Please read these notes before you apply.
General information
- You have held a full UK driving licence for at least 1 year. Also – in the council’s opinion – you must be someone who is ‘fit and proper’ to hold a licence.
- When deciding applications, we have to take account of the law that covers taxis and private hire vehicles, namely the Town Police Clauses Act 1874 and Part II of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.
- We carry out Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS). To apply online for the enhanced DBS certificate, please visit the Taxi Plus website
DBS Application where you will be able to apply for the DBS online, by creating your own account and making payment.
If you are a new applicant, you will have to pass five tests:
- Safeguard and Disability Awareness Training
- Practical driving test
- DVLA group 2 medical, conducted by your general practitioner who has full access to your medical records
- Spoken English Test
- Knowledge test
Right to work in the UK explained
Your right to work will be checked as part of your application and if you are not a UK citizen, this could involve us checking your immigration status with the Home Office.
We may otherwise share information with the Home Office.
Your licence application will not be determined until you have complied with this guidance.
Where you are unable to provide adequate documentation to evidence your right to work in the UK, you must demonstrate your right to work via the Home Office online right to work checking service, applicants should include in this application their 9-digit share code which, along with the applicant’s date of birth (provided within this application), will allow the licensing authority to carry out the check.
In order to establish the applicant’s right to work, the check will need to indicate that the applicant is allowed to work in the United Kingdom and is not subject to a condition preventing them from doing work relating to the carrying on of a licensable activity.
HMRC checks explained
From 4 April 2022, individuals, companies and any type of partnership must complete a HMRC tax check and give their licensing authority a tax check code if they are:
- Applying for a grant of a licence and renewing a licence
- Applying for the same type of licence they previously held, that ceased to be valid less than a year ago
- Applying for the same type of licence they already hold with another licensing authority
Each individual, partner, or company director applying for a licence must provide HMRC check codes for each associated individual applying for a licence.
Failure to provide the HMRC check code within 28 days of the Authorities request, will result in that licence remaining expired upon its specified expiry date, the application being refused.
HMRC check codes can be generated online
About NR3
NR3 provides a mechanism for licensing authorities to share details of individuals who have had a hackney carriage or private hire licence revoked, suspended or an application for one refused.
From 2022, we will begin using NR3. This means that from that point:
All driver licence applicants will be checked on the NR3
Where an existing licence is revoked, suspended or a driver licence application is refused (both new and renewal), this will be recorded on NR3
Any historic information we hold on refusals, suspensions and revocations of licences will be added to the register. Historic data will not go back beyond the retention period of seven years
Information will be retained on NR3 for 25 years.
Where an applicant’s details are flagged on NR3 during a search, this will be followed up separately between the authorities. Any such request in relation to your record will be responded to in accordance with the Data Protection Act (DPA), the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), and our privacy notice for licence holders and applicants can be found in this form.
The legal basis for processing this information is that it is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the licensing authority – that is, assessing whether an individual is a fit and proper person to hold a hackney carriage or private hire licence.
Licensing authorities will still be required to consider each application on its own merits, but the introduction of NR3 will help ensure that they are able to do so on the basis of all the information that is relevant to an application.
Practical driving test
New applicants must pass this test before submitting their application. You must arrange and pay for the test yourself, further details can be found at:
- Diamond Advanced Motorists - 020 8253 0120
- Blue Lamp Trust - 0300 777 0157
- I Am RoadSmart - 020 8996 9700
- Green Penny - 0330 111 7230
We will accept a pass certificate as long as it is less than 12 months old.
Existing drivers may also be required to pass the test if they are reported for driving in an inappropriate manner.
Medical examination
Before we can deal with your application, you must have had a Group 2 medical examination. This must be done by a doctor who has access to your full medical records; this will usually be your general practitioner. They will need to examine you and fill in a DVLA D4 medical questionnaire. You have to arrange and pay for this examination yourself, and you must submit to us the full completed D4 medical form. If your medical assessment is completed by a 3rd party agent, you must also submit your full medical records from your registered medical practitioner.
The medical will be valid for the period of your licence; unless you are over the age of 65 or have a medical condition. If you are required to have a medical annually, it is your responsibility to remember when this is due; you will not be reminded.
Please follow this link for the Medical Form
Spoken English test
Where required, the English test can be taken in advance of submitting an application or at the time of submission will be taken at the time of appointment. The licensing officers will get you set up and provide you with the test materials; you will then have approximately 20 minutes to complete the test.
Knowledge test
After submitting an application all new applicants will have to take a knowledge test. This is made up of:
- Reading and writing instructions
- Answering questions on the Highway Code and taxi & private hire conditions (which are attached)
- Answering questions testing your basic knowledge of the Cherwell District Council’s Policy.
If you do not pass the knowledge test first time, you will be able to rebook for the next available test; you will be required to produce photo ID before taking the test If you have still not passed after 6 attempts within 8 months of your application being submitted your application will be rejected.
Renewing your licence
Your licence will stay in force until the ‘expiry date’ shown, unless you surrender it, or it is revoked or suspended.
You must apply to renew your licence before the expiry date. If you do not, we will have to treat it as a new application, this means that you will have to start the whole process again.
Criminal convictions
In accordance with the conditions attached to the licence, new applicants, existing holders of a driver licence and operator licence holders are required to notify the licensing department of the Council in writing, by letter or email within 3 days of his/ her being:
- Arrested or requested to voluntarily attend a police station for interview or formal questioning
- Administered with a caution, binding over, reprimand or final warning
- Charged with an offence or summonsed to court
- Convicted of an offence
- Issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice
- Receiving a DVLA driving licence endorsement
- The subject of any civil proceedings, orders or injunctions
The law allows us to check to see if you have a criminal record and to find out the details. We will keep any information we receive strictly confidential while we are making our decision, and we will only keep the information as long as we need to. We do not accept DBS disclosures from other organisations.
Telling us about anything outlined in section 20 will not automatically stop you getting a licence; unless we consider that the information means you are not a ‘fit and proper’ person to hold a licence. Find out more about the criteria regarding previous convictions.
If you would like to discuss the effect of anything declared in section 20, please visit the website and use the contact link at the bottom of the page. We will then contact you directly.
Penalty point scheme
The council has a penalty point scheme. This is intended to make drivers and operators more aware of their duties under the law; and the Council’s conditions for drivers, vehicles and private hire operators. Find out more online
Right of appeal
Any persons aggrieved by the refusal of the Council to grant a licence or by any conditions attached to it, may appeal to a Magistrates Court within 21 days of notification by the Council.
Service standards - taxi licensing
The licensing team deal with many licences in addition to those relating to the taxi trade. Therefore, an appointment system is in place.
To contact Licensing regarding your application please visit: Licensing queries and complaints
The licensing department aim to:
Issue a hackney carriage/private hire driver’s licence within five working days of the application process being satisfactorily completed
Issue a hackney carriage/private hire vehicle licence within five working days of the date of receipt of a complete and valid application
Issue a private hire operator’s licence within five working days of the application process being satisfactorily completed
Respond to complaints within three working days. If a complainant is dissatisfied with the outcome of their complaint, they will be referred to the council’s corporate complaints procedure
Keep the taxi and private hire trade informed about any changes to fees and charges
Keep the taxi and private hire trade informed about any changes in the law
Ensure that information held on files and databases is only disclosed to other agencies in accordance with data protection law and where there is a legal obligation to do so