Tachograph Downloads: How Often, How to Do It, and What DVSA Checks
Tachograph downloads are one of the cleanest compliance failures for DVSA to find. There's no judgement call — either the data was downloaded inside the legal window, or it wasn't. Miss a deadline and it's a recordable infringement that goes straight to your OCRS score.
This guide covers the deadlines, how to actually do a download, and the mistakes that catch small operators most often.
General guidance, not legal advice. Tachograph rules apply to most goods vehicles over 3.5t MAM in commercial use under EU drivers' hours; specific exemptions exist. Always confirm the rules that apply to your operation against current DVSA guidance.
The Two Download Deadlines
Two separate downloads must happen on two separate clocks:
| Download type | Maximum interval | What it captures |
|---|---|---|
| Driver card download | Every 28 days | Each driver's activity recorded on their personal card |
| Vehicle unit download | Every 90 days | Activity recorded on the vehicle's tachograph head |
Both intervals are calendar days, not working days. A driver who hasn't driven for 3 weeks still needs the card downloaded by day 28.
The 28-day clock for driver cards starts at the last download date, not the date the card was issued or the date the driver last drove. So if you download on the 1st of the month, the next download must be no later than the 28th.
Where the Deadlines Come From
The download obligations are set out in the DVSA tachograph data guidance and stem from EU Regulation 165/2014 (retained in UK law post-Brexit). The same regulation requires the data to be kept for at least one year in a form that can be read and copied if requested by an enforcement officer.
What "Download" Actually Means
A tachograph download is a copy of the digital data from either:
- Driver card — a smart card the driver inserts into the tachograph head; records each driver's activity
- Vehicle unit (VU) — the tachograph head itself; records activity per vehicle, regardless of which driver was using it
To download, you need:
- A company card (the operator's smart card — required to download VU data on most modern tachographs)
- A download device — a USB downloader that connects to the tachograph and the company card; or a remote download system that pulls the data over a mobile connection
The output is a digital file (typically .ddd or .tgd format) that you store and analyse. You cannot extract the data with a screen photo or a manual transcription — DVSA only accepts the original digital file.
How to Do a Driver Card Download
The standard process:
- Insert the driver card into the tachograph head — the slot 1 or slot 2 position depending on the unit
- Connect the download device — USB downloader plugs into the diagnostic port on the dashboard, typically below the steering column
- Initiate the download — button-press on the downloader; some units require navigation through the tachograph menu
- Wait for completion — driver card downloads typically take 1-3 minutes for a card with 28 days of data
- Verify the file — check that the file landed on the storage device and opens without error
- Eject and retain the original card — the driver keeps the card; you've taken a copy of the data
The download doesn't erase data from the card. The card stores roughly 28 days of activity in a rolling buffer; older data overwrites if not downloaded.
How to Do a Vehicle Unit Download
Similar process, but using the company card instead of a driver card:
- Insert the company card into the tachograph head
- Connect the download device
- Initiate the download — VU downloads take longer than driver card downloads, typically 5-15 minutes for 90 days of data
- Wait for completion
- Verify the file
- Remove the company card
Some operators run remote download systems that pull both VU and driver card data over a cellular connection without anyone visiting the vehicle. These work well in principle, but the actual download still has to happen inside the deadline — a system that drops a connection for 4 weeks isn't a defence.
What DVSA Checks
At an operator premises visit, an examiner will typically:
- Ask for the last 6 months of vehicle unit downloads for each tachograph-fitted vehicle on the licence
- Ask for the last 6 months of driver card downloads for each driver
- Cross-check the dates — every VU download should be within 90 days of the previous one; every driver card download within 28 days
- Open at least one file to verify it's a valid tachograph format
A gap in the download record — e.g. a driver card not downloaded for 6 weeks — gets recorded as a missed download infringement. The infringement counts even if no driving happened in that gap, because the legal obligation is to download on schedule, not only when the driver has been working.
Common Mistakes That Add OCRS Points
The 5 most frequent download-related findings at operator visits:
- 28-day clock missed by a few days — the most common single failure, usually because the driver hasn't been in for a while and nobody scheduled the download
- Storing only the analysis report, not the raw
.dddfile — analysis software outputs a PDF report; DVSA wants the original digital file too - Driver card lost without a download — the data on the card is gone with it; this is a recordable failure even though it's not the operator's fault directly
- Manual entries missing for activity in the gap — when a driver swaps vehicles, comes off duty, takes annual leave, the manual entry on the tachograph keeps the record continuous; missed manual entries create gaps that DVSA flags
- Company card mismatched to operator — using a different operator's company card to download data invalidates the audit trail
Building a Reliable Download Routine
For a sole-trader with 1-5 vehicles and 1-5 drivers, the practical setup:
- Driver card downloads: schedule on a fixed day each month — e.g. last Friday. Set a recurring calendar alert. If a driver isn't physically present that day, plan to do it the next time they're back.
- Vehicle unit downloads: schedule quarterly, ideally aligned to your PMI inspection dates so the truck is in the workshop anyway.
- Storage: keep the digital files in two places — the analysis tool and a separate backup (cloud drive, external SSD). The 1-year retention requirement means losing a single drive can reset your compliance history.
- Analysis: even simple analysis software flags infringements at the point of download, so problems surface quickly. Manual review of
.dddfiles is impractical at any scale.
If you're running tachograph compliance for the first time, start with the tachograph requirements guide to confirm which vehicles need a tachograph at all — there are narrow exemptions for vehicles between 3.5t and 7.5t in some non-commercial use cases.
For the wider context of why tachograph data matters — how it feeds into driver hours analysis and what DVSA does with it — see our tachograph rules made easy guide.