Download the sheet
The sheet is free to download, print and copy. There's no sign-up.
Download the check sheet (PDF)
It follows DVSA's guidance on van daily walkaround checks. Add any items specific to your vans, such as a tail lift, racking or a tow bar you use every day.
What's on the sheet
Each sheet covers one van for one week, with space to record each day's check. The checks are in four groups, in the order most drivers work round a van:
- Inside the cab. The things you check from the driver's seat, such as the windscreen and mirrors, wipers and washers, warning lights, steering, horn, brakes and seat belts.
- Outside the van. A walk round for lights and indicators, tyres and wheels, bodywork and doors, number plates, the exhaust and any leaks underneath.
- Under the bonnet. Fluid levels, the battery and, where fitted, AdBlue.
- Load, towing and equipment. Load security, the tow bar and trailer if you tow, and other equipment such as a tail lift.
Below the checks is a defects box with space for the day, what's wrong, whether it's dangerous, who it was reported to and when it was fixed, plus a prompt to write "Nil" when there were no defects. At the bottom is a line for the driver's signature.
For what to look for at each item, see our van walkaround check checklist.
How to use it
- One sheet per van per week. Write the van's registration and the week on the sheet. Whoever drives the van that day does the check.
- Check before the first journey of the day. DVSA's guidance says to do the walkaround check before you set off.
- Mark every item. A blank box could mean the item was fine or that it was skipped. Mark each one so the sheet shows what was checked.
- Record a clear check as well. If nothing is wrong, the day's completed checks are your record. DVSA asks drivers to record "nil" defects when they find none.
- Sign the sheet and hand it in at the end of the week, or sooner if it records a defect.
When you find a defect
Report it the same day to whoever deals with defects in your business, and fill in the defects box. DVSA's guidance says a defect record should include the registration, the date, details of the defect, your assessment of it (for example, "dangerous"), your name and who you reported it to. The sheet has space for all of those.
If you think the defect makes the van unsafe, don't drive it. If a defect appears during a journey, DVSA says to stop somewhere safe, assess it and report it, and a dangerous defect must be fixed before you continue.
Whoever deals with the defect should fill in the action taken, so the sheet shows the defect was dealt with. Our guide on how to write a vehicle defect report has more on describing faults clearly.
Keeping completed sheets
Keep completed sheets together, by van and by week. DVSA's guidance says officers can ask to see a walkaround check record at a roadside check.
If your business holds a goods vehicle operator licence, DVSA's Guide to maintaining roadworthiness says drivers' defect reports and the repair records that go with them must be kept for at least 15 months, and nil defect reports for at least 3 months. If you don't hold one, keeping the sheets for the same period is a sensible habit.
Paper or phone
Paper sheets work fine for recording checks. Their weak point is the trip to the office: a defect written on Monday may not reach anyone until Friday.
VCT does the same check on the driver's phone in a web browser. Drivers mark each item green, amber or red and add a note, and anything red or amber goes straight to the office as work with an owner. A defect only clears when a later check marks the same item green. See the walkaround check app for more. VCT follows DVSA's walkaround check guidance; it is not approved or accredited by DVSA.
Sources
Checked on 14 October 2026. This guide is general information, not legal advice.