Driving Licence Number
The driving licence number is in field 5 of the EU card licence. What fields 4a, 4b and 4c mean, how the UK licence number is structured, and who checks it.
Editorial and specialist review: Max Valjan · Last updated: August 4, 2026
The driving licence number (Führerscheinnummer) is the unique identifier of a driving licence document. On the EU card licence it appears on the front in field 5 — on German licences a combination of letters and digits, usually eleven characters. If you are looking for "field 4c", that is not the licence number but the issuing authority: fields 4a to 4c hold dates and authority details, and field 5 holds the number itself.
The fields on the EU card licence: 4a, 4b, 4c and 5
All EU card licences share the same layout, with fields numbered identically across Europe. On the front you will find:
- Fields 1–3: surname, first name, date and place of birth
- Field 4a: the issue date of the document
- Field 4b: the expiry date — EU card licences are valid for 15 years; after that only the document is renewed, not the entitlement to drive
- Field 4c: the issuing authority, such as a city administration or licensing office
- Field 5: the driving licence number
- Field 9: the licence categories held
On the back, a table lists each category with its grant date (column 10), any expiry date (column 11), and restrictions as code numbers (column 12) — for example "01" for corrective lenses or "95" for professional driver qualification.
Important: on EU licences the number identifies the document, not the person. A replacement licence (e.g. after loss) or an exchange produces a new number.
The UK driving licence number
The UK photocard licence also shows its number in field 5, but the format differs: it is a 16-character code derived from the holder's details rather than a document serial. The pattern: the first five characters are taken from the surname (padded with the digit 9 if the name is shorter), the next six digits encode the date of birth — with the second digit incremented for female holders — followed by the holder's initials and computer-generated check characters. A separate two-digit issue number counts how often the photocard has been replaced. Because the number is derived from the person, it stays the same across replacements — a key difference from German licences, where each new document gets a fresh number.
When is the licence number needed?
- Driver registration: Courier and transport platforms verify the driving licence at sign-up — for example, drivers joining Maxmove present their licence during verification.
- Vehicle rental and car sharing: Rental companies record the number at handover to document which licence was presented.
- Fleet licence checks: As vehicle keepers, companies must regularly verify their drivers' licences — the number serves as the reference.
- Administrative processes: such as exchanging an old licence for the new EU card or responding to licensing authority queries.
Why fleets record the licence number
A company that hands over vehicles is liable as the keeper if a driver drives without a valid licence. Regular licence checks — two visual inspections per year are the common standard in Germany — are therefore a core fleet duty. Each check records the date, the categories held, and the licence number: if the number changes between two checks on a German licence, a new document has been issued — a reason to look closer. A structured driving licence check template with all required fields is available free in our templates section.
Structure of the German licence number
The number typically starts with the issuing authority's code, followed by a serial combination and a check digit. There is no single published scheme for all components — what matters is that the document is uniquely identifiable. Licences from other EU countries may structure the number differently, but field 5 is the same everywhere.