Look, I’ll admit something. For about three years after passing my test, I had absolutely no clue what is the driver number on a driving licence actually meant. Just assumed it was a random code that the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) threw on there. Then my sister informed me that my surname was literally in the first bit and I felt like a total muppet.
It turns out there is a whole methodology behind it. Not random at all. It’s one of those that just falls in place as soon as you figure it out. And let me explain it because most of us haven’t got a clue either, so you are in good company.
Finding The Bloody Thing First
It is on the front of your photocard, below where it says when your licence expires. Field 5, if you want to get technical. Big list of letters and numbers that looks like it might matter. That’s your driver number. The driving licence photocard number people ask for when you’re doing insurance quotes or renting a car.
UK Driving Licence Number Format is always 16 characters if you are in England, Scotland or Wales. Northern Ireland does their own thing with 8 digits, but we’ll cover that later.
A quick thing that trips people up, though: is GB driver number the same as licence number? Yeah, same thing. ‘Driver number’, ‘licence number’, and ‘driving licence number’ are all different words for the exact same code. Insurance forms love slinging different names for it to keep you on your toes.
What Those 16 Characters Actually Are
OK, so here’s how they arrive at your number. There’s no sorcery; it just obeys a pattern.
First Five Characters: Your Surname
Dead simple. If your name is Smith, you get SMITH. If you’re Lee, you get LEE99 because they require five characters, so they add 9s to it. My cousin married someone with the surname Ng and her starts with NG999. Sounds odd, but that’s the way it is.
Sixth Character: Your Birth Decade
One number for which decade you were born. 1980s? That’s an 8. 1990s? That’s a 9. Born in 2000s? You get a 0. Easy.
Characters 7 And 8: Birth Month (Here’s The Clever Bit)
This is where it gets interesting. Blokes get their actual birth month. March is 03, July is 07, December is 12.
Women get 5 added on. So March becomes 53, July becomes 57, December is 62. That’s literally the only way you can tell someone’s gender from their licence now. No M or F written anywhere else on the card anymore.
Characters 9 And 10: Day You Were Born
Just your birth date. Born on the 15th? You’ve got 15. Born on the 3rd? That’s 03. Nothing fancy.
Characters 11 And 12: Birth Year
Last two digits of the year you were born. 1995 becomes 95. 2003 becomes 03. That’s it.
Characters 13 And 14: Your Initials
Your first name initial and middle name initial go here. James Robert Smith gets JR. Only got one name? They stick a 9 in the second spot.
Last Two Characters: Computer Stuff
These are check digits the DVLA computer generates. You can’t work them out yourself. They’re for security and database tracking. Don’t worry about them.
The 16 Vs 18 Digit Confusion
Right, this confuses everyone. UK driving licence number 16 or 18 digits? Your actual driver number is 16 characters. Always. That’s on the front of your card.
The back of driving licence explained everything about the 18-character code, but that’s different—it’s a document number. Separate things entirely.
Now, does driving licence number include last 2 digits in the UK? Yes, your full driver number is all 16 digits. But here’s where it gets messy. Those last two digits change every time you renew your licence. They go up by one each time. So some insurance forms want just the first 14, others want all 16. You need to check what they’re asking for.
I’ve filled in forms wrong loads of times because of this. Not just me either; everyone gets confused by it.
Lost Your Licence? Here’s What To Do
So you’ve lost your card and need your licence number urgently. How to get driving licence number if lost? There are two ways to sort this.
Visit the UK government’s official site to view your driving licence and log in with your National Insurance number and postcode. Your full licence details appear, including your driver number. Takes about two minutes.
Need an actual replacement card? Twenty quid, that is, on the DVLA website. The new card arrives within a week, perhaps ten days. Same driver number on it; it’s not going to change just because you ordered a new one.
My mate Dave lost his on a stag do in Prague. Complete disaster getting home through the airport. He had to show his passport and all. It set him back £20 for a new card when he returned, plus the grief from his missus about losing it in the first place.
Why This Number Matters Anyway
It’s the one insurance companies ask for every time you get a quote. Your car rental agency won’t let you take the wheel without one. If driving is part of your job, some employers will look into it.
The DVLA uses it to keep an eye on your entire driving record. This number links every speeding ticket, every point on your licence, and every endorsement. You take your husband’s name when you get married? You get a fresh number with your new surname, but all your driving history moves across with you.
Some people do not want to provide their licence number due to concerns about fraud. There is not really all that much you can do with just a licence number, though. Not that anyone can empty your bank account with it. Still, probably don’t post it on Facebook or whatever. Just use basic common sense about it.
Weird Situations That Come Up
Drivers in Northern Ireland have it a whole lot different. Eight digits on a completely different one. Not even remotely like the GB format.
At the other extreme, people with really short surnames get loads of 9s: imagine your name’s Day and your licence starts DAY99. Looks odd but works fine.
Twins with the same birthday and the same surname? Their numbers are identical except for those last two computer-generated digits. That’s the only way the system tells them apart.
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So, What Is The Driver Number On A Driving Licence Really?
Essentially, it’s your name and date of birth organised in a specific manner, followed by some computer-generated gubbins tacked on the end. That’s genuinely it. Not if someone explains it properly.
Digital driving licences were supposed to be going live this year, although they’ve not exactly appeared just yet. When they do finally arrive, your driver number remains the same. Your driver number appears on your phone instead of on a plastic card. The actual number doesn’t change.
I think they just make these complicated on purpose. It’s dead simple once you have a pattern. The first bit is your surname, the middle bit is your birthday, and the last bit is some computer code. There’s your driver’s licence number taken care of.
This way, the next time someone asks for your driver number, you will actually know what you are looking at and not just copy it down and hope that’s right. Oh, it makes you feel slightly more competent, eh?
