Paperwork that keeps itself in date.
DispatchMe holds every driver, vehicle and operator document, reads the expiry date off the upload, and warns you and the driver before anything runs out. A driver whose paperwork has lapsed can't go online or be sent a job.
The record of bookings, the staff register and the documents export as CSV or PDF for whatever date range a licensing officer asks for.
Which documents does DispatchMe hold?
The ones a private hire office has to have on file. You choose which are required under Settings, Required documents.
| For | Documents |
|---|---|
| The driver | DVLA driving licence, PHV driver licence, National Insurance number, bank statement, photo |
| The vehicle | PHV vehicle licence (front and back), MOT, V5C, insurance; for a rented car, the rental company's permission letter and the fleet policy schedule |
| Your office | Operator licence (part A, and part B if you have one) and your company document |
How does a document get from the driver to approved?
- 1
Uploaded
By the driver from their app, or by the office. A photo, a scan or a PDF, up to 8 MB. - 2
Read on our server
Text recognition picks out the expiry and issue dates and numbers such as the licence, plate or policy number. - 3
Checked
Does it look like the right kind of document? Is the name or registration on it the driver's or the car's? Problems raise an alert for the office. - 4
Approved or rejected
Someone in the office accepts it, or rejects it with a reason the driver sees. Who reviewed it is recorded in the audit log.
What it doesn't check
DispatchMe doesn't look up licences on a TfL or council register. It checks that the document is there, reviewed and in date. Checking the licence itself with the authority that issued it is still your job.Expiry alerts, early enough to act on
DispatchMe checks every hour. When a document is coming up, the office gets an alert in its bell, and the driver gets a message from the office and a push notification on their phone.
| Document | First warning |
|---|---|
| PHV driver licence | 90 days before it expires |
| Operator licence | 60 days before it expires |
| Everything else, such as insurance and the vehicle licence | 30 days before it expires |
| MOT | Counted as due six months after the test date |
No paperwork, no jobs
The same rule applies everywhere a driver could pick up work:
- A driver can't go online until the office has approved them and every required document is reviewed and in date
- The dispatch screen won't offer or assign a job to a driver who fails that check
- Set your operator licence tier under Settings, Operator profile, and DispatchMe warns you when more drivers are online than it covers
The licence warning is a warning: it tells you, it doesn't send drivers offline.
A record of bookings that can't be altered
Every booking gets a record of its own before the journey starts, and a job can't be set going without one. The record can't be changed afterwards; changes made before pickup are added as amendments beside it. Both are kept for at least 12 months.
What each record holds
A staff register
Exports on demand
Not sure what your licence asks you to keep? Our guide to the private hire operator licence covers the record-keeping rules in London and elsewhere in England, with links to the official sources.
Questions offices ask
Does DispatchMe check licences against the TfL or council register?
No. DispatchMe checks that each document is on file, approved by your office and in date, and it reads the dates and numbers off the upload. It doesn't look anything up on a TfL or council licence register, so that check stays with you.
What happens when a driver's document expires?
The driver can't go online, and they can't be offered or given jobs, until a new copy is uploaded, reviewed and approved. Before that, both the driver and the office are warned in advance.
How are documents read?
With text recognition software that runs on DispatchMe's own server, so the document isn't sent to an outside service to be read. It picks out dates and numbers. If it can't read a date, the driver types it in, and the office reviews every copy either way.
Can I change a booking record after the event?
No. A record is written before every journey starts, when the driver accepts or the job is set going, and it can't be edited afterwards. If the driver, car, time, address or fare changes before the passenger is on board, an amendment is added beside it, and the export shows the record as amended. Records and amendments are kept for at least 12 months.
What can I give a licensing officer?
From Settings, Records and audit, export the record of bookings, the staff register, driver and vehicle documents, or the complaints log for any date range, as CSV or PDF. Each export is noted in your audit trail.
Related
- PHV operator licence guideWhat the licence involves, and the records it asks for.
- Driver appWhere drivers upload documents and get their reminders.
- DispatchHow the document check keeps drivers off the list.
- School and council contractsThe records contract work tends to ask for.
- SecurityWhere the data lives and who can see it.
Put your drivers' paperwork in one place.
Start free, add your drivers and ask them to upload from the app. Or open the live demo and look at the documents and records screens.