---
title: "Assign or change a driver"
description: "Assign an available driver to a delivery order, change the driver, or remove a driver assignment."
canonical: https://docs.ordering.co/docs/products/dashboard/orders/assign-change-driver/
---

# Assign or change a driver

Use an order's detail panel to request a manual driver assignment, change, or removal. The current Dashboard source separates drivers by availability, and the API contract independently validates the selected driver and order.

> **Availability**
>
> The inspected source shows the manual driver controls only for Delivery and Catering delivery orders when its plan and feature conditions are met. It hides or replaces controls for read-only business-owner access, service orders, and some driver-company states.

## Before you start

- Open the intended delivery order from **Orders list**.
- Confirm that the order does not have a driver company assigned.
- Review the driver's availability and current assigned-order count.
- Do not learn this workflow on a live order. Selecting a driver can submit an operational write from the current Dashboard source.

## Assign a driver

1. In the order detail panel, find **Driver assign**.
2. Open **Select driver**.
3. Optionally use Search to find a driver.
4. Under **Available**, select the driver you want to assign.
5. If the Dashboard asks for a manual assignment comment, enter the required comment and select **Accept**.
6. Review the result shown by the Dashboard and any returned error. Do not infer assignment from the selection alone.

![Driver assignment area of a delivery order with no driver assigned](https://docs.ordering.co/img/docs/dashboard/orders/assign-driver-empty.jpg)

The current selector separates drivers into **Available**, **Busy**, and **Not available**. Its source disables busy or unavailable choices. The API performs its own checks, including driver role, enabled group coverage for the order's business, and current busy state.

## Change or remove the driver

1. Open **Driver assign** on the order.
2. To change the assignment, select a different driver from **Available**.
3. To remove the current assignment, select **Remove assigned driver**.
4. Review the driver card and any returned error after the request finishes.

> **Live operational change**
>
> This control writes `driver_id` on an order. The API source contains assignment history, logistics, job, and notification paths, but their deployed execution is not established here. Confirm the order and driver before selecting an option.

## Verification checklist

- The order is a Delivery or Catering delivery order and does not have a driver company assignment.
- The order and intended driver were checked before the request.
- The driver card and selector show the expected state only after an accepted response.
- If the source-presented comment flow was required, no validation error remains.
- No returned error is shown by the Dashboard.

## Troubleshooting

### Why don't I see Driver assign?

The control's availability depends on delivery type, plan and project configuration, service-order state, account permissions, and driver-company state.

### Why is a driver listed but unavailable to select?

The selector source disables busy and unavailable entries. The API can still reject a selected driver if the driver's current state or enabled group coverage no longer satisfies its validation.

### Why was the assignment rejected?

The API source can reject a driver who is invalid, busy, or outside an enabled driver group for the order's business. Review the returned error and current order state before deciding whether to retry.

### Why am I asked for a comment?

The current UI source contains a manual-assignment comment flow and submits the comment with `driver_id`. Whether the flow is required in a particular deployed project has not been verified here.

---

**Related guide:** [View and manage an order](https://docs.ordering.co/docs/products/dashboard/orders/view-manage-order/)