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Private Hire Vehicles, Drivers and Operators

We do not licence vehicles with more than 8 seats (plus the driver). Complaints or enquiries should be addressed to the Traffic Area Office on 0121 609 6813. Briefly:

PSV Operator Licences are required by businesses using vehicles with more than 8 seats for "hire and reward;" even if the "reward" happens indirectly (such as the cost of a minibus ride home from a pub being incorporated in the cost of drinks). The vehicles have to be licensed, properly maintained and insured.

Volunteer drivers - such as schools, registered charities (Scouts, Disabled Persons Associations) - can apply for a "Section 19 Minibus Permit" that exempts them from the PSV licensing requirements (although the vehicle still requires maintenance and insurance).

Private Hire - current application fees and forms that you can download to apply for Driver, Operator and Vehicle licences are on our forms and fact sheets page.

Please note: you will still need to telephone us on 01386 565016 and ask for a CRB Disclosure application form to be sent to you, before you can make a complete application for a Private Hire/Hackney Carriage Driver Licence. We are currently unable to distribute this form electronically.

The driver licence application process is detailed in our guidance for applicants. Please note that a driver licence application may take up to three months - we are dependant on the time taken for CRB to disclose conviction information. Any previous convictions must be declared and relevant offences will be considered when we decide whether or not to grant your application. Guidance on relevance of convictions can be found on our forms and factsheets page, here.

Summary of private hire regime:

Journeys must be booked in advance

We try to keep people safe, by making sure that vehicles are in good condition and that drivers are not criminals. Annual licence fees are set by Wychavon.

Private hire vehicles are not allowed to use taxi ranks, or pick up people from the street unless the journey has already been booked.

There are around 94 licensed private hire vehicles in Wychavon.

Private hire vehicles, drivers and operators are licensed separately - and in any cab that you use all three licences must have been issued by Wychavon. For more details see Taxi Licensing.

We use licence conditions to tell drivers how we expect them to behave.

Licenses have to be renewed every year.

Our checks are to intended to ensure that new private hire drivers are “fit and proper" to hold licences.

We check:

criminal convictions, using the Criminal Record Bureau Enhanced Disclosure service (taxi / private hire vehicle driving is an excepted occupation and, as such, any and all previous convictions must be declared and relevant convictions will be taken into account when we make our licensing decision;
medical fitness to drive, and
that a valid driving licence is held.

If we refuse to issue a licence, we have to defend our decision at the Magistrate's Court.

Private hire vehicles can be any motor vehicle with 8 or fewer passenger seats, but they must not look like taxis.

The licence has to be renewed every year.

Journeys are controlled by licence conditions.

We attach reasonable conditions to the grant of a licence - like the acceptable design, size, age and appearance of the vehicles.

We won't accept applications for vehicles that don't meet our conditions.

Applicants can appeal against any conditions that we apply to a licence, to the Magistrate's Court.

Journeys have to be booked in advance through a licensed "private hire operator."

Operators are only allowed to book journeys for private hire vehicles and drivers licensed by the same licensing authority as them.

We have to satisfy ourselves that operators are “fit and proper” to hold a licence.

Private hire vehicle driver, vehicle and operator licences must all match - be issued by the same licensing authority. For more details see Taxi Licensing. or download application forms from our forms and fact sheets page.