GovTech UK DVLA Driver Licence Digital Services

DVLA Share Driving Licence

driver can share their licence details with a third party (employer, fleet manager, car rental company) via DVLA digital service.

Share Driving Licence API

• 1driver authorises share (driver authenticates with DVLA -- provides authorisation code to third party),
• 2third party queries licence (employer uses authorisation code to query DVLA API -- licence category, expiry, endorsements),
• 3licence validity check (automated check: is licence valid for the vehicle category the employee drives?),
• 4endorsement alert (new endorsement added to licence -- employer notified),
• 5licence expiry alert (licence expires in 90 days -- employer notified).

DVLA data licence

commercial use of DVLA licence data requires DVLA commercial data licence agreement.

Fleet driver compliance

• UK employers with drivers are legally required to check employees hold a valid licence for the vehicle they drive.
• Highway Code and Road Traffic Act 1988.

Fleet compliance platform

• 1driver onboarding (driver authorises Share Driving Licence -- DVLA query API),
• 2licence category validation (vehicle categories -- category B (car), category C (lorry), category D (bus) -- matched to driver role),
• 3periodic recheck (quarterly automated recheck of all fleet driver licences -- endorsements and expiry),
• 4compliance report (monthly report: all drivers checked, any failures or endorsements),
• 5non-compliance workflow (driver fails check -- HR notification, vehicle access suspension pending investigation). Operator Compliance Risk Score (DVSA OCRS): fleet operators with licence check failures face increased DVSA roadside check frequency.

DVSA Theory and Practical Test Integration

DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency) test booking

API

• 1theory test booking (driving school books theory test slot for learner via DVSA API),
• 2practical test booking (driving school books practical test slot -- DVSA API -- specific test centre, examiner, date),
• 3test result notification (DVSA API notifies driving school and learner of theory/practical result),
• 4mock test scoring (driving school administers mock practical -- scored against DVSA marking sheet categories),
• 5driving school portfolio (learner driving log -- DVSA recommended 45 hours for average learner -- progress tracking).

DVSA hazard perception

digital hazard perception test practice integrated with DVSA official test categories.

Driving licence data GDPR considerations

• 1sensitive personal data (driving licence number + DOB + endorsements -- identifiable financial/legal data -- treated with care under UK GDPR),
• 2lawful basis (legitimate interest for employer driver compliance checking -- employee does not need to consent, but must be informed),
• 3data minimisation (employer queries only need to know: valid/invalid, category, endorsements -- not full licence details),
• 4retention (DVLA check records -- how long to retain?

ClickMasters

retain for duration of employment + 3 years for potential Road Traffic Act disputes), (5) DVLA data licence (commercial redistribution of DVLA data is restricted -- data licence required from DVLA before building commercial service).

ICO employment guidance

employee DVLA check records are employment records -- ICO employment guidance applies.