Drivers

Driving licence checks for employers: how, and how often

If your staff drive for work, you need to know they're allowed to drive the vehicle you give them. This guide covers the free DVLA check code route, form D888/1, consent, how often to check, and the licence categories that matter for vans and trucks.

By VCT · Published 14 October 2026 · 6 min read

Why employers check licences

HSE says health and safety law applies to work on the road in the same way as on a fixed site. Employers must manage the risks of driving for work, and the driver is one of the three areas HSE asks you to cover in your risk assessment, along with the journey and the vehicle.

HSE's guidance on making sure drivers are safe asks employers to consider each worker's driving record and any driving offences, and to make sure licences, insurance and MOTs are legal and up to date. A licence check is the simplest way to show you've done the first of those.

There are practical reasons too:

  • Entitlement. A licence that's valid for a car may not cover a larger van or a truck.
  • Insurance. Your fleet policy may set conditions on who can drive, such as limits on penalty points. Check your policy wording, or ask your insurer or broker.
  • Operator licences. If you run goods vehicles under an operator licence, GOV.UK says you must check that drivers have the correct licence and training to drive them. Professional lorry drivers also need a Driver CPC.

This guide is general information, not legal advice.

How to check: the DVLA check code

For licences issued in England, Wales or Scotland, DVLA offers a free online check in two halves. The driver creates a code, and you use it to see their record.

What the driver does

  1. Go to View or share your driving licence information on GOV.UK.
  2. Enter their driving licence number, National Insurance number and the postcode on their licence.
  3. Choose to share their licence information and create a check code.
  4. Send you the code along with the last 8 characters of their licence number.

What you do

  1. Go to Check someone's driving licence information on GOV.UK.
  2. Enter the last 8 characters of the driver's licence number and the check code.
  3. See the vehicles they can drive and any penalty points or disqualifications.
Check codes last 21 days and work once. You need to use the code within 21 days of the driver creating it, and each code covers a single check. For your next check, the driver needs to create a new code.

DVLA can help by phone if you have the driver's permission, the check code and the last 8 characters of their licence number. Northern Ireland licences use a separate service on nidirect, Check someone's NI driving licence information, which works the same way with a code and the driver's permission.

Keep a note of what you saw and when: the categories, any points or disqualifications, and the date of the check. That record is what shows you checked.

The paper route: form D888/1

Form D888/1 is DVLA's form for a company asking about a driver's entitlement to drive. It's a postal alternative to the online check:

  • The company fills in sections 1 and 2.
  • The driver fills in section 3 and signs and dates section 5 to give permission. DVLA won't accept a form without a signature and date.
  • If you also need to confirm a Driver CPC, the driver completes section 4 with their driver qualification card number.
  • You send the form with a £5 cheque or postal order to DVLA in Swansea. The form's page on GOV.UK gives the full address.

DVLA itself describes the View Driving Licence service as a free alternative to D888/1, The online route costs nothing and gives an answer straight away. The form is an option when a check code isn't practical.

Both GOV.UK and nidirect warn that it's a criminal offence to obtain someone else's personal information without their permission. The check code system builds this in, because only the driver can create a code. Still, get the driver's agreement in writing and keep a record of it.

Licence records are personal data, and penalty points relate to driving offences. Some sensible basics:

  • Tell drivers what you check, why, and how often, for example in your driving for work policy and privacy notice.
  • Record only what you need, such as entitlement, points, the date of the check and the next due date.
  • Limit who can see the results and store them securely.
  • Decide how long you keep old checks, and delete them when you no longer need them.

The ICO publishes data protection guidance for employers, and has separate guidance on criminal offence data. If you're unsure about your own approach, take advice.

How often to check

HSE's guidance doesn't set a fixed interval for licence checks, and we haven't found a GOV.UK rule that does. Most employers take a risk-based approach. What follows is common practice, not a legal requirement:

  • Before someone first drives for you. Check at recruitment, or before giving a driver a vehicle for the first time.
  • At least once a year for every driver. Many fleets use this as their baseline.
  • More often for higher-risk drivers. For example, drivers with points on their licence, high annual mileage, a poor accident record, or driving larger vehicles such as HGVs.
  • When something changes. After an incident, if a driver tells you about a new conviction, or before they move up to a bigger vehicle.

Pair the checks with a rule in your policy that drivers must tell you straight away about any change to their licence, such as new points, a disqualification or a medical condition that affects driving. A check only shows the record on the day you look.

Licence categories for vans and trucks

The categories shown on a driver's record tell you what they can drive. These are the ones most fleets meet, summarised from GOV.UK. MAM means maximum authorised mass.

CategoryWhat it covers (summary)
BVehicles up to 3,500kg MAM with up to 8 passenger seats. Up to 4,250kg MAM for zero emission electric or hydrogen vehicles. Can tow a trailer up to 3,500kg MAM, as long as vehicle and trailer together are no more than 7,000kg.
B (passed before 1 January 1997)Usually allows a vehicle and trailer combination up to 8,250kg MAM.
BEA vehicle up to 3,500kg MAM with a trailer. The trailer allowed depends on when the entitlement started.
C1Vehicles between 3,500kg and 7,500kg MAM, with a trailer up to 750kg.
C1EC1 vehicles with a trailer over 750kg, up to 12,000kg combined.
CVehicles over 3,500kg, with a trailer up to 750kg.
CECategory C vehicles with a trailer over 750kg.

The point to watch is the jump from B to C1. A petrol, diesel or hybrid van or light truck over 3,500kg MAM needs C1, so a driver with only category B can't legally drive it. Zero emission electric or hydrogen vehicles have a higher category B limit of 4,250kg. Check the plated weight of each vehicle against the categories on the driver's record, and read the full rules on GOV.UK's licence categories page.

How VCT helps

VCT keeps licence checks with the rest of your fleet records. You can record each licence check and the driver's consent, drivers can share their DVLA check code from the driver app on their phone, and you can see when each driver's next check is due. Automatic licence checking with DVLA is coming soon; today, you run the check with DVLA and record the result in VCT. If staff use their own cars for work, see grey fleet compliance for how VCT handles those too.

Sources

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