The driver number on a UK driving licence is the 16-character alphanumeric code printed in field 5 on the front of your photocard, assigned by the DVLA and used to identify you on the national driving record. It stays with you through licence renewals, address changes, and vehicle swaps, and you’ll need it whenever you check your record online, hire a car, start a new driving job, or deal with a motoring offence.
Where the Driver Number Sits on Your Photocard
The photocard follows a standard numbered layout. Fields 1 to 3 carry your name and date of birth. Fields 4a and 4b show the issue and expiry dates of the licence. Field 5 is the long alphanumeric string: your driver number. Field 6 is your photograph and field 7 is your signature, both sitting below the driver number.
One point of confusion trips people up when they copy the number into an online form. The issue number, a small figure that ticks up by one each time DVLA sends you a new card, is printed at the end of the driver number sequence but is not part of it.1GOV.UK. Information on Driving Licences If a car hire booking or a GOV.UK login is being rejected, check that you stopped at 16 characters and didn’t include the issue number.
How the 16 Characters Are Built
The driver number isn’t a random serial. Every part of it is derived from your personal details, which is why it looks different from the reference numbers you see on most other documents. The DVLA breaks it down like this:1GOV.UK. Information on Driving Licences
- Characters 1 to 5 are the first five letters of your surname. Shorter surnames are padded with the number 9, so MAN becomes MAN99.
- Character 6 is the first digit of your birth year. Someone born in 1987 gets an 8.
- Characters 7 and 8 are the two-digit month of birth. For women, 50 is added, so April (04) becomes 54. This is the only place in the number where sex is encoded.
- Characters 9 and 10 are the two-digit day of the month.
- Character 11 is the last digit of your birth year. Combined with character 6, this gives the first and last digits of your year of birth.
- Characters 12 and 13 are the first two initials of your given names. If you only have one forename, the second character is replaced with 9.
- Characters 14 to 16 are computer-generated check digits used as a security measure.
Because most of the number comes straight from your name, date of birth, and sex, two people with similar details can end up with very close driver numbers. The final check digits exist partly to keep exact duplicates out of the database.
When the Driver Number Changes
The first five characters come directly from your surname, so a name change through marriage, divorce, or deed poll gives you a new driver number. You update the licence by sending a D1 application form to DVLA with your current licence and documents proving the change of name. Your driving record carries over, so any penalty points and entitlements stay attached to you under the new number.
The gender encoding is currently binary. Women have 50 added to the birth-month digits; men do not. If you update the gender marker on your licence, DVLA issues a new driver number reflecting the change. The current format has no non-binary or “X” option.
What You Use the Driver Number For
Viewing Your Own Driving Record
The GOV.UK “View or share your driving licence information” service lets you check your record from any device. Signing in needs three things:2GOV.UK. View or Share Your Driving Licence Information
- Your driver number, the 16-character code from field 5.
- Your National Insurance number, found on payslips, P60 forms, or HMRC letters.
- The postcode currently registered on your driving licence, which may not match where you actually live if you moved without telling DVLA.
All three must match what DVLA holds. A postcode you forgot to update after moving is a common reason the system rejects a login. If you can’t use the online service, DVLA can be reached by phone on 0300 083 0013, Monday to Friday 8am to 7pm and Saturday 8am to 2pm.2GOV.UK. View or Share Your Driving Licence Information
Once you’re in, the dashboard shows the vehicle categories you can drive, any active penalty points or endorsements, and any disqualifications. It’s the same view the police and courts see, so it’s worth checking now and then.
Sharing Your Record With Someone Else
Car hire desks, employers, and insurers regularly need to verify your driving history. Instead of handing your licence over, you generate a check code through the GOV.UK service. Each code is valid for 21 days and can only be used once, so two different companies checking your record need two separate codes.3GOV.UK. Check Someone’s Driving Licence Information
The third party then enters the check code along with your driver number and surname on a separate GOV.UK page to see your record. This system replaced the old paper counterpart to the photocard, which lost its legal status on 8 June 2015.4GOV.UK. Driving Licence Counterpart Abolished – Changes You Need to Know Any paper counterpart still tucked behind a photocard is worthless, and DVLA recommends destroying it.
Checking Driver CPC Training
Lorry and bus drivers who hold a Driver Certificate of Professional Competence use a separate GOV.UK service to check their periodic training hours. It runs on the same driver number plus a home postcode. You can see which courses you’ve completed, how many hours you’ve logged, and when the next Driver CPC card is due, and you can also generate a temporary password so an employer can view the record.5GOV.UK. Check Your Driver CPC Periodic Training Hours
If You’ve Lost the Number or the Licence
You don’t need the physical card to look up your driver number. The online record service works on your driver number, National Insurance number, and registered postcode, so as long as you have those you can sign in even without the card in hand. If you’ve forgotten the number itself, calling DVLA on 0300 083 0013 is the quickest way to retrieve it.
To replace a lost, stolen, damaged, or destroyed licence, you apply online, by phone, or by post. The fee is £20 by any method.6GOV.UK. Driving Licence Fees Online is fastest and the card usually arrives within three weeks, though DVLA may take longer if it needs to verify personal or medical details.7GOV.UK. Replace a Lost, Stolen, Damaged or Destroyed Driving Licence The phone route is only open to people with a photocard licence whose details haven’t changed and whose licence doesn’t expire within 56 days. By post, you’ll need a D1 form for a car or motorbike, or a D2 form for a lorry or bus, both stocked at most Post Offices.
Fraud and Tampering
Giving false personal information to obtain a driver number under another identity, or tampering with the number on a licence, falls under the Fraud Act 2006. A Crown Court conviction carries a maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both.8Legislation.gov.uk. Fraud Act 2006 – Section 1 Magistrates’ courts can impose imprisonment and fines for less serious cases. The encoding structure also makes forgery relatively easy to spot: anyone who knows a person’s name and date of birth can work out roughly what their driver number should look like.