DRIVING LICENCES
DRIVING LICENCE REQUIREMENTS FOR RENTING CARS IN UK
IMPORTANT DRIVING LICENCE UPDATES
The abolition of the paper counterpart to the UK driving licence
As of 8 June 2015, the paper counterpart of the UK photocard driving licence will no longer be valid or indeed issued by the DVLA. Existing UK paper-based licences are no longer to be directly annotated to reflect any incurred endorsements.
Accordingly, UK driving licence holders who hire a vehicle will need to use the DVLA's new online service called 'Share Driving Licence' to validate their driving record in order that they can hire one of our vehicles.
Just follow visit the government Driving Licence portal to create your one-time passcode. You'll be asked to submit:
Your existing driving licence number
Your National Insurance number
Your postcode
Once generated, your passcode will remain valid for 21 days and must be valid when collecting your rental vehicle.
If you are unable to get a passcode online, you can contact the DVLA on 0300 790 6801 (Mon - Fri 8am - 7pm).
If for any reason you are not able to generate a passcode through the DVLA website or over the please ensue that you remember to bring your National Insurance number with you.
You will still need to present a valid photocard driving licence or an 'old-style' paper licence for all rentals at the time of collection.
If you need more information on these changes to your driving licence, just visit the UK GOV website.
If you have endorsements on your licence it may not be possible to hire a vehicle. If you have more than 6 points for speeding or have a DD, DR,IN, CD or BA endorsement which is less than 10 years old you may not be able to hire a vehicle. Please contact us if you are in doubt as a refund cannot be given if a rental is refused due to licence endorsements. To hire a minibus you need to have held a licence with category D1 for 3 years. A licence may have a restriction to the number of seats in a vehicle, which the licence holder is entitled to drive. For most European countries this is 8 plus driver.
Licences issued overseas must be clearly identifiable as a driving licence and be written in the local language ie English, otherwise an International Driving Licence will be required. Some Licences are only valid in the country of issue e.g. India, so an International Driving Licence is required. A Passport, ID showing home address and proof of entry/exit into/out of the UK (e-tickets acceptable) must also be produced.
Foreign residents in the UK may drive on their non-UK driving licenses for up to one year from commencement of residency. A Passport is required for proof of entry date.
The Photo part of a UK Driving Licence has a renewal date - they are only valid for 10 years. The photo licence was introduced in UK in 1988 and many peoples are now coming up to renewal - make sure yours is valid or you risk a large fine! If you have not recieved a renewal application download a D1 form from the DVLA. You should allow 3 weeks to recieve the renewed photo part, and this can be done up to two months before expiry.
All UK drivers must have held their full driving licence for at least 12 months before they are able to rent a car from any company in the UK.
FOREIGN AND INTERNATIONAL DRIVING LICENSE INFORMATION
Visitors to the UK must have held a full driving licence for more than 12 months and the correct entitlement to drive the desired group of car. EEC licence are acceptable but all other licenses are only acceptable if the are written in legible English. If your licence is not written in English, you must also have an international driving licence that is written in English to accompany your foreign licence.
WARNING:- PHOTOCOPIES OF LICENCES WILL NEVER BE ACCEPTABLE
An international licence on its own will not be accepted - it must be accompanied by your foreign driving licence.
