What to expect
The link a hire firm sent you and the short steps it walks you through, in about two minutes.
You are hiring a car, and the firm has sent you a KeyProof link to check in. This page explains what that link asks for and why. The whole thing takes about two minutes on your phone.
What KeyProof is
KeyProof is the check-in your hire firm uses. You do not need to download an app or create an account. You tap the link in the message from your firm, it opens in your phone's browser, you fill it in once, and you are done.
What you will be asked for
The check-in walks you through a few short steps in order.
- Your details: your full name (as it appears on your licence), date of birth, home address, and mobile number. Your email is optional. You need to be 18 or over to hire.
- Your driving licence: a DVLA check code. You get this free from the DVLA in about a minute: on gov.uk, sign in and tap "Get your check code". There is a button in the check-in that takes you straight there. The firm uses the code to confirm your licence with the DVLA. It does not let anyone change anything on your licence.
- Your identity: photograph your ID document and take a quick live selfie. These run through Stripe, a regulated identity provider, which matches the two. This is how the firm knows the person collecting the car is really you.
- The agreement: read the firm's rental agreement and sign it on screen with your finger. If you cannot draw a signature, there is an option to type your full name instead, which counts as your signature.
- The deposit: you acknowledge the deposit the firm is taking. Depending on the firm, this may be a temporary hold placed on your card. A hold is not a charge: no money is taken, the amount is simply reserved until the hire ends, when the firm releases or settles it.
Why each step is there
These are not hoops for the sake of it. They protect you as much as the firm:
- The licence and ID checks mean a genuine renter is never held up by someone else's fraud.
- Photographing the car at pickup means a scratch that was already there can never be pinned on you later. Go around the whole car, each corner and side, the wheels and the windscreen, before you drive off.
The fee
There is a small one-off fee for the checks on your booking, shown to you during check-in. It covers the identity and licence verification for this hire.
After you finish
Once you are checked in, keep the link. You use the same link again at pickup to photograph the car, and again at return. The firm confirms it is you against your verified check when you collect the car, so bring the physical licence you used.
If the link will not open
If the link says it is not active, check you opened the full link from your firm's message, or ask them to send it again.
For what happens to your information, see Your data and your rights.