Hackney Carriages can pick up passengers on the street/at designated taxi ranks. They can do this without a prior booking. A Hackney Carriage can only be driven by a licensed Dual/Hackney Carriage Driver.
All Hackney Carriages must be an approved model (please see our policy for the list). The vehicle must be road-worthy before issue.
New Hackney Carriage Licenses will only be granted to brand new vehicles.
Application process
We inspect all Hackney Carriages as part of the application process. This is to ensure the vehicle meets the conditions of licence, and that all wheelchair facilities are present and correct. We may conduct further inspections of a Hackney Carriage depending upon its age. We issue licenses for up to a year.
Frequency of inspections:
| Vehicle Age | How often will the vehicle be inspected? |
|---|---|
| 0 to 10 years | Annually |
| 10 to 16 years | Every six months. |
Requirements
The following is required for a Hackney Carriage application.
- DBS certificate.
- If you do not hold a Dual/Hackney Carriage Driver Licence: We will require a basic DBS certificate. Certificates must be no older than 12 months from the date of application. Renewal applicants must submit a DBS certificate that is no older than 12 months before the licence expires.
- If you are a Limited Company/Partnership: All Directors/partners will be required to submit this certificate.
- The Vehicle Registration Document (V5C).
- This must include all pages and both sides. If you are not the vehicle’s registered keeper, you must also provide proof of vehicle hire.
- The insurance certificate or cover note.
- This must commence on the day of your vehicle inspection. It must cover your vehicle for public hire use.
- The MOT certificate.
- This must be dated within 10 days of the application. This is not needed if the vehicle is brand new, with delivery mileage only.
- The application fee.
- For new/replacement vehicles: The calibration certificate.
- This is required to show that the meter has been calibrated to City of Wolverhampton Council requirements.
- For vehicles with a tail-lift: The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) certificate.
If any information appears on your DBS certificate, you may be invited to a hearing. This may cause delays. To assess any information, you can find our ‘Guidelines’ in the policy.
We will only process applications when they are at the front of the queue. If an application has incorrect/incomplete information, it will cause delays. We do not have a guaranteed timescale for processing applications. You will receive an email upon completion of the application process, inviting you to attend a vehicle inspection for licence collection.