Background checks for drivers and logistics staff
For drivers, the check that matters most is the driving licence. With the driver's permission and a check code they create, DVLA's online service shows the vehicles someone can drive and any penalty points or disqualifications. Anyone who drives a lorry, bus or coach professionally must also hold the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (Driver CPC) unless an exemption applies. Drivers need a driver digital tachograph card if their vehicle has a digital or smart tachograph.
Right to work applies to everyone, and since 1 October 2026 it covers individual sub-contractors too: in the Home Office's example, a delivery platform whose couriers log into its app and are paid per delivery is their employer for the scheme. Criminal record checks are not routine for drivers. In England and Wales, taxi and private hire drivers are licensed by the council, or Transport for London, which checks their background. Drivers who convey adults to health care, personal care or social work because of age, illness or disability can have an enhanced DBS check with adults' barred list; taxi and private hire drivers cannot.
Driving licence checks
DVLA's View or share your driving licence information service works for licences issued in England, Wales or Scotland. The driver creates a check code. You enter it with the last 8 characters of their licence number in Check someone's driving licence information to see the vehicles they can drive and any penalty points or disqualifications. You must use the code within 21 days, and only once.
GOV.UK warns that it is a criminal offence to obtain someone else's personal information without their permission, so get the driver's agreement first. Endorsements stay on a record for 4 or 11 years depending on the offence, and a driver can be disqualified for 12 or more points within 3 years. Our view: check at offer and again at intervals set in your driving policy, and decide in advance which endorsements matter for which vehicles.
Driver CPC and tachograph cards
In England, Scotland and Wales, you must have Driver CPC if you drive a lorry, bus or coach professionally, unless an exemption applies, and keep it with 35 hours of periodic training every 5 years. DVSA says a driver can be fined up to £1,000 for driving professionally without it. Exemptions include non-commercial carriage, and driving within 62 miles of base without passengers or goods where driving is not the main job. DVSA's examples include a workshop manager who occasionally delivers empty trailers and still needs Driver CPC. Northern Ireland has separate guidance.
A driver needs a digital driver tachograph card if their vehicle has a digital or smart tachograph. Operators of goods vehicles must download driver card data at least every 28 days and immediately before a driver, including an agency driver, stops being employed.
Couriers, agency drivers and sub-contractors
Our right to work checks page explains how to do a check. In the Home Office guide's example, an individual who logs into a delivery platform's app and is paid per delivery has the platform as their employer for the scheme. Where a food delivery platform lets couriers substitute someone else, it may be treated as the substitute's employer too. To have a statutory excuse it needs substitution controls in place before work starts: a prescribed right to work check on every substitute, carried out by the platform and not delegated to the courier, before the substitute does any work, plus identity verification so the person working is the one who was checked. The Home Office recommends re-verifying identity at least once in any 24-hour period or shift.
In another example, a logistics company contracted to provide warehousing and distribution for a retailer, which outsources the work, may be treated as the employer of everyone in that chain; the retailer is not. Where an employment business supplies agency drivers for your own operations, it does the check. Right to work checks done for other purposes, such as an operating licence application, give you no statutory excuse. HRjoy can help you map which of your driver arrangements are in scope.
Taxi and private hire drivers
In England and Wales, a driver needs a licence to drive a taxi or private hire vehicle, issued by the local council or, in London, Transport for London. Applicants must be able to work legally in the UK and be a fit and proper person, so their background and character are checked, and they might have to complete an enhanced DBS check. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different processes.
The Department for Transport's statutory standards say licensing authorities are entitled to request an enhanced certificate with barred lists checks for all driver licence holders and applicants. Driving a taxi or private hire vehicle is not in itself regulated activity, but drivers working under an arrangement to transport children may be. You still need your own right to work check if you engage the driver.
Transport security and national security vetting
The Department for Transport says it has defined in directions which roles in the regulated transport industry need national security vetting, and at what level. Only defined roles are eligible, applications go through an industry sponsor authorised by DfT, and BPSS must also be met. The page was last updated in 2012, so confirm current arrangements with your sponsor.
A counter terrorist check is for posts that involve proximity to public figures at particular risk from terrorist attack, access to information or material of value to terrorists, or unescorted access to certain establishments at particular risk from terrorist attack. It involves BPSS, a security questionnaire, a departmental or company records check, and checks of spent and unspent criminal records and Security Service records. DfT says a conviction is not necessarily a bar to clearance. Its older guidance on aviation criminal record checks has been withdrawn, and GOV.UK says the Civil Aviation Authority has had responsibility for aviation security compliance functions since 1 April 2014; confirm current aviation background check requirements with the airport operator.
When criminal record checks are proportionate
For most driving and warehouse roles no law requires a criminal record check. The Information Commission's (ICO) draft guidance, under review following the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, says to vet only where there is a legal obligation or significant and particular risks, such as theft or danger to others, and not to vet all candidates routinely.
In England and Wales, drivers and assistants who convey adults to health care, personal care or social work because of age, illness or disability can have an enhanced check with adults' barred list, but not taxi and private hire drivers. Standard and enhanced checks are only for positions covered by the exceptions legislation, and DBS says knowingly asking for a higher level than the law allows is unlawful. Otherwise only a basic check is available, or in Scotland a Level 1 disclosure and in Northern Ireland an AccessNI basic check; our criminal record checks page explains the levels. Ask only the person you intend to appoint.
Role-based check matrix
Use this as a starting point for your own role matrix.
| Role or activity | Check | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Every employee, worker or individual sub-contractor (whole UK) | Right to work check before work starts | Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 as amended from 1 October 2026; Home Office employer's guide |
| Any driving role (licences issued in Great Britain) | DVLA licence check with the driver's check code and permission | Role requirement; DVLA service rules |
| Professional lorry, bus or coach driving | Driver CPC, unless exempt | DVSA Driver CPC guidance (England, Scotland and Wales) |
| Vehicles with a digital or smart tachograph | Driver digital tachograph card | DVLA guidance |
| Platform couriers and substitutes | Right to work and identity re-verification | Home Office guide, examples 3 and 9 |
| Taxi and private hire drivers (England and Wales) | Council or TfL driver licence, including background check | Council or TfL licensing; DfT statutory standards (England and Wales) |
| Conveying adults to health or social care | Enhanced DBS check with adults' barred list | DBS eligibility guidance (England and Wales) |
| DfT-defined transport security roles | National security vetting through an authorised sponsor | DfT directions |
| Warehouse roles with high-value goods | Basic criminal record check, for a documented theft risk | ICO vetting guidance (draft) |
What to tell the candidate
- Ask the driver to create a DVLA check code and agree to the check before you look at their record.
- Check everyone's right to work in the same way, and accept any valid method the person chooses.
- If you carry out criminal records checks in England and Wales, have a policy on employing ex-offenders and show it to any applicant who asks.
- Give candidates a chance to explain an endorsement or other finding before you decide, and record your decision.
Sources
- View or share your driving licence information · GOV.UK (DVLA)
- Check someone's driving licence information · GOV.UK (DVLA)
- Penalty points (endorsements) · GOV.UK
- Check if you need Driver CPC to drive a lorry, bus or coach · GOV.UK (DVSA)
- Driver CPC training for qualified drivers · GOV.UK
- Become a qualified heavy goods vehicle (HGV) or bus driver · GOV.UK
- Apply for a driver digital tachograph card · GOV.UK (DVLA)
- Drivers' hours and tachographs: goods vehicles. 5. Responsibilities of vehicle operators · GOV.UK (DVSA)
- Right to work checks: an employer's guide · GOV.UK (Home Office)
- Employer's guide to right to work checks: 1 October 2026 · GOV.UK (Home Office)
- Driver licences for taxis and private hire vehicles · GOV.UK
- Statutory taxi and private hire vehicle standards · GOV.UK (Department for Transport)
- National security vetting in the regulated transport industry · GOV.UK (Department for Transport)
- National security vetting: clearance levels · GOV.UK (United Kingdom Security Vetting)
- Criminal record checks in the aviation sector regulated by DfT (withdrawn) · GOV.UK (Department for Transport)
- Eligibility for Enhanced with Adults' Barred List DBS check · GOV.UK (Disclosure and Barring Service)
- DBS checks guidance for employers, voluntary organisations and third parties · GOV.UK (Disclosure and Barring Service)
- Check someone's criminal record · GOV.UK (Disclosure and Barring Service)
- Pre-employment vetting of candidates · ICO
- Disclosure levels · mygov.scot
- Types of AccessNI checks · nidirect
General information for employers in the UK, not legal advice. HRjoy advises on screening policy and fair process. We do not run checks ourselves; where you need checks run, we can introduce you to our screening partners. Check the official sources for your situation.
Checks by role
Required or expected
- Anyone who drives for work: a DVLA licence check, with the driver's permission and a check code, before they first drive for you.
- Anyone who drives a lorry, bus or coach professionally: Driver CPC, unless an exemption applies.
- Drivers of vehicles with a digital or smart tachograph: a driver digital tachograph card.
- Every employee, worker and, for arrangements made from 1 October 2026, individual sub-contractor: a right to work check before work starts.
- Roles in the regulated transport sector that the Department for Transport has defined: national security vetting through an authorised industry sponsor.
Depends on the role
- Drivers and assistants conveying adults to health care, personal care or social work because age, illness or disability means they cannot travel by themselves: an enhanced DBS check with adults' barred list (England and Wales).
- Drivers transporting children under an arrangement, who may be in regulated activity: check DBS eligibility for the role.
- Warehouse roles with access to high-value goods: a basic criminal record check, only for a documented theft risk.
Rarely justified
- Standard or enhanced DBS checks for driving roles not covered by DBS eligibility rules.
- Relying on a taxi, private hire or operator licence as proof of right to work.
- Credit checks on drivers or warehouse staff.
Questions
Something else? Ask us.
How do we check a driver's licence online?
Ask the driver to create a check code through DVLA's View or share your driving licence information service, then enter it with the last 8 characters of their licence number in Check someone's driving licence information. The code lasts 21 days and works once.
Does every professional driver need Driver CPC?
In England, Scotland and Wales, anyone who drives a lorry, bus or coach professionally needs it unless an exemption applies, such as non-commercial carriage, or driving an empty vehicle within 62 miles of base where driving is not the main job. DVSA's examples show some people whose main job is not driving still need it. Northern Ireland has its own guidance.
Can we DBS check our delivery drivers?
In England and Wales a basic check is available, but the ICO says to vet only for a significant and particular risk. Standard and enhanced checks are only for eligible roles, such as some drivers conveying adults to health care, personal care or social work. DBS says knowingly requesting a higher level than the law allows is unlawful.
Do we have to check couriers who work through our app?
If couriers log into your app and are paid per delivery, the Home Office's example treats you as their employer for the scheme, so you check their right to work before they start. If couriers can substitute someone else, you may be treated as the substitute's employer too, so you must check each substitute's right to work yourself before they work and use identity checks that confirm who is working.
Related checks
- Right to work checks: who to check and how from October 2026 Who needs a right to work check from 1 October 2026, including workers and sub-contractors, how each of the three methods works and follow-ups.
- Criminal record checks for employers Which criminal record check a role can lawfully have in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and how to run it fairly.
- Identity and address verification for employers What an employee identity check proves, how it differs from right to work, certified digital ID services, false documents and when to verify an address.
- BPSS checks: the Baseline Personnel Security Standard explained Who needs BPSS, the four checks in version 7.0, the three-year employment history and gaps rule, and why BPSS is not SC or DV security clearance.
- Employment references: what employers can ask and when When to ask for references, what to ask, the sector rules for care, schools, early years and FCA firms, and how to treat candidates fairly.
Sector guides
- Pre-employment checks in hospitality and retail Right to work at volume, casual and gig staff from October 2026, personal licences for alcohol sales, cash-handling roles and references at scale.
- Background checks for recruitment agencies and staffing businesses What the Conduct Regulations require agencies to confirm, who does right to work and DBS checks for agency workers, and what hirers should ask for.
- Background checks in security and facilities management SIA licensing under the Private Security Industry Act 2001, what the SIA checks, BS 7858 screening, and checks for facilities staff on sensitive sites.
- Pre-employment checks for the public sector and government suppliers BPSS, who decides on security clearance, checks for government suppliers, Civil Service nationality rules, police vetting and DBS levels for public roles.
Guides
- Which pre-employment checks are mandatory, and which are optional? A role and sector matrix of UK pre-employment checks: which the law requires, which a regulator expects and which are optional.
- The UK background screening checklist for employers A stage-by-stage background screening checklist for UK employers: who owns each step, what to record, and when to delete it.
Related answers
- How do employers carry out right to work checks? Before someone starts work, employers should carry out one of three prescribed checks: a manual check of original documents, a Home Office online check using a share code, or a check through a registered right to work digital verification service provider. Done correctly, it gives a statutory excuse against a civil penalty of up to £60,000 per illegal worker.
- Can employers monitor their staff? Yes, but the ICO says monitoring must be lawful, fair and transparent under data protection law. Employers need a clear purpose, a lawful basis, the least intrusive method that achieves it, and must tell workers about it. A data protection impact assessment is required for high-risk monitoring, and covert monitoring is justified only in exceptional circumstances.
- How should employers handle an employee subject access request? Employers should recognise the request, which can be made verbally or in writing, confirm the person's identity if needed, make a reasonable and proportionate search and respond without undue delay and within one month. Complex requests can be extended by up to two months. A fee usually cannot be charged, and information about other people may need redacting.