One of our drivers drove with an expired or invalid licence. What now?
Take the driver off driving duties today, establish exactly what was invalid and since when, tell your insurer, and keep a record of every step. Then check every other driver, and put each licence, card and qualification on a dated schedule with an owner, so the next one is caught before the driver gets in the cab.
Last updated · ExpiryEdge editorial team
Quick answer
If a driver has driven for work on an expired, suspended or wrong-category licence, stop them driving for you until it is resolved, confirm the facts from the licence record, inform your insurer, and document what happened and what you did. Then check every other driver. To prevent it, give each driver recurring licence checks, record expiry dates for licences, driver cards and qualifications, and send reminders to the driver and the fleet manager.
What to do in the next 48 hours
1. Stop the driver driving for work
Until you know the licence is valid for the vehicle they drive, they should not drive for you. Move them to other duties and tell the planner or dispatcher so they are not put on a route by mistake.
2. Establish exactly what was wrong
Was the licence expired, suspended or revoked, or was the category wrong for the vehicle? Was it a lorry licence that needed renewal with a medical, or a driver card or Driver CPC that lapsed? In the UK, view the record with a fresh DVLA check code; in Germany, inspect the original licence and any official letters. Note the date it became invalid.
3. Tell your insurer
Motor and fleet policies usually require drivers to hold a valid licence for the vehicle. Tell your insurer or broker what happened and ask what it means for cover, including any journeys already made. Do this in writing and keep their reply.
4. Get advice on your legal position
In Germany, a keeper who orders or allows someone to drive without a licence commits an offence under § 21 StVG, including through negligence. In the UK, rules on driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence and on employers' duties apply. Speak to a solicitor or Rechtsanwalt before making statements to authorities.
5. Check every other driver now
If one licence slipped through, others may have. Check every driver who drives for work - including staff using their own cars - and record who checked, when and what they found.
6. Write down what happened
Keep a dated record: when the problem was found, what was invalid, who was told, what you did and when the driver returned to driving. You will need it for your insurer, any investigation and your next policy review.
Licence problems slip through for predictable reasons
The licence was only checked at hiring
Bans, points and expiry dates change. A licence seen once at interview says nothing about today.
Lorry licences expire on their own clock
Group 2 licences need renewal at 45 with a D4 medical and every five years after; in Germany C/CE licences run for at most five years. If nobody records the date, the renewal is missed.
Cards and qualifications sit with the driver
Driver cards (5 years), Driver CPC (35 hours every 5 years) and ADR certificates (5 years) are in the driver’s wallet, not on a register.
Nobody owned the check
HR thought the fleet team checked licences; the fleet team thought HR did. Without a named owner and an escalation, the check simply did not happen.
Every driver, every date, a named owner
A licence check scheduled for every driver
In ExpiryEdge each driver has a recurring licence check at the interval your policy sets, plus records for the licence expiry, driver card, Driver CPC or FQN and ADR certificate. Each has an owner and reminders at 90, 60, 30 and 7 days.
Interval per driver or risk band
Licence, card and qualification dates on one record
Next check rolls forward automatically
Reminders to the driver, escalation to the fleet manager
Drivers get reminders by SMS or WhatsApp to renew a card or arrange a medical. The fleet manager sees the same item, and if the date passes it escalates. Drivers can upload renewed documents by link, without an account.
SMS and WhatsApp reminders to drivers
Escalation when a date passes
No-login document upload
A signed check with a timestamp
The person checking works through a checklist and signs it; ExpiryEdge records who, when and what was found. If you are ever asked when a driver was last checked, the answer is one export away.
Checklist with signature
Timestamped audit trail
Export as CSV, PDF or XLSX
It can be. In Germany, § 21 StVG makes it an offence for a vehicle keeper to order or allow someone to drive without the required licence, including through negligence, with up to six months’ imprisonment or a fine for negligence. In the UK, employers have health and safety duties for driving at work, and insurance cover may be affected. Take legal advice on your specific situation.
No law in the UK or Germany sets a fixed interval. In the UK, RoSPA recommends at least once a year, more often for higher-risk drivers. In Germany, checking the original at least twice a year is common practice and the usual recommendation. Write your interval into your driving policy and schedule it per driver.
Driver cards are valid for at most five years, and renewal should be applied for at least 15 working days before expiry. A driver whose card is lost, damaged or malfunctioning may drive for a limited period with proof under the tachograph rules, but an expired card is a different matter - check the current rules with DVSA in the UK or the issuing authority in Germany before the driver drives. Then put every driver’s card expiry on a schedule.
The driver should not drive professionally until the periodic training is completed and the new card or Fahrerqualifizierungsnachweis is issued. In Germany, an employer who lets a driver drive without valid proof faces fines of up to €20,000 (§ 28 BKrFQG). In the UK, since February 2025 a 7-hour return-to-driving module applies to cards that expired up to two years ago. Book the training and record the new expiry date when the card arrives.
Ask them to, but do not rely on it. Record each expiry date yourself, remind the driver and the fleet manager in advance, and check licences on a schedule. A self-declaration helps between checks; it does not replace them.
Catch the next expired licence before the driver does
Import your drivers, set check intervals and expiry dates, assign owners. Free 14-day trial, no credit card.