UK driving licence number format checker.

How a Great Britain driving licence number is built

The 16-character driver number on a licence issued by DVLA is not random. DVLA's own leaflet on reading your licence and the DBS identity checking guidelines both describe the same structure: part of the surname, a coded date of birth, the first two forename initials and a short computer-generated tail. This checker splits a number into those parts, tests each against the published rules and shows what the number encodes. It checks layout only. It cannot tell you whether a licence exists, is valid to drive on or belongs to the person who typed it.

DVLA's leaflet also shows a licence issue number after the driver number, which it says increases by one with every licence issued and is not part of the driver number. This tool accepts the number with or without those two digits and tells you which it found.

Worked example

Both examples below are the specimen numbers the government guidance prints, so they are not real people's data.

In the first example the digits 6, 57, 05 and 4 are the year digits on either side of the month and day. Put the first and last together and you get a year ending in 64. The number never states the century, so a decade digit of 6 and a year digit of 4 could mean 1964 or 2064. The tool prints every possible year that is not in the future rather than guessing, and for a number that only fits one century it tells you so.

Common mistakes and edge cases

• Counting the issue digits. Some documents show 18 characters because the two-digit issue number follows the driver number. The driver number is the first 16.
• Reading a 5x month as an error. Months 51 to 62 are not typos; they are how a woman's number records the month. A 13 or 63 is invalid.
• Short surnames. A surname such as LEE becomes LEE99. The 9s are padding, not part of the name.
• One forename. If the holder has only one forename the second initial is 9, which is why you often see 9 in the middle of a number.
• Licences issued before 1977. The DBS guidance notes that on licences issued before 1977 the date of birth is not printed as a separate entry, so the number is how the date can be worked out.
• Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and Jersey. Those licences use a different format, and the name and date of birth cannot be read from them this way.

Who this is for

HR and onboarding staff who want to catch a mistyped licence number before submitting a check, people filling in a form that asks for the number, and anyone trying to understand why the code printed on their own licence looks the way it does. For a check against DVLA's records, the official route needs the last 8 characters of the licence number plus a check code from the driver, used within 21 days and only once.

What this does not cover

The tool does not contact DVLA, does not show entitlements, endorsements or penalty points, and does not verify that the surname or birth date in the number matches a real person. It does not decode Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, Jersey or foreign licence numbers. It also cannot interpret the three computer-generated characters or confirm the surname-prefix quirks beyond what the guidance states.

Privacy

A licence number encodes a name and a date of birth, so this page runs the check in an isolated frame that has no network access: what you type cannot be read by the page around it, sent anywhere or stored. DVLA itself advises you not to post images of your driving licence online, and the same caution applies to the number.

Sources

• DVLA INS57P: Information on driving licences ("How to check your driver number")
• GOV.UK DBS: ID checking guidelines, "Checking driving licences"
• GOV.UK: Check someone’s driving licence information

Retrieved 20 October 2026. Issuing bodies can change these rules; check the source if a result matters.

FAQ

How many characters is a UK driving licence number?

A Great Britain driver number has 16 characters. The licence issue number that follows it on the licence is not part of the driver number, so some documents show 18 characters with two issue digits at the end.

What does a UK driving licence number tell you?

The first five characters are the first five letters of the surname, followed by a year digit, the month, the day and a second year digit, then the first two forename initials and three computer-generated characters. DBS guidance says the number carries information about name, sex and date of birth.

How is a woman’s birth month shown in the licence number?

Five is added to the first digit of the month. A woman born in July shows 57 and one born in October shows 60. Valid month values are therefore 01 to 12 for men and 51 to 62 for women.

What does the 9 in my driving licence number mean?

A 9 pads the surname when it is shorter than five letters (MAN99), and a 9 as the second initial means the holder has only one forename.

Does a licence number show the century of birth?

No. It holds a decade digit and a year digit, so a pair such as 6 and 4 could mean 1964 or 2064. This tool lists the possible years that have already happened.

Do Northern Ireland licences use the same number format?

No. DBS guidance says Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and Jersey licences use a different format, so the name and date of birth checks do not apply to them.

Why does the DVLA check service ask for only the last 8 characters?

GOV.UK’s service for checking someone else’s licence asks for the last 8 characters of the driving licence number plus a check code from the driver. In the layout above those last 8 characters are the day of birth, the final year digit, the two initials and the computer-generated characters. GOV.UK does not say why it asks for that part.

Is it safe to type my driving licence number into this tool?

The page runs the check in a sealed frame with no network access, so the number is not sent to TNAADO or stored. DVLA also advises against posting images of your driving licence online.