Working as an Uber driver remains an attractive, flexible source of work in 2026. Whether as a prospective full-time driver or for those looking for a top-up source of income, many of you will be wondering exactly how to go about getting started.
There are basically two steps: getting a private hire licence, and then getting a suitable vehicle. We go through the basics of both in the article below, as well as a quick look at how you might then choose to structure your work to get started.
Get your PCO driver’s licence
The first step to becoming an Uber driver is to get your PCO driver’s license.
Exactly what this looks like depends on where in the country you are, but in London, it will mean applying to Transport for London.
For starters, to be eligible for this licence, you’ll need to be at least 21 years old, have held a full UK or eligible EU/EEA licence for at least 3 years, and have the right to work and live in the UK.
You’ll then need to pass an enhanced DBS check (a kind of criminal background check), meet the DVLA Group 2 medical assessment criteria, and pass TfL’s topographical, SERU (Safety, Equality and Regulatory Understanding), and English language tests.
The amount of time it takes to get your private hire licence varies, and could be anywhere from a couple of months to around a year.
Get an appropriate vehicle
Once you have your licence, you’ll need to get your hands on a vehicle. In London, that car will need to meet Uber’s requirements, and be licensed for private hire work with Transport for London (TfL).
Many find that it’s both prohibitively expensive and too much work to buy a vehicle and do this all on your own. There are specialist services like Westgate Hire that provide fully licensed vehicles that are fully authorised for work with private hire platforms like Uber.
These services often take care of the rest of the paperwork side of things as well. They’ll deal with insurance, licensing, MOTs, and even vehicle repairs and maintenance.
Identify an area & niche
Once you have your private hire licence and an appropriate vehicle, you’re ready to start driving. You’ll want to pick a geographical area, and also think about the niche of customer you’re going to target.
That could be commuters in suburban areas, people heading to the airport early in the morning, or people heading back after their nights out late on Friday and Saturday.
The actual work you need to put in to get started as an Uber driver in 2026 isn’t that much. You will likely need to revise a little for your topographical and SERU tests, and make sure you’ve gotten your documents in order.
Otherwise, you will mostly be waiting for the various parts of your application to be processed. Make sure that you start as soon as reasonably possible, so that you aren’t frustrated by any easily avoidable delays.
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