How to become a delivery driver in the UK
What you need before your first shift: the right licence and insurance, which platform to start with, what it costs to set up, and how to tell HMRC.
Last checked 12/09/2026.
Signing up to a delivery platform takes an afternoon. Getting set up so that the work is legal, insured and actually profitable takes a bit more thought. Here is the order to do it in.
1. Check you meet the basics
- A full UK or equivalent driving licence, usually held for at least a year (bike and moped work often has no licence requirement beyond CBT for a moped).
- The right to work in the UK. Every platform checks this.
- A smartphone that can run the app all day, and a mount.
- A bank account in your own name. Platforms will not pay into someone else's.
- A background check for parcel work. Amazon Flex, Evri and DPD all run one.
- Usually 18 or over, and 19 with a year's licence for some parcel work.
2. Sort insurance before your first shift, not after
You need hire and reward cover. Your ordinary car policy does not cover paid delivery, and driving without valid insurance is an offence. This is not a corner to cut for one trial shift - read the insurance guide first.
3. Choose where to start
| Type | Platforms | Shape of the work |
|---|---|---|
| Food delivery | Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Just Eat | Short hops, evenings and weekends busiest, log on when you like, income varies a lot by hour. |
| Parcel delivery | Amazon Flex, Evri, DPD | Booked blocks or a fixed round, daytime, more predictable pay, higher mileage per day. |
| Private hire | Uber | Passengers, not parcels. Needs a PHV licence from your council and a very different insurance policy. |
Most drivers start with food delivery because the barrier is lowest, then move to parcel work once they want steadier hours. Read food delivery versus parcel delivery if you are weighing it up.
4. Work out what it will cost you
The costs people forget are the ones that decide whether this is worth doing:
- Hire and reward insurance, either annual or per hour
- Fuel, which for parcel work can be 80 to 120 miles a day
- Extra servicing and tyres from the mileage
- Faster depreciation on the vehicle
- A phone plan that will not run out of data mid-round
- Insulated bags for food work, a trolley for parcels
Set against those, the mileage allowance is worth real money at tax time: 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles. A driver covering 80 business miles a day is accruing about £44 of allowance a day.
5. Tell HMRC
Register for Self Assessment if you expect to take more than £1,000 before expenses. The deadline is 5 October after the end of the tax year you started in, and your UTR arrives by post, so do it early. The Self Assessment guide covers the whole process.
6. Start recording from day one
The single most useful habit is writing down, per shift: the date, hours, business miles, commuting miles and what you were paid. It takes a minute and it is the difference between knowing what you earn and guessing. It is also the record HMRC expects you to have.
That is what JoltMile is for, and the first 10 shifts are free - enough to see what an hour of the work actually pays before you commit to anything.
Common questions
- What do I need to start delivering in the UK?
- The right to work, a driving licence if you are driving, a vehicle, the right insurance for the work, and a way to pass whatever background check the platform runs. Private hire adds a licence on top.
- How soon can I start earning?
- Signing up takes minutes and background checks usually take days to a couple of weeks. The insurance is the part that should be sorted before your first shift rather than after it.
- Do I need to tell HMRC before I start?
- You have until 5 October after the end of the tax year you started in. Doing it in your first month is far better, because the UTR arrives by post and you cannot file without it.
- Is a car, a moped or a bike better to start on?
- A bike wins in a dense city centre, a moped in most towns, and a car on parcel work and in bad weather. Start with what you already own before buying anything for the job.
- How much does it cost to get started?
- Insurance is the largest item and it varies enormously. Beyond that, expect a thermal bag, a phone mount and a background check fee on some platforms. Nothing else is required to take a first shift.
About the author
Issac Davies, Founder of JoltMile
Issac Davies drives for gig apps in the UK and built JoltMile to show drivers what a shift actually pays once fuel, insurance and tax come off. Every guide here is checked against HMRC and gov.uk guidance, and is information rather than tax advice.
Track this automatically
The JoltMile app works this out from your own shifts, and keeps the figures ready for Self Assessment. Your first 10 shifts are free.
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