Your vehicles need to be in the asset register and correctly identified as vehicles. If they're not there yet, ask your account administrator to add them. You also need permission to create inspections — if you can't see the option, see How to Manage User Permissions.
The three checklists this article was written around are now retired or renamed (8 Jul 2026). Civic.ly's vehicle checklists were rebuilt into a Check (graded, quick) and Sweep (itemised, per-part) framework — e.g. Van Check and Van Sweep — covering 20+ vehicle and plant types, each linked to the relevant regulations (MOT, LOLER, PUWER, the Boat Safety Scheme). As of 8 July 2026: Vehicle Pre-Use Inspection and Vehicle Operational Inspection have been removed from the checklist picker — you can no longer start a new one, though anything already completed under them is kept as history. Vehicle Annual Compliance hasn't gone anywhere, but it's been renamed to Annual Road-Legal Check (same checklist, same purpose — MOT, tax, insurance). If you're setting up vehicle checks today, start with How to Inspect Vehicles and Machinery instead, which covers the current Check/Sweep framework and how to choose a cadence. The mechanical steps below (tap +, pick the vehicle, pick a checklist, work through it) are unchanged — only the checklist names in the picker have moved on.
Civic.ly's vehicle checklists cover three types of check:
- A daily walk-round check before taking a vehicle out — covers essentials like brakes, controls, and lights. Pick the Check or Sweep for your vehicle (e.g. Van Check, Van Sweep) — this is the one your team will use most often. Previously this was the Vehicle Pre-Use Inspection, now retired.
- A more detailed operational check, typically done monthly — also covered by the current Check/Sweep framework for your vehicle type. Previously this was the Vehicle Operational Inspection, now retired.
- Annual Road-Legal Check — a thorough yearly review for MOT, tax, and insurance compliance. This is the renamed Vehicle Annual Compliance — same checklist, new name.
The steps below walk you through creating and completing an inspection from the mobile app. The process is the same for any vehicle checklist — just pick the one for your vehicle and situation at step 5.
Step-by-Step
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Open the Civic.ly app on your phone and make sure you're on the Tasks view.
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Tap the big + button in the bottom right corner. You'll see four options: Asset, Inspection, Job, and Defect.
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Tap Inspection.
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You'll see a grid of assets. The app shows the nearest assets to your current location first, so if your vehicles are mapped to the depot and you're standing there, they should appear right at the top. If not, scroll down to find the vehicle you need.
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Tap the vehicle you want to inspect. On the next screen, tap Add Checklist and select the Check or Sweep for that vehicle type (e.g. Van Check) from the list — or Annual Road-Legal Check if you're doing the yearly MOT/tax/insurance review instead.
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The title fills in automatically. You can optionally add a Description with extra notes. Check the Assigned to field shows the right person, then tap Create Inspection.
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The inspection now appears in your task list with a To Do status and today's date. Tap on it to open it.
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Work through the checklist. A vehicle Check covers key safety areas like braking, controls, and lighting with graded responses per area; a Sweep walks through each item individually with a simple OK / N/A / fault response. For each item, tap the response that matches the condition. If something is wrong, you can raise a defect straight from the checklist.
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Once you've completed all the items, tap Save. The results sync to the web app automatically, giving your office team a full audit trail.
- Make it part of the morning routine. The fastest workflow is: arrive at the depot, open the app, tap + → Inspection → pick the vehicle → complete the checklist. It takes a couple of minutes once you're used to it.
- Each driver does their own check. Because the inspection is assigned to whoever creates it, you get a clear record of who checked which vehicle and when.
- Raise defects on the spot. If you find a problem during the checklist — dodgy brakes, a bulb out — you can raise a defect directly from the inspection. This flags it to your office team straight away.
Common Questions
As of 8 July 2026, Vehicle Pre-Use Inspection and Vehicle Operational Inspection were retired — they no longer appear in the checklist picker, so you can't start a new one, though every inspection you already completed under them stays on the record. Vehicle Annual Compliance wasn't retired, just renamed to Annual Road-Legal Check (same checklist, same MOT/tax/insurance purpose). For day-to-day and monthly checks, use the current Check and Sweep checklists for your vehicle type (e.g. Van Check, Van Sweep) — see How to Inspect Vehicles and Machinery for the full picture and how to choose a cadence.
The app shows assets nearest to your current location first. If the vehicle isn't mapped near where you are, scroll down to find it further in the list. If you still can't see it, check that the vehicle has been added to the asset register — ask your account administrator to confirm.
This can happen for two reasons. First, check you've tapped on the right asset — if you accidentally select a nearby park or building instead of the vehicle, you'll see that asset's checklists instead. Second, if you are selecting the vehicle but still seeing the wrong checklist, the vehicle may not be assigned the correct asset type. Checklists are linked to asset types, so if your vehicle is categorised as something other than a vehicle, it won't show the vehicle checklists. Ask your account administrator to check the asset type in the web app and update it if needed.
Yes — that's exactly what this workflow is for. Each team member creates their own inspection directly from the app using the + button. There's no need for the office to pre-schedule daily pre-use checks. The results sync back automatically so you still have a complete audit trail.
This means your account doesn't have permission to create inspections. Ask your account administrator to check your permissions in Manage Account — they need to make sure Inspections has Create and Edit ticked. See How to Manage User Permissions for the full steps.