You land at Malaga, walk up to the hire car desk, and the agent asks for your DVLA check code. No code, no keys. The good news: it takes about two minutes to generate one on gov.uk and costs you nothing. There is no fee for obtaining a DVLA check code. The process is free of charge and can be completed online through the official DVLA website.
The catch is the small print most drivers miss. The code expires fast, it is case sensitive, and it only works once. Get any of that wrong on the day of your hire and you are stuck at the counter while everyone else drives off.
What a DVLA check code actually is
Think of it as a temporary password to your driving record. DVLA check codes are essentially an online or digital version of your photocard driving licence. The check code lets you access information about your driving licence, including your driving record and any penalty points, recorded in the DVLA database.
The reason this system exists is historical. In 2015 the DVLA got rid of the paper counterpart of the driving licence and switched over to a digital system instead. Before then, you handed over a green slip with your endorsements written on it. Now anyone who needs to verify your record, an employer, an insurer, a rental firm, asks for a check code instead.
What does the code reveal? All impaired driving charges, driving limitations, speeding, penalty points, types of vehicles they are permitted to drive, and other driving offences will be listed on the DVLA report. It is your full driving history, served up in a single secure view.
Who will ask you for one
More businesses than you might expect. The list keeps growing as paperless verification becomes the norm.
- Car and van hire companies. The most common reason is being asked to share one when you take out a car lease or hire a car. The code lets the hire firm check your penalty points, driving convictions and more, so they can confirm you have the legal permissions to drive the hire car.
- Employers. If your job involves driving a company van, lorry or pool car, expect to share a code at offer stage and often annually after that.
- Insurers. One easy way for an insurer to verify your driving history is for you to allow them access to your driving licence data, which is held by DVLA.
- Driving instructors. Before your first lesson, your ADI is legally required to confirm your provisional entitlement.
- Vehicle leasing companies. Short or long term contracts both trigger a check.
How to generate a check code, step by step
The whole process lives on one government page: gov.uk/view-driving-licence. This service is also available in Welsh.
Have three things in front of you before you start.
- Your 16-digit driving licence number (the long number on the front of your photocard, row 5).
- Your National Insurance number.
- The postcode that appears on your driving licence.
Visit the gov.uk page and enter your driving licence number, National Insurance number and postcode as shown on your driving licence. Click on share licence information. This creates a code. The code is case-sensitive, can only be used once, and is only valid for 21 days.
Once the code appears on screen, write it down exactly as shown. A lower-case L and a capital I look identical in some fonts, so screenshot it if you can. The code that you can see in the turquoise box is what the agent is looking for, along with the last eight characters of your driving licence number.
The three rules that catch people out
1. It expires in 21 days
A DVLA check code lasts for 21 days from the point it is created. Once 21 days have passed, you will need to create a new code if you want to share your driving licence information with anyone. Generate one too early for a holiday three weeks away and you will be doing it again at the airport.
2. It is single use
To protect each driver's privacy, DVLA codes can only be used once. Comparing three insurance quotes? You need three separate codes. The good news is you can sit and generate them back to back in one session.
3. It is case sensitive
Capital letters and lower-case letters are not interchangeable. Type a small 'a' where the code shows a capital 'A' and the system rejects it. This is the single most common reason hire desks reject codes.
What the person checking you can see
A fair question, because you are handing over real personal data. When you give a check code to a third party, they see your name, the categories you are entitled to drive, any restrictions, your photo licence expiry date, and a complete list of endorsements and disqualifications.
They do not see your full address, your date of birth in some cases, or your National Insurance number. Your data is only available to the insurance company for as long as their quote is valid, usually 30 days unless otherwise stated. The only way they can use the data after that is to remove any identifiable information and use it anonymously for analysis. After that, it will be deleted.
Avoiding the check-code scam sites
Search 'DVLA check code' on Google and the top results are often paid adverts from copycat sites charging £5 to £20 to generate something that is genuinely free. If you are using a service, app or website that is asking you to pay money to get your check code, it is a scam and should be avoided, and reported if possible.
The only official route is the gov.uk address shown above. Anything ending in .com, .co.uk or .org that asks for payment, or for your NI number on a page that is not a gov.uk URL, should be closed immediately. While you are tidying up your motoring admin, our free MOT checker and vehicle tax checker work the same way, no fee, no sign-up.
Hiring abroad: extra steps to know
European rental desks have largely caught up with the UK digital system, but two practical tips will save you grief.
- Generate the code the morning of travel, not a fortnight before. The 21-day clock is generous, but if your trip is two weeks long and you only need the car on day 14, the timing gets tight.
- Print the code as well as screenshotting it. Airport wifi fails, phone batteries die, and some smaller depots still type the code from paper into a desktop terminal.
If something goes wrong
Most failures fall into three buckets. The code has been used already, the code has expired, or the postcode you entered does not match the one DVLA holds. The last one trips up anyone who has moved house and forgotten to update their licence. That update is also free at gov.uk and takes about a week to process.
For anything trickier, the DVLA contact centre is on 0300 083 0013, Monday to Friday 8am to 7pm and Saturday 8am to 2pm. Have your licence number ready before you call.
If you have lost the licence entirely, you can still generate a check code provided you remember the 16-digit number from a previous photo or document. You cannot obtain a DVLA check code without the number listed on your driving licence. You will need your 16-digit licence number alongside the other pieces of information outlined above. No number, no code, and you will need to apply for a replacement licence first.
Keeping your motoring admin in one place
Check codes are one of those tasks that always seem to land at the worst moment, the night before a holiday, or fifteen minutes before an insurance renewal deadline. The fix is to bookmark the gov.uk page on your phone and treat it the same way you do online banking. Two minutes, done.
For the rest of your car paperwork, MOT renewals, tax reminders, finding a trusted local garage, have a browse through our guides hub or use Fixaroo's local services search when you next need a mechanic. The combination of your check code, your MOT history and a good garage is most of what running a car in the UK demands.