DVLA Checks

About DVLA Checks

What To Expect From Driving Licence Checks

If you are a company that offers pool cars, company cars or require people to drive for you as part of their day-to-day job, then before hiring them or letting them get behind the wheel of one of your vehicles, they need to have an obligatory DVLA check.

Any company hiring someone where driving is an integral part of their role will have to carry out a mandatory DVLA check. A DVLA check is one of the investigations that Accurate can help with as part of its pre-employment checks.

What is a DVLA check?

To comply with health and safety regulations and also its insurance policy requirements, an employer must perform a DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) check if an employee will be driving on behalf of a company, or will have access to a corporate car as part of their role. It’s strongly advised that these checks take place as part of the pre-employment screening process.

Why is a DVLA check important?

If a company does not complete these checks, and the driver turns out to be dangerous, this could be compromising the safety of other people on the road, as well as putting your own business at risk. For example, if the driver is involved in an accident, a company could be liable for fines and potentially even legal action if they have not performed a DVLA check.

What does a DVLA check do?

A DVLA check will ensure that a person’s driving license is valid and in date, as well as the following information:

  • This type of check will be able to confirm that an employee’s personal details such as their name, age and address match those on the DVLA database.
  • It will also disclose whether there are any disqualifications, offences or penalties on someone’s driving record.
  • And lastly, a DVLA check will also establish the types of vehicles that can be driven by the license holder. This is particularly important if a business is hiring an HGV driver, as they will need to check that the employee in question has a current HGV licence.

How is a DVLA check performed?

It’s a relatively straightforward process that is free of charge for the license holder and can be completed online. To complete a check, the candidate must provide both their driver’s license and National Insurance numbers, as well as the postcode that’s on the license itself, and submit this information at the DVLA website.

Once the license holder has submitted this information, they can create a unique code which allows them to share their license information with a potential employer. They then send the employer this code – which lasts for 21 days – and which enables the company in question to gain access to a report and view the individual’s driving record.

Accurate will perform this process on the employer’s behalf, liaising with the candidate and DVLA as necessary, and provide a report to confirm that the driving license is both valid and up–to-date and also any endorsements currently present.

It’s recommended that a DVLA check is performed annually for each employee who drives as part of their role. This will allow for any changes in information in the driver’s information.

Want to talk about DVLA checks? Contact us.