If you have ever rented a car, then you will know that the first thing you are asked for is your driving licence. The rental company need you to prove that you have passed the required test to drive their car or van. But often, that’s not enough. They will also want an online code to allow them to check your licence on the DVLA database to confirm that it’s genuine, and that you don’t have points or other endorsements on it. In order to do this, you will need to get a licence check code.
The system changed in 2015, and from that date, people whose driving licences were issued in England, Scotland and Wales can look at their own driving licence details online, or request a code from the DVLA to allow car rental companies or their employer to look at their details. The database will confirm which classes of vehicles you are allowed to drive, and show any penalty points which you have accumulated on your licence. It will also show general information such as your name and address, and the expiry date of your driving licence.
If you need a DVLA check code for your driving licence, this will usually be clearly indicated when you book your hire car online. When you arrive at the car rental company’s office, you will be asked for the licence check code, so you will have to organise this in advance. This is common practice in the UK, but processes and procedures in other countries may vary. If you have booked a car to be collected at an airport overseas for a holiday or business trip, then you might be asked for a code too. This is more common at the large multinational car hire companies than with smaller independent companies, but you should be prepared. If you haven’t obtained your check code in advance then this could cause delay with getting your car, especially when struggling with hooking up to a foreign mobile phone network or Wi-fi service.
Getting your licence check code online is very easy but you will need some basic pieces of information first. The three things you will need are:
In most cases, getting your check carried out online is straightforward and the code comes through without delay. If however you are having difficulty in obtaining your codes online, then there is also an option to call the DVLA office to get your code over the phone, or emailed to you. This method does involve a few more security questions to prove who you are, but is a good alternative for people who are not able to manage the online process. Print the email off when you receive it from the DVLA and keep it safely, in case you cannot access emails on your devices when you want to use the code. Give the code to the staff member at the rental desk when arriving to hire your car, and they will know what to do from there.
If you are not asked for your driving licence check code by the staff member then don’t panic. Some countries, and some smaller car rental agencies choose not to ask for them and they are not required to by law. If you’re not asked, just keep the paperwork safely in case there are any issues when you return the vehicle.
When you get a driving licence check code online, the code is valid for 21 days. You can only use it once. If you think you might want to use more than one vehicle during your time out of the UK then remember that it is possible to have more than one active DVLA code at the same time, so simply request as many check codes as you think you might need.
Every car hire company has different rules about documents required to hire a car so always check the requirements carefully. If you are planning on hiring a car outside the EU, then you may need to get an International Driving Permit (IDP), especially if you have one of the older paper licences. You will also need to show your passport, and have a credit card to pay the deposit or hire cost of the vehicle. There are often age limits on hiring cars overseas. Many companies have a minimum age of 21, and for some it might be that they refuse to hire to drivers under the age of 25.
Although the system of check codes has been operating for several years, there are still lots of drivers who are unfamiliar with it. If you turn up at the hire desk in a foreign airport and realise you’ve forgotten to get the code then you should be able to access one almost instantly – assuming you have a smartphone. During business hours in the UK, you can use your phone to call the DVLA, explain the situation and ask them to give you a code over the phone. Alternatively, use your phone to connect to wi-fi locally and fill in the form online on the DVLA website. Then you can show the generated code to the hire company directly from your phone.
You will also need to go through the check process every time you hire a car, as although the code is valid for 21 days, it can only be used once. So you will need to generate another code for every hire, even if they are within 21 days. One way of getting around this is by generating several codes at the same time, and using them during your trip overseas.