Hiring a car or a van in the UK

Plenty of people hire a car for a trip away, or a van for a house move. This page covers the licence check code, what a car licence lets you drive, cancelling a booking, clean air zones and the damage terms.

The licence check code

DVLA runs an online service for viewing your driving record. It shows the vehicles you can drive and any penalty points or disqualifications.

The same service lets you create a licence check code to share your record with someone. GOV.UK gives a car hire company as the example. The check code is valid for 21 days.

The service covers licences issued in England, Wales or Scotland. You need your driving licence number, your National Insurance number and the postcode on your licence.

What a car licence lets you drive

A car licence is category B. If you passed your test on or after 1 January 1997, it covers vehicles with up to 8 passenger seats and a maximum authorised mass (MAM) of 3,500kg for petrol and diesel vehicles, hybrids included. For electric or hydrogen vehicles, the limit is 4,250kg.

Above those limits, a vehicle up to 7,500kg MAM needs category C1. So before booking a large van, compare its MAM with the categories on your licence.

If you passed your test before 1 January 1997, GOV.UK says you are usually allowed to drive a vehicle and trailer combination up to 8,250kg MAM. It suggests viewing your licence information to check.

Cancelling a booking

The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 set out a right to cancel many contracts. Regulation 28 lists the contracts that right leaves out. Vehicle rental services are on the list, where the contract provides for a specific date or period of performance.

So for a hire booked for set dates, the hire company's own terms say whether you can cancel, and on what conditions. Read them when you book.

Clean air zones and ULEZ

Some English cities charge drivers whose vehicles do not meet their emissions standards. In October 2026, GOV.UK's clean air zone checker covered Bath, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Portsmouth, Sheffield and Tyneside. It works from the number plate.

London has its own scheme. Transport for London (TfL) runs the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) across all London boroughs, 24 hours a day, every day except Christmas Day. TfL says the charge applies to cars and to vans up to and including 3.5 tonnes that do not meet the standard and are not exempt. TfL has its own vehicle checker.

Damage, the excess and complaints

A hire agreement sets out what you pay if the vehicle is damaged while you have it. Read that part, and the excess it names, before you sign.

The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) is the trade body for rental and leasing firms. The BVRLA says its Codes of Conduct are mandatory for members, and set out what a customer can expect.

When a complaint to a member firm has been through that firm's own procedure and is still unresolved, the BVRLA runs a dispute resolution service. The BVRLA says the government has approved it as a consumer dispute resolution body.

The BVRLA also says drivers of rented vehicles must carry a VE103 certificate when taking the vehicle abroad.

Useful links