DVLA check code for car hire: the operator's guide

A DVLA check code (often called a share code) is how a driver lets you see their up-to-date driving-licence record. There is no longer a paper counterpart to inspect — it was abolished on 8 June 2015 and has no legal status. Instead, the driver creates a code at gov.uk/view-driving-licence and shares it with you. The code is valid for 21 days and can be used once.

1. Ask the hirer to create a code. They go to gov.uk/view-driving-licence, sign in with their licence number, National Insurance number and postcode, and create a check code to share.

2. Take the code and the last 8 characters of their licence number. You need both to run the check.

3. Run the check. Enter them at gov.uk/check-driving-information to see entitlement, penalty points and any current disqualification.

4. Record what you checked. Keep the result — what was checked, when and by whom — against the hire. This is where a compliance platform earns its place: Complys builds the share-code check into the hand-over and stores the evidence against the hire.

This is the most common mistake in hire-industry marketing, and getting it wrong can come back on you. Checking a hirer’s licence is not, in itself, a blanket statutory duty. What the law requires is that the vehicle is insured and used lawfully — the Road Traffic Act 1988 makes it an offence to use, or permit someone to use, a vehicle without insurance. Licence checks exist to satisfy that duty and, above all, your insurer.

So it’s accurate to classify the pieces like this:

A driving licence record is personal data, so UK GDPR applies. You need a lawful basis — usually the hire contract and your legitimate interests, plus the driver’s consent for the DVLA check itself — and a sensible retention period tied to the hire, any dispute, claim or fine. Keeping licence images or results indefinitely, with no basis, is exactly the sort of thing the ICO cautions against.

The practical answer is to keep the check inside the hire it belongs to, with an audit trail, and to retain it only as long as you need it. That way the evidence is there when an insurer queries a claim, and gone when it no longer serves a purpose.

• • Check someone’s driving licence information — GOV.UK (check code, permission, what you can see)
• • View or share your driving licence information — GOV.UK (how a driver creates a code; 21-day validity)
• • Paper counterpart abolished (8 June 2015) — DVLA / GOV.UK
• • Road Traffic Act 1988, s.143 — compulsory insurance (legislation.gov.uk)
• • A guide to lawful basis — ICO (UK GDPR)
• • MyLicence — Motor Insurers’ Bureau (insurer-side data service)

Last reviewed: 21 September 2026. This guide describes current DVLA services and UK requirements in general terms and is not legal advice; check the primary sources above and your own insurer’s conditions for your situation.