1.The competent authority shall publish the procedure to be followed for obtaining a licence.
2.All licence applications shall be lodged with the competent authority by the candidate driver or any entity on his behalf.
3.Applications submitted to the competent authority may be for the grant of a new licence, the updating of licence particulars, a renewal or a duplicate.
4.The competent authority shall issue the licence as soon as possible and no later than one month after receiving all the necessary documents.
5.A licence shall be valid for 10 years, subject to Article 16(1).
6.A licence shall be issued in a single original. Any duplication of a licence, other than by the competent authority where a duplicate is requested, shall be prohibited.
Each railway undertaking and infrastructure manager shall set up its own procedures for issuing and updating certificates in accordance with this Directive, as part of its safety management system, as well as appeals procedures allowing drivers to request a review of a decision relating to the issue, updating, suspension or withdrawal of a certificate.
In the event of disagreement, the parties may appeal to the competent authority or any independent appeal body.
Railway undertakings and infrastructure managers shall update, without delay, a certificate whenever the certificate holder has obtained additional authorisations relating to rolling stock or infrastructure.
1.In order for a licence to remain valid, its holder shall undergo periodic examinations and/or tests relating to the requirements referred to in Article 11(2) and (3). With regard to medical requirements, the minimum frequency shall be observed in accordance with the provisions of section 3.1 of Annex II. These medical checks shall be conducted by, or under the supervision of, medical doctors accredited or recognised in accordance with Article 20. As far as general professional knowledge is concerned, the provisions of Article 23(8) shall apply.
When renewing a licence, the competent authority shall verify in the register provided for in Article 22(1)(a) that the driver has met the requirements referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph.
2.In order for a certificate to remain valid, its holder shall undergo periodic examinations and/or tests relating to the requirements referred to in Articles 12 and 13. The frequency of those examinations and/or tests shall be determined by the railway undertaking or the infrastructure manager employing or contracting the driver in accordance with its own safety management system, and respect the minimum frequencies set out in Annex VII.
For each of these checks the issuing body shall confirm by a statement on the certificate and in the register provided for in Article 22(2)(a) that the driver has met the requirements referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph.
3.Where a periodic check is missed or gives a negative result, the procedure laid down in Article 18 shall be applied.
When a driver ceases to work for a railway undertaking or an infrastructure manager, it shall inform the competent authority without delay.
The licence shall remain valid, provided that the conditions in Article 16(1) remain fulfilled.
A certificate shall become invalid when its holder ceases to be employed as a driver. However, the holder shall receive a certified copy of it and of all documents providing evidence of his training, qualifications, experience and professional competences. When issuing a certificate to a driver, a railway undertaking or infrastructure manager shall take account of all those documents.
1.Railway undertakings and infrastructure managers shall be required to ensure, and to check, that the licences and certificates of the drivers they employ or contract are valid.
They shall set up a system for monitoring their drivers. If the results of such monitoring call into question a driver’s competence for the job and the continuing validity of his licence or certificate, railway undertakings and infrastructure managers shall immediately take the necessary action.
2.If a driver considers that his state of health calls into question his fitness for the job, he shall immediately inform the railway undertaking or infrastructure manager, whichever is appropriate.
As soon as a railway undertaking or infrastructure manager is aware or is informed by a medical doctor that the health of a driver has deteriorated to a point where his fitness for the job is called into question, it shall immediately take the necessary action, including the examination described in section 3.1 of Annex II and, if necessary, the withdrawal of the certificate and the updating of the register provided for in Article 22(2). Furthermore, it shall ensure that at no time during their service drivers are under the influence of any substance which is likely to affect their concentration, attention or behaviour. The competent authority shall be informed without delay of any cases of work incapacity of more than three months.