June 10, 2025
When completing your monthly Site Audits, please remember that honesty is key. The DVSA don’t expect perfection – but they do expect to see that you’re identifying issues, resolving them promptly, and improving over time.
The below quote from the MOT Testing Guide sums this up perfectly:
“In operating systems, AEs should always remember that sometimes things will go wrong. A successful quality management system is one that identifies things going wrong in a timely way and helps the AE put things right. A quality regime that never identifies things going wrong is unlikely to be working effectively. Where things are found to be going wrong, then it is key to record this and show what has been done to prevent reoccurrence.”
Our Site Audit is designed to look at the same areas that a DVSA Vehicle Examiner (VE) would during a site visit – from housekeeping and workshop condition to equipment calibration, training and compliance records.
Some audit answers are filled in automatically based on activity in the system (like whether your calibration certificates have been uploaded, or tester training is on track), but many questions rely on you providing an honest answer.
For example:
• Is your workshop clean and tidy?
• Are hand tools being stored safely?
• Are your floor markings in good condition/ not overly faded?
If the answer is no, that’s OK – the important thing is to log it, address it, and mark the task as resolved once fixed. You can also add your own notes and actions, like having a toolbox chat with testers about any issues you’ve spotted when completing your monthly reviews. This all builds a valuable trail of evidence, demonstrating your knowledge, commitment, and focus on improvement.
✔️ You’re auditing your site regularly
✔️ You’re finding and logging issues
✔️ You’re fixing them – and keeping a record of how
If your audits never flag anything, it can actually raise concerns. The goal isn’t a perfect score every time – it’s to demonstrate that you’re managing your site properly and committed to continuous improvement.
So as you complete this month’s audit, it’s worth taking a few extra minutes to check everything thoroughly and note down anything that needs attention. It’s exactly what the DVSA want to see – and it’ll help you stay fully compliant, reducing the risk of any nasty surprises in your next VE visit!
