Taxi or Private Hire driver licence

Introduction

Anyone who drives a hackney carriage (more commonly called a ‘taxi’), or private hire vehicle must hold a hackney carriage or private hire driver’s licence, issued by us.

Applying for a licence involves:

• providing the results of a medical assessment
• passing a practical driving test
• having an enhanced DBS check so officers can consider any criminal convictions, reprimands or warnings
• having your DVLA driving licence checked for any driving convictions or endorsements
• proving you have the legal right to work in the United Kingdom
• being checked against the National Taxi Driver Revocation and Refusals Database (NR3)
• learning about safeguarding and child exploitation
• passing a knowledge test to demonstrate you know the local area and understand the rules of being a licensed driver.

Fees and charges

Current fees and charges can be found on our Fees and charges page.

Advice and guidance

This page provides advice and guidance on the process on how to become a licensed driver in the Mendip area. Throughout the process there are multiple checks on an applicant’s conduct and history, this is to ensure the suitability of licensed drivers, and most importantly to protect the public. Licensed drivers could be carrying anyone in their vehicle, this includes children and vulnerable adults.

To ensure the safety of passengers and that only fit and proper people are licensed, the Council has its own Taxi Policy (PDF 1.44MB). This details what is expected of licensed drivers.

As standard, licences are issued for 3 years and are dual use, this allows the holder to drive both a Hackney Carriage and a Private Hire Vehicle, upon request the licences can be granted for shorter periods as well as restricted to one vehicle type.

Application process

1. Application form – Application for Grant of a Hackney Carriage Private Hire Driver’s Licence (PDF 157KB)
   This contains information relating to the application, it includes a checklist for applicants to keep track of the process
2. Fee – please visit our Fees and charges page.
3. Knowledge Test - Driver and New Applicant Information Pack (PDF 160MB)
   This test is to assess your suitability of becoming a driver, by testing your understanding of taxi legislation and Mendip’s policy. The test is made up of 70 questions, the first 25 are based on policy and legislation, there are then 15 questions regarding the local area, 10 maths questions and 20 highway code questions. For information regarding taxi legislation and Mendip’s policy, it is strongly advised to read and understand this document. A Licensing Officer will contact you to arrange this.
4. DBS and Update Service - ID Verification Guidance
   Taxi Plus undertake DBS checks on our behalf, please contact us for a link in the first instance.
   Once you receive the link, please follow the instructions. You will need to make an online payment and provide your identity documents to Taxi Plus.The whole DBS process is carried out by Taxi Plus, so please do not contact us regarding your DBS application form, DBS payment or send any identity documents to us.Once you receive your DBS certificate, please post or drop it to us, or send a photo or scan of both sides of your certificate, ensuring it is clear and legible.You must join the Update Service within 30 days of the issue date on the certificate. Failure to join within 30 days will require a new DBS and payment.
5. Certificate of Fitness to Drive (Medical) - Certificate of Fitness to Drive a Hackney Carriage or Private Hire Vehicle (PDF 111KB)
   This is required to be completed by a Registered Medical Practitioner. You will need to take this document to your medical, which then must be returned to us. This can be accepted for up to 4 months from the examination date. For your appointment you must also take the D4 medical form, which can be found here: D4 medical form.
6. If the medical is not being completed by your registered GP, you must obtain your patient summary from them and take this to your medical for the assessing Registered Medical Practitioner.
7. Driving Assessment - Taxi and Pre-Test Assessment (PDF 129KB)
   All drivers are required to pass a driving assessment, the criteria and contact details of the assessor can be found on this document.
8. Driving Licence –
   You must have held a full GB driving licence for at least 12 months, which you must submit to us. To enable us to carry out a driving licence check, you will need to log onto View Driving Licence and share the check code with us.
9. Safeguarding –
   You will be required to attend a training session, this will give you a clear understanding of safeguarding, which will support you in your role as a licensed driver. A Licensing Officer will contact you to arrange this.
10. Proof of right to work –
    To check this we will need to see either a UK passport or a birth certificate and an official document showing your national insurance number. If you are not a UK citizen, please use this link to provide a check: Prove right to work.
11. Tax Conditionality –
    The government has introduced new tax requirements for renewals of Hackney Carriage and Private Hire drivers from 4 April 2022. For information on how to complete a check, see here: Tax check factsheet and Complete a tax check for a taxi or private hire.

It is also advisable for all new applicants to look at the requirements to ensure they are set up correctly.

NR3 - National Register of Refusals and Revocations for Drivers

The Local Government Association (LGA) has launched a national register of refusals and revocations of driver’s licences. We are planning to use this national register (called NR3) from 4 April 2019, in connection with the licensing of hackney carriage and Private Hire Vehicle (PHV) Drivers. We intend to check the register for all new applications and all renewals and may share data with other local authorities where we refuse a new application or renewal or revoke a licence for an individual. Please find further information below about how the register works.

We are responsible for adding basic details about drivers when we refuse their licence application or renewal and if we revoke their licence.

When we receive a new application for a licence or a renewal application, we check the applicant’s details on the register to confirm that there is no record of them having been revoked or refused elsewhere.

The details contained on the register are limited to information that will help to identify an individual to a certain degree of accuracy. The register will not give a reason why actions were taken. We will have to follow up on any searches that come back with a match.

Data protection and privacy

We use the database to ensure the fitness and propriety of licence holders as part of the application process. We do this in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and human rights law.

We might also use the information provided by applicants to prevent or detect crime, to protect public funds, or in other ways as permitted by law. This can include passing information to certain third parties.

We are registered with the National Anti-Fraud Network (NAFN), which the LGA commissioned to develop and host the register.

All relevant data that we hold in the database. Historic data for decisions to refuse or revoke will only be provided from the past 6 years. This is due to the shorter period for retention of such data prior to 4 April 2019. However, from this date, relevant data will be held for 25 years, according to the NAFN retention policy.

Our policy with respect to how we will use the NR3 register, request data from other local authorities and deal with requests to share data:
Policy on the Use of NR3 – The National Register of Refusals and Revocations for Drivers (PDF 155KB). Please also view: Frequently Asked Questions on NR3 (PDF 105KB)