Hackney carriage licence

You will need a hackney carriage licence if you own or drive a hackney carriage (taxi).

Customers can hire hackney carriages from designated taxi ranks or hail them on the street.

If you are going to be the driver of the taxi, you will also need a driver licence.

The same authority needs to issue the hackney carriage vehicle licence and the driver licence.

To operate in Chelmsford, both of the licences need to be issued by us.

When you licence your vehicle for the first time, it must:

be side loading
be less than a year old
be first registered with this authority
be black in colour
be wheelchair accessible
pass a mechanical inspection
comply with Euro 6 emissions standards (unless its under 6 months old in which case a compliance check will be required)
be fitted with a correctly calibrated taximeter

To apply for a hackney carriage licence, you must:

sign in or register for an account
complete the application
upload your supporting documents
agree to the declaration
pay the application fee of £565

You must also complete a new basic DBS check for each owner (unless you already have a driver licence and have signed up to the DBS update service).

Supporting documents

You need to upload the following supporting documents online as part of your new licence application:

a completed proprietorship requisition form
proof of a completed basic or enhanced DBS check
a copy of the certificate of your insurance cover, which much include cover for public hire
a mechanical inspection certificate
a certificate and details of a fitted taximeter
a bill of sale (if the vehicle is on order)
a copy of your registration document (V5)

What happens next

Once we receive your application, we will:

acknowledge it within three days
check that your application and supporting documents are correct
arrange to view the vehicle (if necessary)
notify you of our decision within five working days after you have submitted your application and met all requirements
issue your licence

Your hackney carriage licence will be valid for one year from the date we granted it.

You need to apply for a new licence every year, before the current licence expires.

To apply for a re-licence, you must:

sign in or register for an account
complete the application form
upload your supporting documents
pay the renewal fee of £397

You must also complete a new basic DBS check for each owner (unless you already have a driver licence and have signed up to the DBS update service.

Supporting documents

You need to upload the following supporting documents online as part of your re-licence application:

a completed proprietorship requisition form
proof of a completed basic or enhanced DBS check
a copy of the certificate of your insurance cover, which much include cover for public hire
a mechanical inspection certificate
a certificate and details of a fitted taximeter
a bill of sale (if the vehicle is on order)
a copy of your registration document (V5)

What happens next

Once we receive your re-licence application, we:

may arrange to view the vehicle
will notify you of our decision

Your vehicle needs to:

have an initial mechanical inspection, and then one every six months
pass an MOT after one year, and then annually

You can book a taxi inspection or MOT for your vehicle at our Freighter House test centre.

You should get your vehicle checked before submitting it for inspection.

Hackney carriage or private hire vehicles must meet Euro 6 emissions standards if:

your vehicle remains licensed past 31 March 2024
your vehicle is being licensed for the first time
you replace your current licensed vehicle after 31 March 2020

Euro 6 is a set of standards introduced by the European Commission to reduce harmful pollutants from vehicle exhausts.

You can request replacement items for your hackney carriage.

If you replace your taxi or private hire vehicle due to accidental damage or major repairs, you need to tell us. You will also need to pay the fee of £95.

When replacing a vehicle on a hackney carriage licence, the supporting documents you will need are:

a completed proprietorship requisition form
a copy of the certificate of insurance, which must include cover for public hire
a mechanical inspection certificate
a certificate and details of a fitted taximeter
a bill of sale (if the vehicle is on order)
a copy of your registration document (V5)

You need to submit the supporting documents to us within the online application form.

We will only issue the new licence if we receive your application and supporting documents.

We regulate the fare you can charge your customers, and you can check the amounts.

We have adopted a tariff of charges set by a taximeter. Taximeters are electronically chipped and no longer require manual calibration.

A specialist service calibrates the mechanism against a current list of charges and you then receive a certificate.

You can get a taximeter calibration and certificate via Andy Ashton by calling 07973215655 or by emailing andyashton@ntlworld.com.

If your vehicle has six seats and has the front passenger seat removed, you can replace the seat and change your licence to an eight seater licence.

To convert your vehicle, you need to:

tell us that you are changing from a six-seater to an eight-seater vehicle
pay the fee of £21.80
upload page three of your logbook that shows your vehicle has a nine-seater capacity
upload clear pictures of the boot space area

If your boot space capacity is not clear, we may need to carry out a vehicle inspection.

Apply online

What happens next

Once we have agreed that your vehicle is suitable, you can arrange for the front two seats to be re-fitted. You must check all factory fitted airbags are installed and working.

After the seats have been reinstalled, you must complete an additional mechanical inspection. They must check that the seats have been installed correctly. The mechanic must provide you with proof of the inspection, which must include the inspection date.

You need to send us this proof, so we can print new plates and certificates for your vehicle. We will send these to you in the post.