Frequently asked questions – FORS Standard

There are different training requirements across all levels of accreditation for both managers and drivers. These are different for drivers of specific vehicle types so it is best to check the training cards at Annexes 1 (for drivers) and 2 (for managers) of the FORS Standard.

A guide detailing the process for assessment and approval of in-house courses can be found here.

All vehicles at an operating centre used for servicing and delivery must be registered and will fall under the scope of FORS accreditation – this includes: HGVs, vans, passenger carrying vehicles, cars, powered-two-wheelers (motorcycles and mopeds) and wheeled plant.

Cars and P2Ws are optional unless they are used as the core business function eg delivery company. Car-derived vans however must be declared.

No, you can choose which operating centre(s) to include in your FORS accreditation but all vehicles used for servicing and delivery in the chosen operating centre(s) must be included in the scope of accreditation (as detailed above.) For information on accrediting single or multiple operating centres, please check the FORS Accreditation Guide.

You can check the FORS Bronze Audit Toolkit for tips and advice, as well as checklists to help you prepare for the audit. In addition, FORS offers lots of toolkits, guidance and events, which are available free of charge for FORS operators.

In Bronze M6, it says I have to provide all vehicle registration marks (VRMs) or vehicle identification numbers (VINs) for upload to the FORS online company page. How do I do that?

This information can be provided via electronic document (doc, docx, xls, xslx, txt, csv, pdf, png, jpeg) that clearly presents the required information. You will be prompted to upload this information when you request your audit. Alternatively you can supply this information at audit.

FORS has produced a free FORS Counter Terrorism Toolkit to help you write an effective counter terrorism policy. The toolkit provides you with all the elements you need to put together a policy and supporting procedures and what you need to do with these. It includes a checklist of the key actions you need to undertake to meet Bronze requirement O7. To access the free FORS Counter Terrorism Toolkit, click here.

Yes, FORS operators must possess a passenger safety policy for each vehicle type, supported by a risk assessment or method statement. This requirement applies to operators of passenger carrying vehicles (PCVs), of course, but also to operators of any vehicle that is fitted with at least one passenger seat such as HGVs, vans and cars

• • For PCVs – The full list of the requirements at ‘O4 Demonstration’ must be met. This includes pre-employment and three-yearly vetting of drivers, escorts and conductors through the Disclosure and Barring Service; and additional instructions where vehicles are accessible to disabled people
  • For HGVs, vans and cars – As a minimum, your documentation must include specific information such as permitted number of passengers, wearing seatbelts and safety instructions for passengers

FORS has developed ‘Ten steps to being a safe passenger’ presented as a series of simple dos and don’ts, which can be incorporated into your policy and risk assessment. For example, your policy could state that all passengers will be briefed on being a safe passenger using the ‘Ten steps to being a safe passenger’, or they could be incorporated into a toolbox talk. To access the information, click here.

This information can be provided via electronic document (doc, docx, xls, xslx, txt, csv, pdf, png, jpeg) that clearly presents the required information. You will be prompted to upload this information when you request your audit.

The appropriate training course needed will depend on your type of operation:

If you are a responsible person for a non-O’Licensed fleet, you can attend the one-day FORS Professional discounted Car and Van Fleet Management Essentials. Alternatively any two workshops from FORS Practitioner workshops 1/2/3/4/5/6 will meet this training objective – and if you already hold a FORS Practitioner qualification, then you already meet this requirement.

If you are a responsible person for an O’Licensed fleet, you can attend the one-day FORS Professional HGV and PCV Fleet Management Essentials. Alternatively you can meet this requirement by undertaking FORS Approved training on fleet management. There are two routes available:

• Attend a FORS Approved fleet management course as listed on the FORS website here; or
• Attend a course that has automatic approval as listed in the ‘FORS Approved Training – FORS Standard version 5 Bronze requirement M3 responsible person’ document which can be found on this page. Scroll to the bottom of the page to the ‘Fleet management training – to meet Bronze requirement M3 for the responsible person’ section.

FORS Approved training courses

Operator licence awareness courses and CPC refresher courses delivered by a trade association, a professional body or an approved Transport Manager CPC examination centre are automatically considered FORS Approved.

Approved examination centres must offer a regulated Transport Manager CPC qualification listed on the Ofqual Register for the type of Operator licence held, and as recommended in Traffic Commissioner Statutory Guidance.

Training providers that do not meet the criteria above can achieve FORS Approved status for fleet management courses to meet FORS Bronze M3 requirement by submitting training material for assessment as detailed on the FORS Approved Training page.

The FORS Progression data report is embedded within the evidencing system. Therefore, just log in the evidencing system and populate the form with your data. The system will auto-calculate CO2, NOx and PM, based on your number of vehicles, vehicle type, fuel type, distance travelled and fuel used entered.

A number of well established industry courses have automatic FORS approval, or you can have your own course approved against a set number of training objectives and learning points. For more information, please click here.

This has been made mandatory to ensure continuity so that the vehicle list is accurate as historically there have been many variations in accreditation submissions, leading to re-submissions and extra cost to the members.

Under vehicle requirement S6, blind spot vision aids for HGVs include a camera system, as well as an in-cab display screen and audible warning system. To allow for older vehicles in the fleet replacement cycle, a tolerance in the number of vehicles fitted with camera systems can be accepted for vehicles registered before 1 January 2015 where there is not a contractual or permit requirements. This tolerance must be fully justified at audit. If this tolerance is permitted, older vehicles not fitted with camera systems shall be fitted with an alternative blind spot vision aid such as a Fresnel lens. See the Silver requirement S6 of the FORS Standard for further details.

At Gold G3 Sustainable operations, the above tolerance at S6 is not permitted. However, the fitment of camera systems for vehicles registered before 1 January 2015 can be planned and evidenced in line with the operator’s fleet replacement cycle and must be fully justified at audit.

This requirement is only relevant where your sub-contractors are directly employed to deliver on your behalf to a site where FORS Silver is required.  This is typically a requirement written into the contract you have with your client and therefore should already be in place.

You will find a tab on the bottom of the spreadsheet with full guidance notes, if you are still unable to upload, please email [email protected] and attach the original spreadsheet along the issue you have experienced.

At Silver audit both Bronze and Silver training requirements will be checked. The training requirements can be found in Annex 2 of the FORS Standard.

If the responsible person or other nominated manager leaves the business, a period of 12 months from the date of appointment of the replacement responsible person or nominated manager can be permitted for them to achieve the FORS Practitioner qualification. This must be fully justified at audit.

At Gold G3 Sustainable operations, the tolerance at Silver S6 for vehicles registered before 1 January 2015 is not permitted. However, the fitment of camera systems for vehicles registered before 1 January 2015 may be planned and evidenced in line with the operator’s fleet replacement cycle and must be fully justified at audit.

FORS has produced a toolkit comprising a template with step-by-step guidance to take you through each item that must be included. The template includes a staff and visitor survey, a template to present the results, examples of objectives and targets, incentives and initiatives, and more. Simply complete or delete where relevant the sections in grey and replace with the information for your workplace. To access the FORS Workplace Travel Plan Toolkit, click here.

If you live in rural/remote area with limited public transport, there are still options that you can identify to promote sustainable travel amongst your staff. These include car sharing, promotion of electric vehicles, re-timing staff journeys to avoid peak hours and working from home where possible. These need to be written into your travel plan template and you will need to indicate what you can/can’t do and why.

No, this requirement applies to new contracts only.

• At initial Gold audit, a plan for incorporating a flow down clause in all new contracts awarded shall be evidenced
• At Gold re-approval audit, a flow down clause shall be incorporated in all new contracts awarded since previous re-approval audit and shall be evidenced

FORS Silver requirement S9 Sub-contracted services is only relevant where your sub-contractors are directly employed to deliver on your behalf to a site where FORS Silver is required.  This is typically a requirement written into the contract you have with your client and therefore should already be in place.

FORS Gold requirement G6 Contracted services is relevant to all other services employed by you to help run your fleet operation eg maintenance services, parts deliveries, bulk fuel deliveries and tyre services. It is not about services for the site where you are delivering. New contracts of this type of services shall be asked to be Bronze minimum.

It is recognised that some organisations, for example smaller ones, do not have the ‘buying power’ to influence the terms and conditions applied by suppliers.  Therefore it is sufficient to demonstrate that reasonable endeavours have been taken to implement the contract clause.

It is recognised that some organisations, for example smaller ones, do not have the ‘buying power’ to influence the terms and conditions applied by suppliers.  Therefore it is sufficient to demonstrate that reasonable endeavours have been taken to implement the contract clause.  

At Gold audit you will need to evidence your Bronze, Silver and Gold training courses.  The training requirement can be found in Annex 2 of the FORS Standard.