DVLA
How to check a driving licence: DVLA check code for employers
A DVLA check code is a one-time code the driver creates on GOV.UK so a named person can view licence categories, endorsements and any disqualification. DVLA says the code lasts 21 days and can be used once. Zerity stores the licence record, the date it was checked and the expiry. Track every expiry date in one place. The driver still creates the code.
How the check works
The service on GOV.UK is for driving licences issued in England, Wales or Scotland, and it works the same way for employed and self-employed drivers with a licence issued in England, Wales or Scotland. GOV.UK states that it is a criminal offence to obtain someone else's personal information without their permission. You need the check code and the last eight characters of the driving licence number.
- The driver creates a check code on View or share your driving licence information (GOV.UK). They need their driving licence number, National Insurance number and the postcode on the licence. The code is valid for 21 days. The photocard itself is a separate check: use the driver licence validation check for whether the card is genuine, in date and the right category for the van.
- A named manager opens Check someone's driving licence information (GOV.UK) and uses the code once. What to write down, and when to look again, is the driver licence check.
- Read the endorsements against the insurance schedule. That question is the drivers licence points check. Do not copy the points article onto this page.
- File the checker's name, the date, the source and the next review so an auditor can follow it. That audit trail is driver licence verification.
If you cannot use the online service, GOV.UK tells both sides to complete form D888/1 and send it to DVLA with the published fee. The form is on Request by a company about driver entitlement (GOV.UK).
What to keep on the driver file
The check code expires and can be used once. The thing you keep is your own note of what the view showed. Match the categories on that view to the van. Weight limits for category B and any larger entitlement are on Driving licence categories (GOV.UK).
| Field | Why it is there |
|---|---|
| Date of the view | The code is time-limited. The file needs the day someone actually looked. |
| Name of the checker | A named person at the depot, not the driver marking their own record. |
| Categories | The entitlements the van needs. A photograph of the card does not show a later change. |
| Endorsements and disqualification | What the insurer and the carrier asked you to know. The points article owns the detail. |
| Next review date | Set by your insurer, your carrier contract and your own schedule. There is no single 90-day statute for every courier. |
Zerity stores that note, any summary the driver downloaded, the photocard expiry and the next review. It does not generate a new code when the old one has been used. The same onboarding pass is described in driver document verification.
Photocard expiry is a different date
GOV.UK says you must renew a photocard licence every 10 years, and that DVLA sends a reminder before it ends. See Renew your driving licence (GOV.UK). That date keeps the photograph current. It is not always the date an entitlement ends. Read both dates on the DVLA view. Many car entitlements are renewed again at 70, and vocational entitlements follow their own medical dates.
Vehicle registration is a different DVLA job. The V5C shows the registered keeper. It does not show that this driver may drive the van. The log book is on Get a vehicle log book (V5C) (GOV.UK).
Access to Driver Data is a different service
Some organisations are approved by DVLA to use Access to Driver Data. That service returns the driver record to the organisation, with the driver's consent, without a fresh check code for every look. DVLA describes it on the Access to Driver Data API (GOV.UK). To check many drivers through ADD, you have two options. You can apply to DVLA yourself: GOV.UK says your company must pass accreditation checks, sign a contract with DVLA and pay 60p per driver record. Or you can use a provider that runs ADD checks for its customers. Each check needs the driver's signed data protection declaration (D906/ADD). It is an on-demand check, not a continuous feed; some providers schedule repeat checks. The driver file, the expiry dates and the pay run are the job driver compliance software is built for.
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Reviewed 19 October 2026. Figures and duties below are taken from the official pages linked here. Read the live page before you rely on a date.