The paper driving licence counterpart was abolished in June 2015 as part of a Government initiative to cut red tape. All employers must ensure that anyone that is required to drive on behalf of the business is entitled to do so and holds a valid driving licence. With the removal of the paper counterpart the only way to do that is to check online against the DVLA records through a commercial licence verification service such as SmartLicence or use the DVLA’s own licence checking service. Using a commercial service ensures that vital checks can be automated and not missed. Plus the frequency of automated checks can be set according to the risk profile of a driver so that operators focus on any potential problem areas. For example, the a commercial transport company may want to check a driver with 9 points every month whereas a driver with a clean licence may only get checked twice a year. Removing the paper counterpart is a good thing for drivers and employers as checks must be conducted against the live DVLA data. Employers will see the latest data rather than a piece of paper that could be out of date the day after it is printed. Since June 2015 commercial online driving licence verification services have added useful features such as SmartAlerts – automatic email alerts to changes on a licence following a check with DVLA, to make the burden of managing the process easier and enable managers to focus on the areas that may need attention. You can download our infographic that shows the alerts available here. With the forthcoming roll out of Earned Recognition in 2017 if you are not already using an online driving licence verification service such as SmartLicence, now is the time to do so.