Amazon Flex lets you deliver parcels using your own vehicle, choosing the blocks you work rather than being tied to a shift pattern. It's one of the more flexible ways into delivery work in the UK, but there's a set of requirements you need to meet before Amazon will let you start, and a few things worth understanding about how the work actually runs day to day.
This guide covers what Amazon asks for, how blocks and pay work, and what you'll need in place before your first delivery.
How does Amazon Flex work?
Amazon Flex is a self-employed delivery role. You use the Amazon Flex app to see available delivery blocks in your area, reserve the ones that suit you, collect parcels from a local depot or station, and deliver them on a route the app sets out.
A block is usually four hours. During busier periods like Prime Day, Black Friday and the run-up to Christmas, Amazon sometimes extends blocks to six hours. You are paid for the block rather than per parcel, and you cover your own fuel, vehicle costs and insurance.
Because you are delivering goods for payment, this counts as commercial use, which is where your Amazon Flex insurance requirements differ from an ordinary driver's. More on that below.
Amazon Flex requirements in the UK
To be accepted as an Amazon Flex delivery partner you need to meet Amazon's own criteria, and then separately meet the criteria of whoever insures you.
What Amazon asks for
- To be aged 18 or over
- A valid full UK driving licence
- The right to work in the UK
- A vehicle that meets Amazon's size and condition requirements
- A smartphone that can run the Amazon Flex app
- To pass a background check
- A UK bank account for your earnings
Can you do Amazon Flex at 18?
Yes. Amazon accepts delivery partners from 18, and INSHUR insures Amazon Flex drivers from 18 as well, provided you have held a full UK licence for more than a year. In practice that means most drivers become eligible shortly after their nineteenth birthday if they passed their test at 18.
If you are a younger driver looking at delivery work more broadly, our guide to courier insurance for new and young drivers covers what to expect on cost and cover.
What vehicle do you need for Amazon Flex?
If you are weighing up which car to run, we have looked at the best used cars for Amazon Flex drivers in the UK.
How do you get paid?
Amazon pays per block rather than per parcel, and the rate varies by location, time of day and demand. You are self-employed, so you are responsible for your own tax and National Insurance, and for the running costs of your vehicle.
If you finish a block early, you are still paid for the full block. Your insurance works the other way round, which catches some drivers out. With Pay as you Flex you are charged only for the time you actually spend delivering, so finishing a four hour block in three hours means you pay for three hours of cover.
For a picture of what drivers are actually earning and what has changed this year, see our 2026 gig driver survey.
What insurance do you need to start?
Amazon requires all delivery partners to hold hire and reward insurance before they can take their first block. It sits alongside your existing personal policy rather than replacing it, because standard Social, Domestic and Pleasure cover does not extend to carrying goods for payment.
Amazon does not arrange this for you. You put it in place yourself and Amazon checks it is active before you can start delivering.
Our Amazon Flex insurance page sets out what Pay as you Flex covers, what it costs, and how to get a quote. If you plan to deliver for other platforms alongside Amazon, courier insurance or fast food delivery insurance may suit you better.
How to get started
- Sign up through the Amazon Flex app and complete Amazon's onboarding and background check
- Put your hire and reward insurance in place, and check your personal SD&P insurer knows you are doing delivery work
- Wait for Amazon to confirm your account is active
- Open the app and reserve your first block
Once you are up and running, our guide to booking Amazon Flex blocks covers how the release windows work and how to get more of the blocks you want.
