UK DVLA Driver's License Number Regex for Go

What this pattern does

This page provides a well-structured, multi-part regular expression for matching uk dvla driver's license number, ported and verified for Go. Identity and credential patterns need both correctness and safety, since they're frequent targets for adversarial input. The snippet below is ready to drop into your Go project — whether you're validating in a Gin handler, a gRPC service, or a command-line tool.

Go Implementation

// UK DVLA Driver's License Number
// ReDoS-safe | RegexVault — Identity & PII > Driver's License Numbers

package validation

import "regexp"

var ukDvlaDriversLicenseNumberRe = regexp.MustCompile(`^[A-Z9]{5}[0-9]{6}[A-Z9]{2}[A-Z0-9]{2}[A-Z]{1,2}[0-9]$`)

func ValidateUkDvlaDriversLicenseNumber(s string) bool {
    return ukDvlaDriversLicenseNumberRe.MatchString(s)
}

// Example
// fmt.Println(ValidateUkDvlaDriversLicenseNumber("SMITH691203A99AB5")) // true

Test Cases

When to use this pattern

This pattern is drawn from the Identity & PII > Driver's License Numbers category and carries a ReDoS-safe certification. That matters for Go developers because Go's RE2 engine is inherently safe from catastrophic backtracking, but this pattern has been additionally verified for correctness. RegexVault audits patterns against known backtracking attack vectors, ensuring you have the necessary context before using this regex in a high-stakes production environment.

Common Pitfalls

Technical Notes

UK DL structure: surname (first 5 chars, padded with 9), birth decade digit + DOB (MDDYM where M is month, padded for females with 5 added to month), initials + suffix digits. Encodes surname, DOB, and gender — extremely information-dense PII.