Hackney carriage vehicle licence

Apply for a hackney carriage vehicle licence

All hackney carriage vehicles operating in the Wokingham Borough must hold a Wokingham hackney carriage vehicle proprietor’s licence. Hackney carriages can pick up passengers on the street and at designated taxi ranks without a prior booking. You  must hold a hackney carriage drivers licence to drive a hackney carriage vehicle.

Hackney carriages are the subject of licensing rules, regulations and conditions to ensure they are fit for purpose.

To apply for a licence please submit a completed application form with:

• V5C registration document (a bill of sale is required for new vehicle applications)
• An insurance certificate which must show appropriate public hire/hackney carriage cover
• MOT certificate
• Certificate of fitness issued by an authorised Wokingham garage
• A meter certificate showing the meter has been calibrated by an approved Wokingham meter agent
• All vehicles that are designed to accommodate wheelchair users must have all modifications and adaptations, including all seats, seat belts and anchorages, retested to meet either the European Whole Vehicle Type Approval or the UK Low Volume Type Approval in the M1 category (evidence of this must be produced). Those vehicles which have not been 'type approved' to the M1 category (e.g. conversions) must be presented with approved certification that the specific vehicle meets the requirements of that category. It is recommended that prior to purchasing any new vehicle, advice be sought from the Licensing team

Application

• Application form for a vehicle licence (PDF document)
• Wokingham hackney carriage and private hire licensing policy (PDF document)
• Wokingham private hire school and community services licensing policy (PDF document)
• Designated Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (PDF document)

Fees

Go to the fees and payments page to find out the cost.

Enhanced DBS certificate update service

If you require a new Enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) certificate visit the TaxiPlus website.

• The cost of an Enhanced DBS certificate is £53
• The DBS update service subscription is £13 per year

Read the TaxiPlus DBS update service drivers guide (PDF document)

The Department of Transport is directing all licensing authorities to mandate hackney carriage and private hire drivers to use the DBS update service. Although this feature is not currently mandatory, it is likely to form part of policy requirements later this year.

Completed forms

Completed application forms should be sent, with the supporting documents and fee, to: 

Licensing, Wokingham Borough Council, Shute End, Wokingham, RG40 1BN 

or email to: Licensing@wokingham.gov.uk

Legislation

• Town Police Clauses Act 1847 (the 1847 Act)
• Part ll Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 (the 1976 Act)
• Road Traffic Act 1988 Part11 (a) Construction and Use of Vehicles and Equipment
• Motor Vehicles (Tests) Regulations 1981
• The Equality Act 2010 (sections 168 - 171 for the carriage of guide dogs etc.)      

Fares

Read our Hackney carriage fares (PDF document)