Fleet compliance for organisations that cannot afford to get it wrong
MOT tracking, volunteer driver management, minibus compliance, and governance-ready audit trails for charities, community transport providers, and non-profit organisations. Free for up to 3 vehicles. No budget required to get started.
Full legal obligations, fraction of the resources
Charities and non-profits that operate vehicles — community transport services, food banks, homeless outreach, youth clubs, disability support, disaster relief — face exactly the same legal compliance obligations as any commercial fleet operator. Every vehicle must have a valid MOT if over three years old, current road tax, active insurance, and documented evidence of roadworthiness. Every driver must hold a valid licence for the vehicle category they are driving. The law does not offer exemptions for charitable purpose, limited budgets, or volunteer workforces.
But charity fleets operate in conditions that make compliance disproportionately difficult to maintain. Fleet management is rarely anyone's primary role — it falls to an operations coordinator, a facilities manager, or a volunteer trustee who fits it around their actual job. Budgets for fleet software, maintenance management, or compliance systems compete against frontline service delivery for funding. Vehicles are often older, donated, or sourced on tight budgets, requiring more frequent MOT tests and accumulating more advisories. The combination of limited resources and full legal exposure creates a compliance gap that most charities know exists but struggle to close.
Volunteer drivers add a layer of complexity that commercial fleets do not face. Volunteers are not employees, making direct oversight more difficult. They may use their own vehicles for charity work, creating grey fleet obligations around insurance, MOT verification, and business use declarations. A volunteer driving a personal vehicle on charity business without adequate insurance cover exposes both the volunteer and the charity to uninsured liability. The Charity Commission guidance on risk management places responsibility for this squarely on the trustees — who may not realise the extent of their exposure until an incident occurs.
Community transport services operating under Section 19 or Section 22 permits face additional regulatory requirements. These permits require evidence of vehicle maintenance standards, driver competence, and compliance management that mirrors the expectations placed on commercial passenger transport operators. For charities operating minibuses carrying vulnerable passengers — elderly, disabled, or young people — a compliance failure is not just a legal and financial risk, it is a safeguarding failure that can threaten the organisation's reputation, its funding, and its ability to continue operating.
How Kedra helps charities stay compliant
Simple, affordable fleet compliance that gives trustees and managers the evidence they need — without diverting resources from the charity's mission or requiring specialist fleet knowledge.
Free for Small Fleets, Affordable for Growing Ones
Up to 3 vehicles completely free — no credit card, no time limit, no feature restrictions. Many charities can manage their entire fleet within the free tier. For organisations that grow beyond 3 vehicles, pricing is per-vehicle with monthly billing and no minimum contract. No setup fees, no implementation consultancy, no hidden costs. Every pound saved on fleet administration is a pound that stays in frontline service delivery.
Volunteer and Grey Fleet Driver Management
Track driver licence validity and expiry dates for both employed staff and volunteers. Document that every person driving a charity vehicle or using their own car for charity work has been verified. For grey fleet, Kedra tracks personal insurance confirmation, business use coverage, MOT status via DVLA, and annual driver declarations. This creates the documented evidence trail that trustees need for governance reporting and insurers need for policy underwriting.
No-Training Walkaround Checks for Any Driver
QR code stickers on each vehicle. Any staff member or volunteer scans the code with their phone camera and completes a DVSA-aligned checklist. No app to install, no login to create, no training session to organise. A volunteer on their first day can complete a check in under five minutes. Defects are flagged immediately and enter a tracked workflow. Check history is stored permanently, creating the maintenance evidence that Section 19/22 permit conditions and Charity Commission governance guidance expect.
Trustee-Ready Governance Reporting
Generate PDF compliance reports showing fleet status, walkaround check completion rates, defect resolution times, driver verification status, and compliance scores over any time period. Include these in trustee board papers, annual governance statements, or funder reports. When an auditor or the Charity Commission asks for evidence of asset stewardship and risk management, the answer is a report that takes seconds to generate — not a week of chasing paper records across the organisation.
Fleet compliance without the enterprise price or complexity
Everything a charity needs to keep vehicles legal, drivers verified, permits satisfied, and governance accountability demonstrated — at a price that respects non-profit budgets.
Protect your vehicles, your drivers, and your mission
Kedra is free for up to 3 vehicles. Start tracking compliance today — no budget approval needed, no procurement process, no IT department required. Set up in 30 minutes and give your trustees the evidence they need.
Frequently asked questions
Is Kedra genuinely free for small charity fleets?
Yes. Kedra is free for up to 3 vehicles with full access to every feature — MOT tracking, daily walkaround checks, driver management, defect tracking, document storage, and PDF reports. There are no setup fees, no time limits on the free tier, no feature restrictions, and no credit card required. Many charities with a small number of vehicles can manage their entire fleet within the free tier indefinitely.
How does Kedra help manage volunteer drivers who are not employees?
Volunteer drivers present unique compliance challenges because they are not under direct employment control but still drive on behalf of the charity. Kedra tracks driver licence validity and expiry dates for both employed staff and volunteers. You can verify that every person driving a charity vehicle holds a valid licence and document that verification with dates. For volunteers using their own vehicles, Kedra grey fleet management tracks personal insurance confirmation, business use coverage, MOT status, and annual declarations. This creates the governance evidence that trustees and insurers require.
Does Kedra support Section 19 and Section 22 permit requirements?
Charities operating community transport under Section 19 (non-commercial use by specific groups) or Section 22 (community bus services) permits must ensure vehicles are maintained and checked to the standards specified in the permit conditions. Kedra daily walkaround checks, scheduled maintenance planning, and defect management provide the structured evidence of ongoing vehicle safety that permit holders must demonstrate. Check records and maintenance histories can be generated as PDF reports for permit renewal applications or spot inspections.
How does Kedra help with trustee reporting and governance?
The Charity Commission expects trustees to demonstrate proper stewardship of charity assets and effective risk management. Fleet vehicles are assets with legal compliance obligations attached. Kedra generates PDF compliance reports showing fleet status, walkaround check completion rates, defect resolution times, driver verification status, and compliance scores. These reports can be included in trustee board papers, annual governance statements, or audit committee reviews. The evidence is generated automatically — no manual compilation needed when a board meeting approaches.
What happens if a volunteer reports a vehicle defect during a daily check?
When any driver — staff or volunteer — reports a defect during a walkaround check, Kedra automatically creates a defect record categorised by severity. A critical defect like faulty brakes triggers an immediate alert to the fleet coordinator. The defect enters a tracked workflow: open, assigned to a mechanic or garage, parts ordered if needed, repaired, and verified. For charities where the person managing vehicles also has other responsibilities, the automated alerts and status tracking ensure that defects do not get forgotten between the morning check and the end of a busy working day.
Can Kedra track minibus compliance for charity transport services?
Yes. Minibuses used by charities for community transport, activity groups, or service delivery have specific compliance requirements. Drivers of minibuses over 3.5 tonnes or carrying more than 8 passengers may need a D1 licence category. Minibuses require the same MOT and roadworthiness checks as any other vehicle. Kedra tracks the vehicle compliance status via DVLA, records daily walkaround checks with the full 31-item DVSA-aligned checklist, and manages scheduled maintenance intervals. For charities operating under Section 19 permits, this evidence is essential for demonstrating compliance with permit conditions.