Private hire vehicle licensing

Any vehicle that seats eight passengers or less and is available for hire with a driver requires a licence. Licensed private hire vehicles may only be driven by persons holding a private hire driver's licence issued by the same council issuing the vehicle licence.

All private hire vehicles used for day to day private hire must be less than three years old at first licence. Applicants must be prepared to permanently affix licence plates and ‘no booking no ride’ stickers to the vehicle for the period of the licence.

All vehicles must comply with the council's specification for licensed private hire vehicles. A strict compliance test is required for all vehicles. This includes a normal MOT plus a minimum standard relating to the overall safety and cosmetic condition of the vehicle.

Licensing Officers must approve any form of advertising before any promotional material can be applied to licensed private hire vehicles. Advertising on licensed private hire vehicles is restricted to promoting private hire operators only.

New applications

The current fees for private hire vehicle licences can be viewed on the licence fees page

You can apply for a new private hire vehicle licence by downloading a guidance and application pack below. The guidance pack outlines the procedure to be followed to apply for a new private hire vehicle licence. It includes all application forms, fees, the private hire vehicle specification and the council’s policy on vehicles approved for exemption.

Applicants must ensure a vehicle meets the private hire vehicle specification and exemption policy (where applicable) before purchasing a vehicle. If the proposed vehicle does not meet all the required criteria, it will not be licensed.

Renewal applications

Renewal application forms are not available to download online.