How to prove your driving entitlement

If your licence was issued in England, Wales or Scotland, you can use the official DVLA view-and-share service to see your driving record and generate a check code for another person to inspect it with your permission. The record helps show what vehicles you are entitled to drive and relevant restrictions, points or disqualifications. A check code does not create new entitlement or replace the conditions for driving legally.

An instructor, employer or vehicle-hire provider may ask to check your record. Understanding what they need avoids unnecessary sharing of personal information and confusion between a licence check, identification and insurance. Northern Ireland has its own service, covered below.

What does “driving entitlement” mean?

Entitlement concerns the categories of vehicle your licence allows you to drive and the conditions that apply. GOV.UK's category guide explains that a category can have additional restrictions. Do not assume that holding a photocard means every kind of car, transmission or vehicle is covered without qualification.

For example, licence restriction codes include code 78 for automatic transmission and code 01 for eyesight correction. Those codes describe conditions attached to driving, not a general assessment of your confidence or experience.

If a code or entitlement is unclear, check the official explanation and resolve the uncertainty before driving the vehicle concerned. A friend's interpretation of a similar-looking licence is not a substitute for understanding your own record.

View your own record first

For the GB service, have your driving-licence number, National Insurance number and the postcode on your licence available. Enter these yourself through the official GOV.UK route. DVLA also provides check-code access through its driver and vehicles account.

Read the information rather than immediately forwarding a screenshot. Check that you are looking at your own record and understand the category and conditions relevant to the proposed driving. If details appear wrong, use the appropriate DVLA route to investigate rather than editing a downloaded copy or asking someone to ignore the discrepancy.

A first-time learner who has not yet obtained provisional entitlement needs to deal with that application first. Our first provisional licence guide explains the starting point. Creating an account with a school is not itself a driving-licence application.

Share a code, not your account access

The person checking a GB licence uses the official check-someone's-licence service. They need your check code and the last eight characters of your licence number. The code must be used within 21 days and can be used only once; a further check needs another code.

Arrange the timing sensibly. If you generate it far before a lesson or appointment, it may no longer work when needed. Tell the intended recipient that it is a licence check code and confirm the channel they want you to use. Do not put it in a public review, group chat or social-media post.

The details used to access your own record are not the same as the information the recipient needs. In particular, the checking route above does not require you to hand over your account password or National Insurance number. Keep your login information private and ask why any additional document is being requested.

Permission and privacy still matter

Both DVLA services warn that obtaining another person's personal information without permission is a criminal offence. A convenient online form is not permission to inspect a relative's, learner's or employee's record without their agreement.

Before sharing, identify who will receive the information and the reason for the check. If an unexpected message asks for a code, verify the request through a contact route you already trust. A familiar logo or a claim that the matter is urgent does not establish that the requester is your instructor or hire provider.

Keep a simple note of when you supplied a code and to whom. This is useful if the recipient later says it has expired or already been used. Generate another through the official service when a fresh authorised check is needed; do not try to circumvent the one-use restriction.

A licence check is not an insurance check

Being entitled to drive a category does not establish that you are insured to drive a particular car, for a particular purpose, on that day. For learners, lawful supervision and other learning conditions also remain relevant. The official learning-to-drive guidance should be read alongside the licence record.

Keep the questions separate: what does the licence permit, what cover applies to this vehicle and use, and what supervision or restrictions are required? A successful online lookup answers only part of that set.

Likewise, a hire company's acceptance criteria can be different from the minimum licensing conditions. Ask the provider about its own document, age, experience and insurance requirements before paying or travelling. Do not treat an active check code as a guarantee that a company must supply a vehicle.

Does the code replace documents at a test?

No: follow the official document instructions for the particular test. For a GB practical car test, GOV.UK's what-to-take guidance specifies the required licence documents and what to do if they are missing. A code or screenshot should not be assumed to replace them.

This distinction is especially important if your photocard is lost shortly before an appointment. Check both replacement-licence instructions and test requirements promptly. Ordering a replacement does not automatically change an appointment, and a school cannot decide that an alternative document will be accepted by an examiner.

Northern Ireland licence checks

For an NI licence, use the DVA view-and-share directory. DVA's check-code user guide explains linking the licence, viewing entitlements and creating a code. It tells recipients to use the code with the eight-digit NI driver number.

Do not mix the GB last-eight-characters instructions with the Northern Ireland process. Follow the service for the authority that issued your licence, and ask the official provider if you are unsure which record applies after an exchange or move.

Before arranging lessons

Check your entitlement early enough to resolve questions before the appointment. Ask what your instructor needs, use the authorised sharing route and keep unrelated personal credentials private. Our driving courses describe tuition options; contact Learn and Drive to discuss the practical arrangements for starting lessons. A clear licence check supports safe planning, but it is one part of preparation rather than proof that every driving requirement has been satisfied.