Renewal of a taxi licence
Driver's licences are renewed every one or three years depending on how long yours was issued for. DBS checks are renewed every six months, DVLA mandate checks are renewed on a yearly basis and medicals are renewed based on your age.
It is your responsibility to ensure that your driver's licence is renewed before its expiry date.
If a renewal application has not been received before the expiry date, then there is no licence to renew and any subsequent request will be treated as a new application, with all the necessary checks starting again.
Before you can submit your application to renew your new Hackney Carriage/ Private Hire Drivers Licence there are some things you must complete prior to submission of your application:
DBS renewals (completed every 6 months)
If you are registered with the DBS update service, you will need to produce the following documents:
- Completed DBS online checking application form (PDF, 39 KB)
- The original DBS certificate you used to register with the DBS update service
If your DBS certificate is no longer subscribed to the DBS update service then you must re-apply for an Enhanced DBS through the council's supplier Taxi Plus, and provide all the documents they ask you to upload in order for the digital identification process to take place.
The fee of £75.50 for the Enhanced DBS application will be paid directly to Taxi Plus via their website.
Important: All documents (including your DVLA driving licence) must be in your current address. These are the requirements of the DBS and not the Council.
Once you have received your DBS certificate you must keep this in a safe place as copies are not issued and you will need it in future. You must register with the DBS update service as soon as you receive your certificate as you can only do this within 28 days of the date on the certificate. Please be aware that it is a requirement to register with the DBS update service and if you do not register in the 28 day time frame, you will have to submit a further application for an Enhanced DBS.
You will also need to book an appointment to produce your new DBS certificate to Licensing Services along with the following:
- Completed DBS online checking form (PDF, 39 KB).
- Evidence of your subscription to the DBS update service.
Medical renewals
If you are required to complete a medical, you will need to produce this additional document:
Medical assessments are valid for a period of 2 months from the date they're completed. Only pages 1 and 2 of the medical assessment need to be returned to us.
DVLA mandate renewals
If you are required to complete a DVLA mandate check, you will need to produce these additional documents:
- A DVLA mandate check code
- Your DVLA driver's licence (held for at least 12 months, both sides)
Submitting an application to renew your licence
Once you have successfully completed the pre-application steps you can now apply online to renew your hackney carriage/private hire driver's licence. When submitting your application, you must also upload the following documentation if not previously provided as part of the pre-application steps.
- DVLA driving licence (held for at least 12 months, both sides)
- DVLA mandate check code
- HMRC tax check code (from 4 April 2022 if applicable). Please read the 'tax checks' section for full information.
- Applicants who are not UK nationals by birth or by naturalisation must also produce a Home Office check code in order for us to check your right to work status. You must also produce your residency permit if you have been issued with one.
The application form allows up to 32MB of files to be uploaded. Should you not upload all of the required documentation, your application will be delayed.
Note: The online application form accepts the following file types only: DOC, DOCX, GIF, JPG, PDF, PNG, TIF, TIFF, TXT, XLS, XLSX, MP3, MP4, M4A
Your application to renew your licence must be submitted at least 5 days prior to your expiry date or we will not be able to guarantee it will be renewed before your expiry date.
Once you have completed the application form and uploaded your supporting documentation you will be prompted to pay the application fee.
Providing that your application is satisfactory and there are no instances that would trigger a referral to the Licensing & Environmental Protection Committee in line with our policies you will receive your licence within 5 working days.
General information
Please note: before you can begin the application process you will be asked for a licence reference number. This number will be 13-15 digits in length and a mixture of numbers and letters. Your licence reference number can be found in the bottom right hand side of your hackney carriage/ private hire driver licence paperwork. Your reference number will be different for each licence you hold (for example, you cannot use your vehicle reference number to renew your HC/PH drivers' licence) and it will change every time a licence is renewed so it is important that you retain your current information and licences for future use.
If you're having issues with locating your licence reference number, please email us.
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