UK Car Hire and Changes to the Law

In June 2015, the paper counterpart to the photo driving licence in the UK was scrapped.  The counterpart contained information about penalty points the driver may have had.  Similarly, old style paper licences issued before 1998 are still valid byt won’t be updated with points – instead, your driving licence information is viewable online through the DVLA.

When hiring a vehicle, the company may just want to see your photocard licence.  This is fine, however some companies like to see if you have any penalty points on your licence.  They now have to check online, using a special access code the DVLA issues.  When you go to hire a car now, it is important that you get your access code ready to give to the hire car company in case they wish to check your driving licence online.  The code can be obtained by the driver by logging onto the DVLA website.  You can then access your code and print out your licence information should you wish to.