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Getting your documents through verification first time

Most rejections are photographs, not eligibility. Five minutes of care saves a week.

By Emmanuel Kojo Baidoo, Driver onboarding, Topsy · · 2 min read

The most frustrating way to start driving on a platform is to submit everything, wait, and then be rejected for a reason that has nothing to do with whether you are qualified.

In our experience the overwhelming majority of rejected submissions are not people who are ineligible. They are photographs that cannot be read.

Photograph the document, not the room

Put the document on a flat surface in good daylight. Fill the frame with it. Make sure all four corners are inside the picture, because a document with a corner cut off cannot be verified and will come back.

Avoid flash. Flash on a laminated licence produces a white patch exactly where the details are. Turn on a light instead and move so your own shadow is not across the page.

Check what the reviewer has to see

Every character of the document number, the name, and the expiry date must be legible. Hold the photograph at arm's length and read those three things yourself. If you cannot, the reviewer cannot either.

A document that expires next month will be accepted and then stop you driving shortly afterwards. Renew it first if you can; it is less disruptive than being paused mid-week.

Names have to match

The name on your licence, your vehicle documents and your Topsy account should be the same person, spelled the same way. A middle name present on one and absent on another is a common cause of delay. If there is a legitimate difference, say so when you submit rather than waiting to be asked.

Vehicle details

The registration you enter must match the plate in your photographs. Take the vehicle picture in daylight, from an angle where the plate is readable and the whole car is visible.

After you submit

You will be told the outcome, and if something is wrong you will be told which document and why. Fix that specific item rather than resubmitting everything, which starts the queue again.

If you are stuck, driver help has a section on documents. Going through it before your second attempt is usually faster than a third attempt.

Put it into practice.

Every idea on this blog starts the same way: two points and a price you see before you commit.

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