Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Vehicle
New and renewal licence application
Please read and complete all of the fields in this application form. For further information on this process, please go to https://www.newcastle-staffs.gov.uk/all-services/business/licensing/private-hire-vehicle-application-process
Applications will only be considered as complete upon receipt of all of the following information. Whilst you may not have this information at this stage you MUST provide it prior to expiry (if renewal) or your application will be considered as a new vehicle and may no longer meet the relevant criteria/specification. The documents must be originals or images of originals. We may require you to submit the original documents of the images provided at a later date. Failure to provide them upon request may result in action being taken against your licence.
- The fee www.newcastle-staffs.gov.uk/all-services/business/licensing/private-hire-and-hackney-carriage-licence-fees.
- A Basic Disclosure certificate issued within the last 12 months or an enhanced DBS certificate registered on the Update Service.
- A current valid MOT Certificate.
- A current vehicle fitness/garage test pass certificate.
- A valid private hire insurance or public hire insurance certificate (or personal insurance if this is a vehicle that is not currently licensed).
- V5 log book or V5 slip with proof of purchase.
- A valid certificate/report to confirm the vehicle is fitted with a taximeter (Hackney Carriage only).
- Converted vehicles must provide an appropriate certificate to prove conversion has been carried out to the required standards.
Vehicle Specifications
A Private Hire Vehicle must meet the Council’s criteria. Please see Appendix H of the Taxi Licensing Policy.
A Hackney Carriage Vehicle must meet the Council's criteria. Please see Appendix E of the Taxi Licensing Policy.
Grandfather Rights
Current holders of Hackney Carriage licences for non-wheelchair accessible vehicles (i.e. saloons, hatchbacks and estates) will continue to benefit from existing grandfather rights allowing them to replace their current vehicle, with another non-wheelchair accessible vehicle either during the licence period or at the expiry date of the licence. However, those rights will cease if the vehicle is transferred to another proprietor/s.
National Fraud Initiative
The Council is required under Section 6 of the Audit Commission Act 1988 to participate in the National Fraud Initiative data matching exercise. Information provided to determine Licensing Applications will be supplied to the Audit Commission and used for cross system, cross authority and other comparison purposes for the prevention and detection of fraud.
Renewal Applications
To allow the vehicle's licence to be renewed, a renewal application form must be received by the Council at least 10 working days prior to the expiry date of the original licence to allow the Council sufficient time to process the renewal application. It is the Council's intention to process all valid renewal applications within 10 working days: hence, where applicants fail to submit their renewal application within this timescale, the risk that their licence will expire increases.
Once a licence expires, is revoked (subject to a statutory appeal process) or is surrendered, it ceases to exist and applicants will not be permitted to use the vehicle and must return the plates.
Once a licence ceases to exist a renewal application will not be accepted by the Council and the applicant must submit a new vehicle licence application which will be processed in accordance with the Council's new application procedures.
