Driver's licence

Published29 September 2022

Last updated19 August 2022

Pre-licensing conditions

1.0 In order that licensed drivers are reliable and of a satisfactory standard, a person being considered for a driver's licence shall:

1.1 - have attained the age of 21 years;

1.2 - have held a full DVLA licence granted under the Road Traffic Acts to drive a motor car with a manual gear box, for not less than three years. (See Note 5);

1.3 - not have been disqualified from driving at any time within the immediately preceding two year period; A driver who has obtained a pass certificate from the Driving Standards Agency in respect of the Taxi/Private Hire Test Assessment is considered to be of a satisfactory standard regardless of the period which has been elapsed since disqualification;

1.4 - not have accumulated more than eight penalty points endorsed upon his driving licence within the immediately preceding two year period;

1.5 - not have been cautioned for or convicted of a criminal offence involving the threat and/or use of violence and/or any offence of a sexual nature, unless that conviction is deemed spent by virtue of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974;

1.6 - not have been cautioned for or convicted of a criminal offence involving the element of dishonesty within the immediately preceding three year period, unless that conviction is deemed spent by /virtue of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974;

2.0 The applicant shall produce:

2.1 - his current valid DVLA driving licence on which is shown the applicant's home address;

2.2 - in the case of first application under these conditions only, either his birth certificate or current passport and, where there is a change of surname, either marriage certificate or deed poll, as appropriate;

2.3 - in the case of first application only, two satisfactory written references as to character from persons to whom the applicant shall have been recently known for a minimum period of two years. (See Note 1);

2.4 - a Medical Report in the form prescribed by the Council before the application shall be determined, unless a current Medical Report is held by the Council. In certain cases the Medical Report may be referred for further medical consultation or assessment;

3.0 Form of application

3.1 - The applicant shall satisfactorily complete an application form on which must be shown all cautions and convictions which by virtue of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 are deemed not to be spent. (See Note 2).

3.2 - The application form, together with all relevant documents, two passport size recent colour photographs of the applicant and the fee shall be presented in person by the applicant for the purpose of an interview with an authorised officer.

4.0 In the case of first application only, the applicant shall pass the Council's knowledge test on the first or subsequent occasions.

5.0 A person being considered for a Combined Hackney Carriage & Private Hire Vehicle Driver's Licence who has surrendered such a licence previously or who has not held one during the previous twelve months shall be treated as a person being considered for a licence on the first occasion.

Note 1

References from relations of the applicant will not be accepted as suitable.

Note 2

Applicants should be aware that the Council will make enquiries with regard to this application to the Criminal Records Bureau.

Note 3

All relevant information will be taken into account when consideration is given to an application for a Combined Hackney Carriage & Private Hire Vehicle Driver's Licence and it may be that the standards and conditions are waived or varied or added to at the discretion of the Council.

Note 4

The Council reserves the right to alter the number of penalty points specified in 1.4 hereto, to accord with any alteration made by Statute or Order by the Secretary of State.

Note 5

The Deregulation (Taxis & Private Hire Vehicles) Order 1998 amends the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 to include Northern Ireland Driver Licences.

The Driving Licences (Community Driving Licence) Regulations 1996 also permits full driver licences issued by EC Member States to count towards the qualification requirement.

Schedule 1 - Interpretation

In these Conditions

"Licensed Driver" means "the holder of a combined hackney carriage & private hire vehicle driver's licence".

"Council" means "Brentwood Borough Council".

Apply for a licence

Before you are issued with a licence to drive hackney carriages and private hire vehicles, there will be some checks into suitability to hold the licence.

These include:

Disclosure & Barring Service check
DVLA check
Medical report
Character references
Knowledge test
Right to Work check

If you're interested in becoming a licensed driver, the first step is to contact local taxi and private hire companies who are recruiting. When you have been offered a driving job, you must complete a Combined Driver's Licence application.

Conditions

Once licensed, Combined Driver Licences must operate under our Combined Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Driver’s Licence Conditions (PDF).

Apply

Before applying, you should read the National Register of Taxi Licence Refusals and Revocations (PDF).

If you want to apply for a new licence or renew an existing licence you should use the same online form:

Apply for a combined hackney carriage & private hire vehicle drivers licence

Full payment must be made at the time of submitting the application. You should make sure you have a valid credit or debit card available before starting the application. The application will not submit unless payment is made.

If you don't have access to a computer there is one available in the Council reception at 1-2 Seven Arches Road. You can also use the computers available in local Libraries.

Submitting documents

If you need to submit copies of documents, you can do it online by visiting Submit Evidence.

You must not use the online facility to submit evidence for the Disclosure & Barring Service as your documents must be seen and verified in person by a Licensing officer.

What happens next?

Once a valid application has been made, the Licensing Officer will:

send the form to the Disclosure & Barring Service for an Enhanced level Disclosure
send an enquiry to DVLA to check the details on your driving licence
write to your referees
arrange a date for you to sit the Council's knowledge test (usually 4 to 6 weeks after the application is submitted)

Applicants are required to be medically examined at their own expense by their own GP. We expect applicants to meet the same standard of medical fitness as other public service vehicle drivers, such as bus drivers.

If there are any issues from the Medical Report, you may be referred to an Occupational Health Advisor, for further assessment at your own cost.

Once all the enquiries have been completed satisfactorily and you have passed the Council's Knowledge Test, the application will be approved and the licence will be prepared.

You will be contacted by phone when your licence is ready and asked to go to the Town Hall for final verification. You must bring your DVLA driving licence with you.

As the processing time depends on outside factors, such as the DBS and DVLA, applicants are strongly advised not to leave any other employment until the issue of a licence has been confirmed by the Licensing Section.

Where an applicant does not meet the usual standards for hackney carriage and private hire vehicle drivers, the matter can be referred to the Council's Licensing/Appeals Committee for determination.

More information

It's the responsibility of all applicants to make sure they comply with our conditions.

We accept no responsibility for financial loss incurred by any applicant that does not meet the eligibility criteria. For this reason, all applicants should read the policy documents in detail and, if you need any more advise or guidance, email licensing@brentwood.gov.uk.

View our policy documents: