The service has been in private testing but has now been moved to public beta and means that GB driving licence holders can share their information held at DVLA with others online while ensuring they stay in control of who sees it.

Drivers can now generate a code to share with a third party, such as an employer, vehicle hire company or driving school. This code can be shared by email, text, face to face or over the phone. There is also an option to print or save a summary of the driving licence information.

The DVLA added that drivers will still need to keep hold of their paper counterpart as it remains valid until 8 June 2015.