How to Verify a Driver Before Hiring: A 7-Step Checklist

Say a family in Bengaluru needs a driver for school runs and a parent's hospital visits. A cousin recommends someone, he drives well around the block, and he can start on Monday. Before you hand over the keys and your children's daily route, a few checks spread over two or three days will tell you whether his licence is real, whether past employers would take him back, and whether anything in public records needs a conversation. This guide gives you seven steps, in order, with exactly what to ask for at each one.

The short version

• Check the licence yourself on the government's Parivahan website using the licence number and date of birth. A photocopy proves very little.
• Call at least two previous employers and ask specific questions, not just 'was he good?'.
• Collect identity and address proof for both his current and native address, and store the copies safely.
• Do a real test drive on the roads and at the times he will actually drive.
• Apply for police verification where your city offers it, and run an online check of public court records alongside it.
• Put the terms in writing and set up location sharing and emergency contacts from day one.

Step 1: Check the driving licence yourself

A laminated card or a photocopy can be forged, and a genuine licence can still be expired. Licence records sit in the Sarathi database of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, and anyone with the licence number and the holder's date of birth can look them up.

• Open the Parivahan Sewa website (parivahan.gov.in) and find the driving licence status service, often labelled 'Know your DL status'. Several district government websites link to the same page.
• Enter the licence number exactly as printed and the date of birth on the card, then complete the captcha.
• Compare the result with the card in your hand: holder's name, date of issue, validity and the vehicle classes it covers. For a family car you are looking for the light motor vehicle (LMV) class.
• If the licence has expired, the name does not match or no record comes up, pause and ask him to explain before going further.

He may also show his licence in the DigiLocker or mParivahan app. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has advised states to accept licences shown in these apps on par with the original, and because the app pulls the record from the government database, it is a useful second check.

Step 2: Speak to previous employers

This is the step most families skip. A name and phone number on a piece of paper is not a reference until you have spoken to that person and are satisfied they really employed him.

• Ask for at least two previous employers, ideally households, with their area or full address.
• Call them yourself. If the 'employer' sounds like a friend reading from a script, you will usually notice within a minute.
• Ask: How long did he work for you? Why did he leave? Was he ever absent without notice? Any accidents or traffic challans? Did he handle cash or fuel, and were the accounts clean?
• End with: Would you hire him again? Hesitation here often tells you more than the praise before it.

If he drove for a company or a transport operator, ask for a relieving letter or the supervisor's number and confirm the dates he gives you.

Step 3: Collect identity and address documents

• Photo identity proof, such as Aadhaar. You can confirm an Aadhaar card is genuine by scanning its secure QR code with UIDAI's Aadhaar QR scanner app; the data in the code is digitally signed by UIDAI.
• Current address proof and his permanent or native address.
• Two recent photographs.
• A family contact at his native place, with a number you have actually called once.

Keep copies, never originals, and store them in a closed folder rather than the family WhatsApp group. Collect only what you need, and destroy the copies if he does not join.

Step 4: Take a proper test drive

Ten minutes around the colony tells you almost nothing. Sit in the back seat, where your family will sit, and go out at the hour and on the route he will actually drive.

• Include peak-hour traffic on a main road and a narrow lane or crowded market.
• Ask him to park in a tight spot and reverse out of your building's gate.
• Watch mirror use, lane discipline, speed near schools and whether he touches his phone.
• Ask him to check tyres, coolant and fuel and talk you through what he looks for.
• If he will drive elderly parents, notice whether he waits for them to settle before moving and slows for speed breakers.

Step 5: Police verification and an online background check

Many city police departments let employers submit the details of domestic staff for verification. Delhi Police, for example, offers domestic help verification through its citizen services portal and also accepts forms at police stations. Check your city police website or ask at the local station what form and documents they need, and whether a personal driver is covered by the same process.

Police verification can take a while. Alongside it, an online check of public court records shows you early whether his name appears in court cases, pending or disposed, anywhere in India. A match is a reason to ask questions, not a verdict on its own.

Step 6: Agree the terms in writing

A simple one or two page letter, signed by both of you, prevents most later disputes. It is not a legal template; for anything unusual, speak to a lawyer.

• Salary, payment date and how overtime and outstation trips are paid.
• Working hours, weekly off and leave.
• Fuel: who fills it and how receipts are kept.
• House rules: no phone while driving, no passengers without permission, no personal use of the car.
• Notice period on both sides.

Also ask your insurer whether your car policy covers legal liability to a paid driver. On private car policies this is usually an optional add-on (often listed as IMT 28) rather than automatic.

Step 7: Build safety into the daily routine

• Location sharing: ask him to share live location on school runs and late trips, or use a GPS tracker in the car. Tell him openly that you do this.
• Emergency contacts: save two family numbers and the nearest hospital on his phone, and his native contact on yours.
• A rule for children: they never go anywhere other than the agreed place unless a parent has called them directly.
• Keys: keep the spare key yourself and know who has the main key at all times.
• A one-month review: punctuality, fuel use and any traffic challans, which you can look up against your vehicle number on the government's e-challan website (echallan.parivahan.gov.in).

What a fraudcheck.ai report checks (and what it doesn't)

A fraudcheck.ai report costs ₹199 and is ready in about 5 minutes. You need only the driver's full name, his father's name and the city he lives in. No ID numbers, no documents and no OTP from him, and he is never contacted or told.

• Court cases across India from public court records, pending and disposed, matched on name, father's name and city.
• News mentions: published news stories that name him.
• Public social media presence: public profiles found for him.

Matching on three details removes most namesakes, but a result can still need your judgement, and everything comes from public sources. It is not police verification, a licence check, an Aadhaar or identity check, a credit check or a guarantee of anyone's character. It complements police verification; it does not replace it. You can run a driver background check or see a sample report first. Reports are saved in My Reports to share with family.

Frequently asked questions

How can I check if a driving licence is genuine?

Look it up on the Parivahan Sewa website (parivahan.gov.in) using the licence number and the date of birth on the card. The record shows the holder's name, validity and the vehicle classes covered. If these do not match the card, or the licence has expired, ask the driver to explain before you go further.

Is police verification of a personal driver mandatory?

Rules differ from city to city. Many police departments offer verification of domestic staff and encourage employers to use it, so check your city police website or ask at the local police station. Even where it is not required, it is a sensible step for anyone who will drive your children or parents.

What documents should I collect from a driver before hiring?

Collect a copy of his driving licence, a photo identity proof such as Aadhaar, proof of current and permanent address, two photographs, and contact numbers for at least two previous employers and a family member. Keep copies rather than originals, store them securely and share them only for police verification.

Can I check a driver's criminal record online?

There is no public database in India where you can type a name and see someone's police record. What you can check is public court records, which show cases where a person is a party. An online background check searches these across India along with news mentions, and should be read together with police verification.

What should I do if a court case shows up?

First confirm it is the same person by comparing his father's name and city. Then look at the type of case and whether it is pending or disposed, and ask him about it calmly. An old cheque dispute and a pending theft case are very different things, and an allegation is not a conviction.

Before your new driver's first school run, take five minutes to check his court records on fraudcheck.ai alongside the licence and reference checks above.