UK Driving Licence OCR & Field Extraction API

The Complexity of DVLA Numbered Fields

The UK driving licence relies on a specific numbered field system established by the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency). Critical identity data isn't labeled with clear words; instead, Field 1 represents the Surname, Field 5 is the unique 16-character Driving Licence Number, and Field 8 holds the residential address. Standard text-recognition engines frequently misalign these tiny reference numbers with the text, struggle with the multi-line formatting of UK addresses, or misread the alphanumeric patterns in the license number against complex background security guilloches. To see how our models perfectly map these visual cues without hallucinating, explore our comprehensive driver license OCR capabilities.

High-Speed Edge Routing & SDK-Free Integration

Our API is specifically trained on UK DVLA document topographies. Delivered as a pure REST API, it allows you to completely bypass heavy, performance-draining SDK integrations. Simply send a direct file upload or a Base64-encoded string, and our engine processes it natively. Because our core infrastructure is deployed on Cloudflare's global edge network (rather than centralized servers), authentication and processing occur with ultra-low latency for UK-based requests, ensuring a seamless onboarding experience for your users.

Core Applications in the UK Market

Integration & AI Prompts

Send document images directly via Base64 or multipart file uploads. Our API automatically sanitizes incoming Base64 payloads (stripping illegal whitespace and newlines) to prevent request failures. For complete payload specifications and error handling, consult our developer documentation.

import requests
import base64

# 1. Prepare Base64 Image of the UK Driving Licence
with open("uk_licence_sample.jpg", "rb") as image_file:
    base64_image = base64.b64encode(image_file.read()).decode('utf-8')

url = "https://api.structocr.com/v1/driver-license"
headers = {
    "x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY",
    "Content-Type": "application/json"
}

# Direct Base64 injection
payload = {
    "img": base64_image 
}

response = requests.post(url, headers=headers, json=payload)
result = response.json()

if result.get('success'):
    data = result['data']
    print(f"✅ Licence Number (Field 5): {data['document_number']}")
    print(f"✅ Address (Field 8): {data['address']}")
    print(f"✅ Vehicle Class (Field 9): {data['vehicle_class']}")

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "type": "drivers_license",
    "country_code": "GBR",
    "region": null,
    "document_number": "SMITH920515C99BW",
    "personal_number": null,
    "surname": "SMITH",
    "given_names": "EMMA JANE",
    "sex": null,
    "date_of_birth": "1992-05-15",
    "place_of_birth": "LONDON",
    "date_of_issue": "2020-08-10",
    "date_of_expiry": "2030-08-09",
    "date_of_first_issue": null,
    "issuing_authority": "DVLA",
    "address": "12 HIGH STREET, CAMDEN, LONDON, NW1 8AA",
    "vehicle_class": "AM, A, B1, B, f, k, q",
    "extra_details": {}
  }
}