When hiring a car this is what you’ll need
The minimum requirement for hiring a car will be a Drivers Licence covering the class of car required, a second proof of address, a DVLA code and a signed bank card.
The drivers licence must be valid for the duration of the hire and if you intend using a non–UK licence then it is advisable to contact the office in advance as not all foreign licences will be acceptable. If you are using a UK licence and the licence is not registered at your current address then you will also need to produce 2 proofs of address as described below.
If your driver’s licence is registered at the address you are living at, then you will only need one proof of address from the list below that has been posted through your letter box in the last 3 months.
Acceptable proofs of address
- Bank statement
- Credit card statement
- Utility bill
- A landline or broadband bill
- Letter from a government body or financial institution
- A letter from a solicitor
- A TV Licence
- A Council Tax bill
- Home Insurance documents
- Documentation relating to delivery of home heating oil
- Pay slip – provided we can see it has been franked
Example’s of items we cannot use as proof of address
- Car Insurance documents
- Car road tax reminders
- Mobile phone bills
- Any online bill’s
Providing a proof of address is something which is becoming increasingly difficult to come by with the advent of paperless billing. From an insurance prospective the problem with any online billing is that if for example you were to have moved to a new address 6 months ago and not informed the bank then it would be no problem to print out a bank statement with your old address. In which case, if you were to abscond with the vehicle our retrieval would be considerately more difficult.
The third item required is a signed Bank Card in the driver’s name which will be used to pay the deposit.
The last item is a DVLA code or your National Insurance Number. To obtain a DVLA code in advance please visit https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence or call 0300 790 6801.
The paper counterpart to the Photo Card driving licence was abolished on 8 June 2015 and now the method of checking someone’s driving licence for or any penalty points or disqualifications is by obtaining a DVLA share code within 21 days of the hire commencing. This code can only be used once.
