According to Freedom of Information figures seen by the Association for Driving Licence Verification (ADLV), driving licence checks carried out by fleets have risen by 30.4% over the last 12 months. This growth is expected to continue to reach three million checks per annum in 2017. The growth has been fueled by the removal of the paper driving licence counterpart in 2015 and introduction of online driving licence checking services such as Descartes SmartLicence. New features such as e-consent and instant checks make it quick and easy to check any new drivers with SmartLicence.  Once drivers are on the SmartLicence system the frequency of future checks is determined by the risk profile of drivers - a driver with 9 points would get checked every month whilst a driver with a clean licence would only get checked twice a year. This helps fleet operators manage the risk of their drivers and the insurance implications. Checking licences online with SmartLicence makes it easier for companies to deal with any issues through the SmartAlerts feature which provides automated email alerts to any changes such as new points following a licence check. An audit of over 12,000 drivers’ licenses conducted via Descartes’ SmartLicence, identified that 2.5% of drivers had an expired licence or were perilously close to losing their licence with nine or more points. 15% had speed limit offences and in total, over 3,000 offences were identified. This audit is indicative of the risks to which operators would otherwise, unknowingly, have been exposed. Descartes is a founding member of ADLV and Richard Payne Gill, deputy chairman of the ADLV, said: "The growth in volume is highly encouraging as it reflects that electronic checking, through a fully-managed service from a professional third party, has now become a ‘best practice’ with full reporting and audit trails included." If you are not using an online driving licence verification and management service get a quote for SmartLicence today.