Hackney carriage or private hire driver licence

You must hold a valid licence issued by us if you wish to drive a taxi.

You can apply for a licence to drive a hackney carriage or a private hire vehicle:

• hackney carriage vehicles can ply for hire on the streets and can use the taxi ranks around Thurrock
• private hire vehicles can be booked for hire by the public through a licensed private hire operator – private hire vehicles cannot ply for hire and cannot use taxi ranks

Types of licence

You can apply for the following licence types:

• hackney carriage driver licence
• private hire driver licence
• combined licence – hackney carriage driver and private hire driver
• restricted private hire driver licence – for school contracts only

Requirements

To qualify for a driver's licence, you must:

• • • • Hold a full DVLA driver's licence for at least 1 Year
      • Have the right to work in the UK.
      • Complete the tax check requirements for taxi and private hire drivers.
      • Submit a fully completed application form.
      • Be subject to an Enhanced DBS check.
      • Sign up to the DBS update service (after the initial DBS check has been completed).
      • If any applicant has, from the age of 10 years, spent six continuous months or more living outside the United Kingdom then criminal records information or a 'Certificate of Good Character' from overseas must also be provided
      • Have been checked against the National Anti-Fraud Network (NAFN) database on refusals and revocations of Hackney Carriage and Private Hire licence
      • Have met the Council's Medical Fitness Criteria which is in line with the DVLA Group 2 standard
      • Have met the Council's Safeguarding and Child Sexual Exploitation Awareness Training criteria
      • Have passed the Council's Knowledge Test
      • Have met the Council's approved disability awareness training requirements
      • Have met the Council's Language proficiency requirements.
      • Have paid the licence fee (please see current fees list)

Details of standards, criteria and other requirements in the list above are included in our taxi licensing policy at the end of this page.

If, from the age of 10 years-old, you have spent 6 months or more continuously living outside the UK, then criminal record information or a 'Certificate of Good Character' from overseas must be provided.

Restricted private hire driver licences

A restricted private hire driver licence – or 'restricted licence' – is a private hire driver licence restricted by a licence condition for use on school transport contracts only. No other private hire journeys are permitted at any time by the licence holder.

Applications for restricted licences will be processed the same way as a private hire driver licence applications. They will be subject to the same checks and training requirements except for:

• the Passenger Assistant Training Scheme (PATS) will be replaced with an online Taxi Safeguarding Classroom Course and an online Disability Awareness Classroom Course
• the 'knowledge test' will not include routes or places of interest, numeracy, or other knowledge that doesn't relate to school contract work

Licences issued

You can check whether a hackney carriage or private hire driver is licensed with us.

Search licensing records

Policy and conditions

Policies and conditions relating to hackney carriage and private hire driver's licences.