Onboarding
Driver document verification for UK fleets
Driver document verification is the onboarding check that the papers belong to this driver, cover this van, and were reviewed by a named person on a named date. Uploading a file with no date is storage, not verification. It is not an automated DVLA check, and an uploaded PDF is not proof the document is genuine.
What verified means
Verification is a dated review by someone other than the driver. The reviewer uses the official source for that document, writes their name, and sets the next date. A folder of scans with no date is storage. Ongoing chasing of dates, after the driver has started, is driver document tracking. This page is the check before the first route.
The product that keeps the file is courier compliance software. Onboarding itself is driver onboarding software.
Documents a depot usually checks
Carrier contracts add rows. Write the depot list down so two sites do not invent two standards. The rows below are the usual set.
| Document | What verified means | Official source | What Zerity stores |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driving licence | A named person has viewed the DVLA record with a share code, or an approved Access to Driver Data result. A photo of the photocard is not the view. | Check someone's driving licence (GOV.UK) | The date, the checker, the categories, endorsements noted, photocard expiry and the next review. Zerity does not run the DVLA check. The steps are on DVLA share code for employers and the driver licence validation check. |
| Right to work | The prescribed Home Office method for that person. For many people with an eVisa that is the online check with a share code, not a photocopy. A revised employer's guide is due to come into force on 1 October 2026. Read the guide that is live on the day before you change who you check. | Employer's guide (GOV.UK) and Check a job applicant's right to work (GOV.UK) | The check date and the evidence the guide tells you to keep. Zerity does not complete the Home Office check. The courier note is right to work checks for self-employed couriers. |
| Motor insurance | A current certificate that covers the actual use, for the named vehicle or a fleet policy. Paid delivery is often outside a social, domestic and pleasure policy. Read the certificate, or ask the insurer, before you treat it as verified. | Vehicle insurance (GOV.UK) | The certificate and the expiry date. |
| MOT | A pass that covers the vehicle on the day it is used. Most cars and light goods vehicles are first tested three years after registration, then every year. Petrol, diesel and hybrid goods vehicles over 3,500 kg usually need an annual test from the first year. GOV.UK states a fine of up to £1,000 for driving without a valid MOT, with narrow exceptions. Check the vehicle rather than applying one rule to every van. | Check the MOT history (GOV.UK), Getting an MOT (GOV.UK) and HGV annual test (GOV.UK) | The expiry date, and the certificate if you upload it. |
| Goods in transit | Only where the carrier contract or the policy requires it. It is not a universal legal duty for every van. | The carrier schedule, not a GOV.UK form. | The certificate and the expiry, if you collect it. |
| Self-billing agreement | A signed agreement in place before any self-billed invoice, and only where both sides are VAT registered. The supplier must not also issue a VAT invoice for the same work. | VAT Notice 700/62 (GOV.UK) | The agreement and its end date, next to the pay run. See self-billing agreement software. Zerity does not file the VAT return. |
What verification is not
- It is not a connection to DVLA Access to Driver Data. The driver, or an organisation DVLA has approved, produces the licence view.
- It is not a promise that a PDF is genuine because it was uploaded. The official service, or a check of the security features described in the validation article, is the check.
- It is not the driver ticking their own file. A named person at the depot marks the review, with the time.
- It is not a renewal. When a date is close, the driver or the insurer still has to renew it. Zerity shows the date so the roster does not ignore it.
The wider map of regulators is the fleet compliance library.
Reviewed 25 September 2026. Figures and duties below are taken from the official pages linked here. Read the live page before you rely on a date.