How often should you check your drivers' licences?
Short answer: at least twice a year, and more often for drivers you have reason to worry about. There is no law setting a frequency, which is exactly why this one gets forgotten.
Or skip the working-out. The Beige Fleet & Driver Compliance Tracker holds your licence check dates alongside every vehicle date, and emails you before each falls due. The rest of this page is the detail.
There is no legal interval, and that is the problem
People go looking for the rule, find there is not one, and conclude nothing is required. What actually exists is a duty rather than a deadline. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Road Traffic Act 1988, an employer has to take reasonable steps to make sure anyone driving for work is legally entitled to do so. No interval is specified, so "reasonable" is judged after something has gone wrong.
What good practice looks like
The widely used approach is risk-based rather than one-size-fits-all:
- Low risk drivers: every six to twelve months.
- Medium risk: quarterly.
- High risk, for example drivers carrying penalty points or with recent incidents: monthly.
The common floor across the industry is at least twice a year for everyone. That is where the Beige tracker defaults, and you can change it per driver if your policy or your insurer says otherwise.
Why insurers care more than regulators
This is the part that catches small fleets out. Most fleet insurers expect regular licence checking as a condition of cover. If you cannot evidence that you checked, an insurer can delay, reduce or refuse a claim. That is usually a far bigger number than any fine, and it lands at the worst possible moment.
Evidence means a record: who you checked, when, and what it showed. A dated row in a sheet is enough. Remembering that you probably did it is not.
What you are actually checking
- That the licence is valid and has not expired. The photocard runs for 10 years even when the entitlement does not.
- The categories held, so the driver is entitled to drive that vehicle.
- Endorsements and penalty points, which may change their risk level and your premium.
- Any disqualification you have not been told about.
Drivers can generate a DVLA share code so you can view their record with permission. Keep the outcome, not the code, since share codes expire.
Grey fleet drivers count too
If someone drives their own car for work, the same duty applies. Their licence, their MOT and whether their insurance covers business use are all your concern, not just theirs. See grey fleet rules.
For the whole picture, see our fleet compliance deadlines guide, or let the Beige Fleet & Driver Compliance Tracker keep the dates for you.
Last reviewed: July 2026. General information, not legal advice.