diff --git a/composer.json b/composer.json
index 00e138af..be0effb4 100644
--- a/composer.json
+++ b/composer.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
     "name": "fleetbase/fleetops-api",
-    "version": "0.6.36",
+    "version": "0.6.37",
     "description": "Fleet & Transport Management Extension for Fleetbase",
     "keywords": [
         "fleetbase-extension",
diff --git a/extension.json b/extension.json
index 5136cfa8..6dad2d34 100644
--- a/extension.json
+++ b/extension.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
     "name": "Fleet-Ops",
-    "version": "0.6.36",
+    "version": "0.6.37",
     "description": "Fleet & Transport Management Extension for Fleetbase",
     "repository": "https://github.com/fleetbase/fleetops",
     "license": "AGPL-3.0-or-later",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index e0b4b294..c33e2082 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
     "name": "@fleetbase/fleetops-engine",
-    "version": "0.6.36",
+    "version": "0.6.37",
     "description": "Fleet & Transport Management Extension for Fleetbase",
     "fleetbase": {
         "route": "fleet-ops"
diff --git a/server/src/Http/Controllers/Internal/v1/DriverController.php b/server/src/Http/Controllers/Internal/v1/DriverController.php
index 1e966f61..93e6452b 100644
--- a/server/src/Http/Controllers/Internal/v1/DriverController.php
+++ b/server/src/Http/Controllers/Internal/v1/DriverController.php
@@ -45,6 +45,17 @@ public function createRecord(Request $request)
     {
         $input = $request->input('driver');
 
+        // Normalize vehicle field - the frontend may send the full vehicle object,
+        // a UUID string, or a public_id string. Normalize to a single identifier
+        // so the ResolvableVehicle rule can validate it correctly.
+        if (isset($input['vehicle']) && is_array($input['vehicle'])) {
+            $input['vehicle'] = data_get($input['vehicle'], 'id')
+                ?? data_get($input['vehicle'], 'public_id')
+                ?? data_get($input['vehicle'], 'uuid')
+                ?? null;
+            $request->merge(['driver' => $input]);
+        }
+
         // create validation request
         $createDriverRequest = CreateDriverRequest::createFrom($request);
         $rules               = $createDriverRequest->rules();
@@ -262,6 +273,17 @@ public function updateRecord(Request $request, string $id)
         // get input data
         $input = $request->input('driver');
 
+        // Normalize vehicle field - the frontend may send the full vehicle object,
+        // a UUID string, or a public_id string. Normalize to a single identifier
+        // so the ResolvableVehicle rule can validate it correctly.
+        if (isset($input['vehicle']) && is_array($input['vehicle'])) {
+            $input['vehicle'] = data_get($input['vehicle'], 'id')
+                ?? data_get($input['vehicle'], 'public_id')
+                ?? data_get($input['vehicle'], 'uuid')
+                ?? null;
+            $request->merge(['driver' => $input]);
+        }
+
         // create validation request
         $updateDriverRequest = UpdateDriverRequest::createFrom($request);
         $rules               = $updateDriverRequest->rules();
diff --git a/server/src/Http/Requests/Internal/CreateDriverRequest.php b/server/src/Http/Requests/Internal/CreateDriverRequest.php
index 59deb2ad..8dac9771 100644
--- a/server/src/Http/Requests/Internal/CreateDriverRequest.php
+++ b/server/src/Http/Requests/Internal/CreateDriverRequest.php
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 use Fleetbase\FleetOps\Http\Requests\CreateDriverRequest as CreateDriverApiRequest;
 use Fleetbase\FleetOps\Rules\ResolvablePoint;
+use Fleetbase\FleetOps\Rules\ResolvableVehicle;
 use Fleetbase\Support\Auth;
 use Illuminate\Validation\Rule;
 
@@ -49,7 +50,7 @@ public function rules()
             'internal_id'            => 'nullable|string|max:255',
             'country'                => 'nullable|string|size:2',
             'city'                   => 'nullable|string|max:255',
-            'vehicle'                => 'nullable|string|starts_with:vehicle_|exists:vehicles,public_id',
+            'vehicle'                => ['nullable', new ResolvableVehicle()],
             'status'                 => 'nullable|string|in:active,inactive',
             'vendor'                 => 'nullable|exists:vendors,public_id',
             'job'                    => 'nullable|exists:orders,public_id',
diff --git a/server/src/Rules/ResolvableVehicle.php b/server/src/Rules/ResolvableVehicle.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..42aea235
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/src/Rules/ResolvableVehicle.php
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Fleetbase\FleetOps\Rules;
+
+use Fleetbase\FleetOps\Models\Vehicle;
+use Illuminate\Contracts\Validation\Rule;
+use Illuminate\Support\Str;
+
+class ResolvableVehicle implements Rule
+{
+    /**
+     * The resolved vehicle instance, if found.
+     */
+    protected ?Vehicle $resolved = null;
+
+    /**
+     * Determine if the validation rule passes.
+     *
+     * Accepts:
+     *  - A public_id string (e.g. "vehicle_abc123")
+     *  - A UUID string (e.g. "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000")
+     *  - An array/object containing an "id", "public_id", or "uuid" key
+     *
+     * @param string $attribute
+     *
+     * @return bool
+     */
+    public function passes($attribute, $value)
+    {
+        $identifier = $this->extractIdentifier($value);
+
+        if (empty($identifier)) {
+            return true; // nullable — let the nullable rule handle empty values
+        }
+
+        if (Str::isUuid($identifier)) {
+            $this->resolved = Vehicle::where('uuid', $identifier)->first();
+        } else {
+            $this->resolved = Vehicle::where('public_id', $identifier)->first();
+        }
+
+        return $this->resolved !== null;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Get the validation error message.
+     *
+     * @return string
+     */
+    public function message()
+    {
+        return 'The :attribute must be a valid vehicle public ID, UUID, or vehicle object.';
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Extract a string identifier from the given value.
+     *
+     * Handles a plain string, an associative array, or a stdClass object.
+     */
+    protected function extractIdentifier($value): ?string
+    {
+        if (is_string($value)) {
+            return $value;
+        }
+
+        if (is_array($value)) {
+            return data_get($value, 'id')
+                ?? data_get($value, 'public_id')
+                ?? data_get($value, 'uuid')
+                ?? null;
+        }
+
+        if (is_object($value)) {
+            return data_get($value, 'id')
+                ?? data_get($value, 'public_id')
+                ?? data_get($value, 'uuid')
+                ?? null;
+        }
+
+        return null;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Get the resolved Vehicle model instance after validation passes.
+     */
+    public function getResolved(): ?Vehicle
+    {
+        return $this->resolved;
+    }
+}