What’s changed

On 8 June 2015, the paper counterpart to the photocard driving licence was abolished. The counterpart contained information such as any penalty points you have. Similarly, old-style paper licences, issued until 1998, are still valid but they won’t be updated with penalty points. Instead, you can now view all your up-to-date driving licence information using DVLA’s View Driving Licence service.

These changes do not affect licences issued by DVA in Northern Ireland.

When hiring a vehicle

When collecting a vehicle from a hire company many only ask to see your photocard licence or your pre-1998 paper licence – but some also want to check whether you have any penalty points. They may ask for a code so that they can check your licence online or for a printout of your licence details.

What’s needed varies from company to company and between locations, so it is essential that you check with your hire company before you travel.

Getting a code or printout for the hire company

You can go online to obtain a code to give to your hire company. Each code is valid for 21 days from the date you obtain it and it can only be used once (to protect your privacy). You can have up to 15 active check codes at any given time.

To obtain a code or a printout:

1. Go to View Driving Licence.
2. Enter your driver number and postcode, as they appear on your driving licence, and your National Insurance number.
3. Click on the ‘Share your licence information’ tab – then the ‘Create a code’ button.
4. You will now be shown a code that you can pass on to your hire company. You’ll also have the option to print out your licence information.

This is shown in detail in this guide.

If you cannot get a code online then you can call DVLA on 0300 083 0013. You’ll need to answer some security questions to validate your identity before we give you a code.

This video explains the changes and how to obtain a code or printout.

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If your company decides that you need to check a driver’s full details the best way to do this is to ask your customers to bring a DVLA check codewith them. This code is valid for 21 days from the date it was created. It can only be used once, to protect the driver’s privacy.

An alternative is to ask your customers to bring a printout of their driving licence details with them – but not all customers will be able to do this because it requires access to a computer and a printer. You should also remember that a printout is only up-to-date at the time it is printed.

If a customer arrives without a code or a printout they can call DVLA on 0300 790 6801 and leave permission for their driving record to be checked verbally by a nominated hire company. You can then call DVLA on 0906 139 3837 (calls cost 51p per minute) to check the driver’s details after they’ve given their permission.

Checking a driver’s record online with a code

You can check a driver’s record online at check someone’s driving licence information.

For further information on how to use this service see our step by step guide.

To share their details motorists must generate a code, which can then be redeemed just once by a third party. From today (10 July 2015) the check code generated for motorists to share their driving licence details is valid for 21 days. Previously the code was valid for 72 hours.

You can view and share your driving record at View your driving licence information. You’ll be able to see your information electronically and generate a check code which you can then share with people who need to see your details (such as an employer or car hire company). If you want to, you can also download and print a summary.

If you are hiring a car, make sure you check with your car hire company to see whether you need to generate a code – see our news story on hiring a vehicle for more information.

From 8 June 2015, the paper counterpart to the photocard driving licence will not be valid and will no longer be issued by DVLA. Further information can be found by visiting our campaign page.

Share Driving Licence service has now moved from private to public beta. This new service allows GB driving licence holders to share their information held at DVLA with others online while ensuring they stay in control of who sees it. Although the Share Driving Licence service is available from today you’ll need to keep hold of your paper counterpart as it remains valid until 8 June 2015.

You can view your driving licence including the vehicle categories you’re entitled to drive and any endorsement or penalty points you may have by using our free View Driving Licence service. You can also use this service to share your driving licence information with a third party such as an employer, vehicle hire company or driving school. Driving licence information shared using Share Driving Licence will only be available with the consent of the driving licence holder.

Generate a code to share your driving licence with a third party

This online alternative to the current paper counterpart has been several months in development. The new sharing feature has been built into the View Driving Licence service on GOV.UK. You can now generate a code to share with a third party. This code can be shared by email, text, face to face or over the phone. There is also an option to print or save a summary of the driving licence information.