How to Become an Uber Eats Delivery Driver

Uber Eats is a subsidiary of Uber Technologies (better known simply as Uber), and it’s one of the most popular food delivery platforms in the world. The app is available in hundreds of cities across the US, and it’s continuing to attract customers and gig workers alike.

Customers can order food and drinks from restaurants, cafes, and other establishments via the Uber Eats app (available for both Android and iOS devices) or UberEats.com.

A delivery person then accepts the order, picks up the items from the vendor, and delivers them to the customer by car, scooter, bicycle, or foot.

You can begin delivering with Uber Eats in just a few days, provided that you meet Uber’s requirements. Your eligibility depends on:

Your location

The first thing you need to do to sign up with Uber Eats is to make sure you’re in one of the 6,000+ cities worldwide that they operate in. To do so, do a quick search on the Uber Eats official website or in the Uber Eats app.

Your vehicle, age, and licensure

Depending on how you want to make your deliveries—by car, scooter, bicycle, or foot—you’ll have to meet different requirements, as shown in the table below.

Uber Eats Driver Requirements by Mode of Transportation

Source: Uber delivery and driving license verification requirements.

Thankfully, you don’t need to worry about other car requirements as an Uber Eats driver that you’d need to meet as a rideshare driver. For example, your car can be any age and from any year.

What other documentation does Uber Eats require?

Assuming you’re eligible, Uber Eats may require additional documentation depending on the city you want to deliver in. You might need to provide:

• Social Security Number: This is required for Uber’s background screening process.
• Proof of residency: Whether or not you need to prove your residency depends on what city you live in. If you do, your ID might be sufficient (if it lists your address), or you can provide a utility bill or something similar. 1

When you apply, you’ll be able to see exactly what documents you need to provide in the app.

What equipment do you need to deliver for Uber Eat?

There are only two pieces of equipment you absolutely need to drive for Uber Eats:

• Smartphone or mobile device: You’ll need to have a mobile phone or portable device that supports the Uber Eats app in order to sign up for deliveries.
• Vehicle: As you’d expect, unless you’re planning on doing all your deliveries by foot (which is impractical unless you live in a very dense city), you’ll need a vehicle. You can use either a car, scooter, or bike.

Optional but recommended tools

You should also consider getting these supplies to help you get the goods to your customers:

• Insulated delivery bag: Although Uber Eats doesn’t require drivers to use insulated bags for deliveries, getting one has several advantages, including improved food safety and potentially higher tips (for keeping your customers’ food or drinks the right temperature).
• Beverage carrier: Getting an appropriate carrier for hot and cold drinks can spare you the time and inconvenience of having to clean your car’s carpets if something spills.
• All-season raincoat: People are more likely to order food when the weather is atrocious, and you won’t always be able to hold an umbrella while you’re carrying their deliveries. You need a good raincoat that’ll protect you from wind, rain, snow, hail, or whatever other weather may hit where you live.
• Spare tire: This is something you should already have if you’re a driver—but if not, definitely make sure you have a spare tire ready to go in case you have a blowout while on the job.
• Helmet (for non-car drivers): If you’re doing deliveries by bike or scooter, a high-quality helmet is a must. Don’t take any chances by skipping out. One study found that bike-based delivery riders in Australia were 13 times more likely to wind up in the hospital in the evenings than recreational cyclists. 2

We collaborated on this article with Luke Kirchhoff, an experienced Uber Eats driver who also runs a TikTok and YouTube channel about delivery driving. He strongly recommended buying an official delivery bag from Uber, as it will come with a plastic “delivery in progress” sign.

“This is extremely helpful to put on your dash so that when you put your hazards on to run into a store or apartment building, any parking people will leave your car alone and know you will be right back,” he told us. “It doesn’t work all the time, but it gives me peace of mind, and I’ve never gotten a ticket while using this technique.”

He also suggested keeping a stick of sticky notes and a Sharpie marker on hand, which he uses to leave personalized notes on the orders that he delivers. He said that this dramatically boosts his ratings and tips (something that we’ll cover in more depth below).

If you’re already an Uber rideshare driver, you don’t need to sign up separately for Uber Eats. Just log into your account, turn on “Deliveries,” and agree to the delivery terms to begin accepting orders.

However, if you’re brand new to the Uber platform, you’ll need to sign up with Uber Eats before you can start working. Follow these steps:

1. Fill in your basic personal information: Head over to Uber’s sign-up page and click on “Sign up to deliver.” You’ll need to fill in your personal information, including your name, phone number, and email address.
2. Select your preferred delivery method: Next, you’ll be asked to select the type of transportation you intend to use.
3. Consent to a background check: You’ll have to authorize Uber’s standard background check, which will require your Social Security number.
4. Upload the required documents: Again, these will vary depending on the city you’re in and what kind of transportation you selected. Be prepared to provide a government-issued ID and potentially your vehicle registration (unless you’re not planning on driving).
5. Add a profile photo: Last, upload a clear photo of yourself for your profile, which can’t be the same as your ID picture. Make sure you’re not covering your face with a hat or sunglasses.
6. Wait for approval: Once you’ve provided all the required information and documents, you’re all set. You just have to wait for Uber to approve your application 3

How long will it take to get approved?

We asked Kirchhoff about his experience when he signed up for Uber. He told us it was a fairly quick and painless process, and his background check was completed almost instantly.

“Signing up is pretty easy,” he said. “The hardest part is the car insurance papers and proving your car insured. I’ve had to call in before to brute force them to manually look at my documents. But they have great customer support, so it’s never too long of an issue. Just keep at it and you’ll be fine.”

To start making money from Uber Eats, you need to accept an order on the app. You’ll always be able to see the fee for the delivery before accepting the order.

Upon accepting an order, you’ll see several key pieces of information:

• Customer’s name
• Order number
• Order details
• Customer’s preferred delivery option (i.e., “leave at the door,” “meet at the door,” or “meet outside”)

Once you arrive at the customer’s address, the Uber Eats app will notify them. You can call or message them in the app if you can’t find them. Contact support at any time during a delivery if you need help (just select “Help” in your Uber app).

Bear in mind that you may have to take extra steps to adhere to certain restaurant regulations or local laws. For example, you may be asked to separate halal and non-halal food, or deliver certain items in an insulated bag.

Being an Uber Eats driver is a great side hustle for some people, but it’s not for everyone. If you like driving but don’t want to deal with chatting with passengers (like you’d have to when driving rideshare for Uber), it’ll probably be a great fit, but if you’d prefer something low-stress that you can do from your house, you might be happier looking elsewhere.

How much money can you make as an Uber Eats driver?

According to anecdotal online sources, Uber Eats drivers make $20 per hour on average. Kirchhoff told us that this seemed about right to him, but that with his tip-maximizing strategies, he’s able to push that closer to $25–$35 per hour.

The exact amount you’ll earn depends on several factors, including:

• Your location: Uber’s website lists the cities that get the most requests for Uber deliveries in each state. If you happen to live in or near one of these cities, you’ll be able to pick up as many gigs as you want—but if you live in a less populated area, you may struggle to make ends meet.
• Tips: As mentioned, tips can boost your earnings significantly, but not every customer will tip. This can make your earnings variable.

Bear in mind that you’ll also need to pay for your own gas. Uber won’t reimburse you for the cost of your fuel. This can really eat into your earnings and lower your take-home pay closer to minimum wage—unless you’re able to compensate for it by increasing your tip rate.

Other factors to consider

When deciding whether or not to pick up Uber Eats as a side hustle, also consider the following:

• You’ll need to maintain your vehicle: Your job security as an Uber Eats driver hinges on your access to personal transportation. If your car breaks down, you’ll be out of work. For this job to be feasible, you’ll need to have an emergency savings fund to cover the cost of potential repairs.
• You’ll face high risks with no medical benefits: The combination of time spent behind the wheel with high time pressure is a recipe for car accidents. Since you’ll be considered a self-employed worker or independent contractor, you won’t get health insurance from Uber, meaning one bad accident can be a serious financial setback.
• It’s easy to juggle other car-based side hustles: On the plus side, as an Uber Eats driver, you can easily take up other side hustles that require a car to keep earning money during lulls between mealtimes. For example, you could work as a rideshare driver, start a mystery shopping side hustle, or become a mobile notary.

To decide whether Uber Eats is the right job for you, weigh the pros and cons. If you’re not sure, you can always just give it a try—you can deactivate your account later if you change your mind.

We asked Kirchhoff for his tips on how to make the most of your time delivering for Uber Eats. He shared his strategies with us, which net him a consistent rate of $25 to $35 per hour.

Leave personalized notes for your customers

Remember those sticky notes we told you to keep on hand? According to Kirchhoff, those are the key to getting better tips. He told us that every time he delivers an order, he leaves a note on the bag saying “(CUSTOMER NAME)! Thank you for having me as your driver. –Luke”

“This takes 10 seconds and it’ll almost guarantee you great reviews, plus big tips,” he said. “This is probably the greatest advice I can give anyone trying to do Uber Eats.” He went on to tell us that this has doubled his tip rate and occasionally gotten him $50+ tips.

Kirchhoff did note that this strategy is more effective in relatively rich areas. This brings us to his next piece of advice:

Be choosy about where you deliver

The unfortunate truth is that delivering isn’t equally lucrative in every neighborhood. Kirchhoff told us that in his experience, driving in wealthy areas nets him significantly more in tips.

“If someone is broke, they will never tip, no matter what you do,” he told us bluntly. As a Los Angeles driver, this means that he sticks to Beverly Hills and Century City and avoids downtown areas.

He added that if you stick to a couple of neighborhoods, you’ll gradually learn which restaurants tend to net you the best tips. “A lot of rich people eat from the same restaurants,” he said. “Figure out what they are and try to accept orders from there. Pair this with the sticky note strategy and you can clean up on tips.”

Learn which restaurants are worth accepting orders from

In a similar vein, Kirchhoff told us that he’s discovered that some restaurants consistently take longer to prepare orders. This forces him to wait for them, which means he spends less time driving and earns less per hour. He recommended against accepting orders from restaurants like this. “Just be aware and have common sense and you’ll be fine,” he said.

Don’t accept lowball offers

In most markets, before you accept an Uber Eats order, you can see how much it’ll pay. Kirchhoff shared how he vets orders:

“Don’t accept orders under $10 unless it’s like a 15-minute total time order,” he said. “My rule of thumb is, I need to be making $30 an hour, so that’s $15 for a 30-minute order, $20 for a 40-minute order, etc. $10 every 20 minutes.”

He noted that this is the rate that he’s willing to accept in Los Angeles and that different standards might apply elsewhere in the country, but that “holding it to that standard and only bending by a couple of dollars here and there has helped me make more.”

Whether you see Uber Eats as occasional and temporary gig work or a longer-term side hustle, if you follow these tips, you should be able to make a decent second income from it. Be sure to make the best use of your time and do what you can to make sure your customers have the best experience possible.