- daily walkaround checks and how to report a defect;
- load safety and restraint;
- what to do after a collision, incident or near miss;
- vehicle and key security, suspicious activity and counter-terrorism awareness; and
- routing, and how complaints and infringements are handled.
The handbook is only half the evidence
The auditor wants to see that drivers have actually received and understood the information. In practice that means:
- Annual driver declarations. The Standard expects drivers to declare that they are aware of their responsibilities (M5), that they have access to and understand the driving standards policy and the Highway Code (D2), that they will report licence endorsements (D1), and that they will report health or eyesight conditions (D6). A signed declaration page in the handbook is a simple way to capture these.
- Induction records. New drivers must be introduced to your policies from the start of their employment, and the induction must be signed off by both the person who carried it out and the driver (D3).
- Records of changes. When policies change, tell drivers using toolbox talks, briefings, bulletins or safe systems of work, and keep a record of it.
Keep it readable. The Standard asks that information is communicated in a format that drivers and operational staff can easily understand, so avoid pasting a policy word for word into the handbook.
Common weak spots to fix before the audit
- Policies that are unsigned, undated or past their review date.
- No version numbers or recorded reviews.
- No evidence that drivers received the handbook, or no signed annual declarations.
- Driver licence checks overdue, or not done through a DVLA-linked service.
- Incomplete walkaround check records, or defects with no sign-off showing they were repaired.
- Gaps in FORS Professional Development training, or no professional development plan.
- Risk assessments that do not match your policies, or have not been reviewed.
- Missing evidence for vehicle safety equipment.
How HGV Consult can help
We work with operators at each stage of preparing for FORS:
- Documents. Editable risk assessment and safe system of work packs, and a driver handbook, on our FORS documents and audit page. You can download a free sample pack first.
- A second pair of eyes. Our fixed-price remote FORS micro-audit is a phone consultation followed by a review of your documents, telling you what is in place, what is missing and what to fix first. It is not a FORS audit and does not award accreditation. See the micro-audit details, our guide to preparing for a remote compliance audit, or our wider remote compliance audits.
- Ongoing support. If you need help keeping your systems in order after the audit, see our transport compliance support.
Not sure where to start? Request a call back and tell us about your operation and the FORS level you are working towards.
Important to remember
HGV Consult is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by FORS. FORS accreditation is awarded only by FORS following an audit by an approved FORS audit provider, and nothing in this article guarantees accreditation. This article is general information only and is not legal advice. The FORS Standard changes, so check the latest version and your own requirements before you rely on it.
Source: FORS Standard Version 7.2, September 2026 (fors-online.org.uk).