Essential documents: HGV theory test questions
Licence categories, Driver CPC card, tachograph cards and records, operator licences and reporting to the DVLA. Practise 15 free essential documents questions with instant answers and explanations – no sign-up.
- 15 questions
- Instant feedback
- Highway Code references
Essential documents: revision notes
Professional drivers need the right licence, a valid Driver CPC and accurate records of their hours.
- Licences: C for vehicles over 3,500 kg, C+E for heavier trailers including articulated lorries, C1 for 3,500 to 7,500 kg. D for buses with more than 8 passenger seats, D1 for up to 16 passenger seats.
- Driver CPC card: carry it when driving professionally.
- Driver card: report a lost, stolen or faulty card to the DVLA immediately and apply for a replacement within 7 days. You can drive for up to 15 days with printouts, but not if you've simply forgotten it.
- Records: be able to show the current day and the previous 28 days. Return analogue charts within 42 days. Operators download driver cards every 28 days and vehicle units every 90 days.
- Insurance: if asked by the police, produce it within seven days.
Tell the DVLA about any health condition that may affect your driving.
All essential documents questions and answers
Revise every question in this topic. Tap a question to see the correct answer and why.
1You drive a lorry or bus professionally. What else must you carry, in addition to your driving licence?
- Your passport
- Your vehicle's logbook
- Your National Insurance card
- Your Driver CPC card (driver qualification card) ✓
Answer: Your Driver CPC card (driver qualification card). Professional lorry, bus and coach drivers must hold a valid Driver CPC. Your Driver CPC card shows your qualification and training deadline.
GOV.UK: Driver CPC training
2Your digital tachograph driver card has been stolen. What must you do?
- Wait until the end of the month to report it
- Use a colleague's card until the new one arrives
- Tell the DVLA immediately and apply for a replacement within 7 days ✓
- Keep driving without any record
Answer: Tell the DVLA immediately and apply for a replacement within 7 days. You must tell the DVLA immediately if your card is lost, stolen, damaged or faulty, and apply for a replacement within 7 days.
GOV.UK: Apply for a driver digital tachograph card
3Your driver card has been lost. For how long can you keep driving without it, if you make the right printouts?
- Up to 3 days
- Up to 15 calendar days ✓
- Up to 28 days
- Until the new card arrives, however long it takes
Answer: Up to 15 calendar days. You can drive for up to 15 calendar days without your card, as long as you take printouts at the start and end of the day and sign them.
GOV.UK: Drivers' hours and tachographs – goods vehicles
4You've forgotten your driver card at home. Can you drive a vehicle with a digital tachograph and keep a manual record instead?
- No, manual records aren't allowed if you've just forgotten your card ✓
- Yes, for up to 15 days
- Yes, if your manager agrees
- Yes, for one day only
Answer: No, manual records aren't allowed if you've just forgotten your card. The 15-day allowance only applies if a card is lost, stolen, damaged or faulty. Forgetting your card isn't a valid reason.
GOV.UK: Drivers' hours and tachographs – goods vehicles
5When driving under the assimilated rules on UK journeys, what tachograph records must you be able to show?
- The current day only
- The previous 7 days
- The previous 12 months
- The current day and the previous 28 calendar days ✓
Answer: The current day and the previous 28 calendar days. You must be able to produce records for the current day and the previous 28 calendar days for journeys under the assimilated or AETR rules.
GOV.UK: Drivers' hours and tachographs – goods vehicles
6Within how many days must you return used analogue tachograph charts to your operator?
- 7 days
- 28 days
- 42 days ✓
- 90 days
Answer: 42 days. Used charts must be returned to the operator within 42 days, even if you change employer.
GOV.UK: Drivers' hours and tachographs – goods vehicles
7A police officer asks to see your insurance certificate after a collision in which someone was injured, but you don't have it with you. Within how long must you produce it?
- 7 days ✓
- 14 days
- 24 hours
- 28 days
Answer: 7 days. If you don't produce your insurance certificate at the time, you must report to the police and produce it within seven days.
The Highway Code: rule 287
8You develop a health condition that could affect your driving. Who must you tell?
- Your insurance company only
- The police
- The DVLA ✓
- The DVSA
Answer: The DVLA. You must report to the DVLA any health condition likely to affect your driving.
The Highway Code: rule 90
9How often must your operator download the data from your driver card?
- At least every 7 days
- At least every 28 days ✓
- At least every 90 days
- Once a year
Answer: At least every 28 days. Operators must download driver card data at least every 28 days and vehicle unit data at least every 90 days.
GOV.UK: Drivers' hours and tachographs – goods vehicles
10Which TWO must you write in the centre field of an analogue tachograph chart? Mark two answers.
- Your surname and first name ✓
- Your National Insurance number
- The odometer readings ✓
- The weight of your load
Answer: Your surname and first name; The odometer readings. Centre field entries include your name, the date and place where use of the chart begins and ends, the vehicle registration and the odometer readings.
GOV.UK: Drivers' hours and tachographs – goods vehicles
11What must you do with your digital tachograph when you cross a border into another country?
- Remove your card until you return
- Switch the tachograph to rest mode
- Nothing, the card records it automatically on every tachograph
- Record the country symbol at the first suitable stopping point, unless it's done automatically ✓
Answer: Record the country symbol at the first suitable stopping point, unless it's done automatically. Unless your smart tachograph does it automatically, you must record the country symbol at the first suitable stopping point after crossing a border.
GOV.UK: Drivers' hours and tachographs – goods vehicles
12What does a category C licence allow you to drive?
- Vehicles over 3,500 kg with any size of trailer
- Buses with more than 8 passenger seats
- Vehicles over 3,500 kg, with a trailer up to 750 kg ✓
- Vehicles up to 7,500 kg only
Answer: Vehicles over 3,500 kg, with a trailer up to 750 kg. Category C covers vehicles over 3,500 kg with a trailer of up to 750 kg. You need C+E for heavier trailers.
GOV.UK: Driving licence categories
13What licence category do you need to drive an articulated lorry?
- C1
- C+E ✓
- C
- D
Answer: C+E. Category C+E lets you drive category C vehicles with trailers over 750 kg, which includes articulated lorries.
GOV.UK: Driving licence categories
14Under the GB domestic rules, when must you fill in a weekly record sheet for a goods vehicle that needs an operator's licence?
- When you drive for more than 4 hours in a day ✓
- Only when you drive abroad
- Every day, however little you drive
- Only on Sundays
Answer: When you drive for more than 4 hours in a day. Written records are needed for operator-licensed goods vehicles when driving exceeds 4 hours in the day, unless a tachograph is used instead.
GOV.UK: Drivers' hours and tachographs – goods vehicles
15What must be displayed in the windscreen of a lorry used under a goods vehicle operator's licence?
- The driver's CPC card
- The last MOT certificate
- The tachograph calibration certificate
- The operator's licence disc ✓
Answer: The operator's licence disc. Goods vehicles used under an operator's licence must display the licence disc so enforcement officers can check it.
GOV.UK: Goods vehicle operator licensing
Frequently asked questions
What do I do if I lose my tachograph card?
Tell the DVLA immediately and apply for a replacement within 7 days. You can drive for up to 15 days if you make printouts at the start and end of each day.
How many days of records must I carry?
The current day and the previous 28 calendar days for journeys under the assimilated or AETR rules in the UK.
What licence do I need for an articulated lorry?
Category C+E, which covers category C vehicles with trailers over 750 kg.
Original practice questions based on The Highway Code (Open Government Licence v3.0). Not the real test questions. MockTheory is not affiliated with or endorsed by the DVSA.
