DVSA PSVAR MTE Compliance Survey

Over the last few days, more members have come forward to highlight issues around the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) request for information regarding Medium Term Exemptions (MTEs) for PSVAR.

As a reminder to members, CPT has been assured by the Department for Transport (DfT) and DVSA that this exercise is a proportionate way of checking that MTE terms are being complied with. Relevant members are urged to complete the questionnaire and return it within the 14-day limit. Any members who are unsure if they are compliant should refer to their MTE in the first instance.

Where circumstances have changed, for example, your in-scope fleet size has reduced due to changes in work, or if you need a replacement copy of your MTE, you should email psvar@dft.gov.uk

As previously reported in Newsline, we note that in the covering letter, there is a reference to the end date of MTE’s, and that full compliance is expected from 1 August 2026. When MTEs were first offered, the intention was to provide some medium-term certainty whilst a full review of PSVAR was undertaken. Members will remember the call for evidence that the Department conducted last year.

Our understanding is that no decision has been made by the Government in respect of the position that will apply when the MTEs end in 2026. We expect that some sort of an announcement will be made to address the process from the end of MTEs in the not-too-distant future. We will, as always, keep members updated with any developments.

We should also remind members that MTEs apply to coaches with a passenger capacity in excess of 22, which are used to undertake home-to-school and rail replacement services that would otherwise be expected to comply with PSVAR in full.