How to start delivering food in London
Documents, vehicle, kit, sign-up and your first week on the apps.
What do I need to become a delivery rider in London?
You need the right to work in the UK, photo ID, a smartphone with mobile data, an insulated delivery bag and a legal vehicle: a bicycle or legal e-bike needs no licence, while a moped needs a driving licence (provisional is fine), a CBT certificate and hire-and-reward insurance. You apply in each app (Deliveroo, Uber Eats, Just Eat, Stuart), pass the ID and right-to-work check and then work as a self-employed courier.
Riders are self-employed, so you choose your hours and can use several apps at once, but you also register with HMRC for Self Assessment and pay your own tax. In central London sign-up can mean a waitlist: apply to more than one platform and pick the zone you can actually reach quickly.
1. Check you can legally do the work
Every platform checks your right to work in the UK at sign-up and repeats selfie or face checks while you are online. If the face on the check doesn’t match the account, the account is closed. Students on a visa usually cannot work as self-employed couriers at all, whatever the hours: check your visa conditions before you apply.
Renting or buying someone else’s account is illegal working. Riders on the forums lose the account, the money in it and sometimes the bank account linked to it. It is never worth it.
2. Choose your vehicle
A bicycle or a legal e-bike (pedal assist up to 15.5 mph, 250 W motor) needs no licence, no tax and no insurance. It is the cheapest way to start and works well in dense zones like Soho, Shoreditch or Camden.
A moped covers more ground and more orders per hour on longer trips, but needs a licence, a CBT and hire-and-reward insurance. Our guide to vehicles, licences and insurance explains the rules and the costs.
3. Get your kit ready
Riders who last more than a month agree on the same basics.
- A phone with a good battery and at least a few GB of data a month
- A power bank: navigation and the apps drain a phone in a few hours
- A solid handlebar mount, never riding with the phone in your hand
- An insulated bag or box (some platforms sell or lend one)
- Waterproof jacket and trousers, gloves, lights and something reflective
4. Sign up and get through the waitlist
Apply directly in the official app or website of each platform, never through an “agent” who asks for money. Sign-up can take a few days or many months: in London, Deliveroo waitlists of several months are common. Applying to two or three platforms at once is normal.
Make sure your personal details match your documents exactly; any mismatch triggers extra checks later. When you register, pick the vehicle you will really use: platforms dispatch and pay by vehicle type, and a moped is offered longer, better-paid trips than a bicycle.
5. Your first week
Start in the lunch (11:30–14:00) and dinner (17:30–21:30) peaks, close to a cluster of restaurants. Learn the slow restaurants and difficult buildings in your zone, and keep a note of what you earn per hour after costs from day one: it tells you which app, zone and times are worth it.
Quick answers
Can I deliver for more than one app?
Do I need a licence to deliver on an e-bike?
How old do I have to be?
General information for riders, not legal or tax advice. Rules change: check gov.uk and your platform’s rider pages before you rely on a detail.
