How to Become A Chauffeur – Eligibility Criteria & Requirements

A chauffeur is responsible for arriving at the pickup location timely and driving clients to their desired locations, ensuring a comfortable and safe journey experience. His job is to remove hassle from his client’s journey including unproductive waiting time and luggage handling. He also provides them with a clean and well-maintained car environment.

This guide includes information about a chauffeur’s duties, eligibility criteria, requirements, and characteristics. Moreover, you can also know the reasons why you become a chauffeur.

Duties of A Chauffeur

A chauffeur is mainly responsible to:

• Follow maps and GPS devices.
• Assist passengers with luggage or packages.
• Keep the vehicle clean and well-maintained.
• Help passengers get in and out of the car if required.
• Consider weather and traffic delays during route planning.
• Pick up passengers and drop them off at their desired destinations.
• Communicate effectively with passengers and update them about their journey status.

Eligibility Criteria to Become A Chauffeur

You should check the following eligibility criteria before applying or deciding to become a chauffeur:

• You must be at least 21 years of age
• You are required to have a clean driving record
• You must have passed the driving test
• You must have a clean criminal record

Requirements to Become A Chauffeur

You need to get formal qualifications and particular skills related to the profession of a chauffeur. The following are some of the major requirements to become a chauffeur:

Driving Licence

You need to have a valid driving licence to show as proof to your potential employer at the time of recruitment. There are different types of driving licences based on the vehicle type you want to drive, such as category B, category C, category D1, and category D for cars, lorries, minibuses, and buses, respectively.

Driving Experience

Most employers prefer hiring experienced drivers with a clean driving record. It ensures that they drive confidently, safely and with full responsibility, being vigilant towards their duties. Therefore, your chances of being hired by a potential employer increase if you are experienced.

Good Health

Your health check should meet the vision standards for becoming a chauffeur. For this purpose, you can consult an expert optometrist. Moreover, you should also check for specific medical conditions, such as epilepsy, to ensure your fitness.

Chauffeur Licence

Some agencies want you to provide a chauffeur licence along with driving licence. You can get a Private Hire Licence from the PCO (Public Carriage Office), which involves 12 to 16 weeks of the application process. This licence has a validity of 3 years.

Driving Course

You should take a professional driving course to become well-qualified with complete knowledge of safe and confident driving. This course helps you learn car care and cleaning, defensive driving techniques, first aid, collision avoidance, etc. Your driving course completion certificate reflects your commitment towards prioritising your clients’ safety.

Soft Skills

It would be best to work on improving your soft skills, such as self-development, to maintain a good reputation for your employer and clients. You should offer efficient, polite and considerate customer service and maintain clients’ privacy.

Moreover, suitable work attire is also crucial and one of the basics of personal presentation. You can also learn a foreign language to improve your job qualifications with enhanced chances of being hired as a chauffeur.

CV & Cover Letter

It is required to attach your updated CV and cover letter with the job application as a chauffeur, tailoring it according to the job requirements. To craft a perfect CV and cover letter, you should include the keywords used by the employer in the job description to highlight your qualifications and certifications.

Characteristics of a Professional Chauffeur

A chauffeur should possess a professional attitude with effective time management skills. He needs to be patient and deal with overwhelming situations or traffic-related issues patiently and modestly while keeping polite and kind to the passengers.

A good chauffeur possesses a responsible and dependable personality so that the customers can easily trust him and be comfortable throughout their journey. In this way, they get peace of mind that their chauffeur will handle everything effectively without requiring them to worry about traffic delays or tracking the route.

Why Become A Chauffeur?

If you are fond of driving and possess customer service skills, you can pursue your professional career as a chauffeur. Moreover, as a chauffeur, you can also enjoy other benefits, which include getting a chance to drive luxury cars by working with different private hire agencies.

You also get a chance to visit new locations and explore new areas of the country. Moreover, you meet new and interesting people with different mindsets, which enhances your exposure, and you also get to know new things while communicating with them.