Find a Transport Manager for Vehicle Recovery

A recovery operator may need more than a Transport Manager who has managed a general haulage fleet. The person must understand where qualifying recovery ends and ordinary vehicle transport begins, because the answer affects operator licensing, drivers’ hours, tachograph use and the records expected from dispatch. ETM helps you describe that operation clearly and compare Transport Managers or consultants whose availability and experience appear relevant.

ETM is an independent marketplace. It does not appoint a Transport Manager, verify that every proposed arrangement will be accepted or act for DVSA, GOV.UK or the Office of the Traffic Commissioner. A Traffic Commissioner decides whether a statutory appointment is acceptable.

First decide what support the business actually needs

A standard national or standard international licence requires a professionally competent Transport Manager. A restricted licence does not normally require a nominated professional Transport Manager, although the licence holder still needs effective compliance management. A business operating only genuinely exempt recovery vehicles may instead need a consultant to review classification, hours, maintenance or mixed-use risks.

Your request should distinguish a formal nomination from an independent audit, application support, temporary compliance assistance or ongoing consultancy. A period of grace is not automatic and can only be granted through the operator licensing process.

Recovery experience should be tested, not assumed

Ask candidates how they would separate roadside recovery of a recently disabled vehicle from planned movements, auction collections and delivery after repair. A useful answer should explain what dispatch information is needed, how the decision is recorded and when the job must be operated under licence. “I have worked with recovery trucks” is not enough.

The candidate should also be comfortable with variable weights and axle effects, beds, spectacles, underlifts, winches, chains, straps, roadside risk and the drivers’ hours rules applying to each job type. Official guidance recognises a specific assimilated-hours exemption for qualifying specialised breakdown vehicles operating within 100 kilometres of base, but that does not make every urgent call-out exempt.

Check authority, access and real capacity

A statutory Transport Manager must exercise continuous and effective management. Ask how often they will visit, which records they will review, how they will reach dispatch and workshop staff, and what authority they will have to stop a vehicle or require spending. They need access to the Vehicle Operator Licensing service where appropriate, maintenance and brake reports, driver records, tachograph data, job classifications and directors who will act on escalation.

External Transport Managers are subject to the statutory 4 operator and 50 authorised vehicle limits, with the Traffic Commissioner able to accept fewer commitments where necessary. Those maxima do not prove that a candidate has enough time for your operation. Recovery call-out patterns, operating hours, sites, drivers, mixed exempt and licensed work and existing compliance history all affect capacity.

Information that produces better matches

• Legal entity, licence number and licence type, if already held.
• Authorised and currently operated vehicle and trailer numbers.
• Recovery vehicle types, operating centres and geographic coverage.
• Approximate split between breakdown recovery and planned vehicle transport.
• Night, weekend, police, motorway, garage, auction or repaired-vehicle work.
• Maintenance provider, inspection interval and brake-testing arrangement.
• Current tachograph and drivers’ hours controls.
• Any application, DVSA or Traffic Commissioner deadline.
• Expected visits, hours, reporting and start date.

Questions worth asking before agreeing terms

Request evidence of the Transport Manager CPC, relevant continuing professional development and permission to verify the proposed appointment. Discuss professional indemnity insurance for consultancy work, references where appropriate and how confidential data will be handled. Do not choose solely on the lowest monthly figure.

What happens after submitting a request

ETM can share the information with potentially suitable members based on the details supplied. Interested members may respond with their experience, availability and proposed approach. You assess those responses, carry out your own due diligence and decide whether to contract. Submission alone does not create an appointment or guarantee regulatory approval.

Vehicle recovery matching FAQs

Do we need a Transport Manager if all work is exempt recovery?

There may be no statutory nomination requirement if the operation is genuinely outside operator licensing, but the classification should be checked carefully. A consultant can still review the evidence and controls.

Can one Transport Manager cover both recovery and transport work?

Yes, provided the person has sufficient competence, authority and time to manage the licensed operation and understands how the two categories are separated.

How many hours should we advertise?

State the real operating pattern and ask candidates to propose a defensible commitment using current Statutory Document 3 starting points and the specific complexity of the fleet. Avoid selecting a token figure first and fitting the work around it.

What makes a request urgent?

Include any loss of Transport Manager, period-of-grace application, licence application, regulator letter or fixed operational deadline. Urgency should not be used to conceal missing information.

Official sources for due diligence

• DVSA: running a vehicle recovery business
• Senior Traffic Commissioner: transport managers
• Goods vehicle operator licensing guide
• DVSA: Guide to maintaining roadworthiness