Information About Taxi Vehicles

Applying for a New or Renewing your PHV or Hackney Carriage Vehicle

If you are applying for a new or to renew your existing Private Hire or Hackney Carriage licence with Rushcliffe Borough Council please review the information on this page and click on the appropriate link at the bottom of this page to take you to the online application form.

Taxi Licensing Vehicle information

Types of vehicles

To get a vehicle licensed by Rushcliffe Borough Council, you must first decide whether the vehicle that you are going to drive is to be a Hackney Carriage or a Private Hire Vehicle. You may want to consider the Hackney carriage table of fares.

Once you have made the decision between Hackney Carriage or Private Hire Vehicle, you will need to fill complete the online application form for a vehicle licence at the bottom of this page, supply the relevant documents, have the vehicle inspected and pay the application fee. 

Hackney Carriages

These must be type approved by the London Carriage Office, i.e. 'London style cabs' or must have as a minimum requirement British Tyke UK Volume National Type Approval as issued by the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions Vehicle Certification Agency. The vehicle must be BLACK in colour.

The vehicle will not be fitted with a front seat capable of being used, and will only be licensed for the number of passengers it can carry in the rear. The vehicle must be wheelchair accessible.

For applicants intending to work as a HACKNEY CARRIAGE driver, when applying to licence the Hackney Carriage vehicle you will be expected to work ENTIRELY OR PREDOMINANTLY in the Rushcliffe area and sign the appropriate declaration on the application form.

Private Hire Vehicles

Vehicles similar to the 'London cab' will not be licensed as a Private Hire vehicles. Minibus variants of approved Hackney Carriages such as the Mercedes Vito, can be licensed as Private Hire.

Vehicles will be of four doors and of a single colour. Remould tyres or repair kits are not acceptable; all vehicles must carry a spare tyre.

The full specifications of both Hackney Carriages and Private Vehicles can be found in the Hackney Carriage & Private Hire Licensing Policy 2020-2025.

If you intend to apply for a new private hire vehicle licence to carry more than 4 passengers, the vehicle must meet the minimum specifications described in the Taxi Licensing Policy 2020-2025. If you are unsure whether the vehicle meets the criteria e.g. Vauxhall  Zafira, Volkswagen Sharan, Seat Alhambra etc. for more than four (4) passengers please contact The Licensing Team in order to find out whether the vehicle will be compliant with the Council's current policy. 

Age of vehicles both Private Hire and Hackney Carriages

The Council have adopted similar standards for both Hackney Carriage and Private Hire vehicles. See section 7.3 Emissions and Age of Vehicles of the Hackney Carriage & Private Hire Licensing Policy 2020-2025 [PDF] for further details

Information about driving in clean air zones is available on the Clean Air Zone vehicle checker.

Any newly licensed vehicle will not be able to be licensed with the Council unless its date of first registered as stated on the DVLA V5 document, is after 01.01.2011. This coincides with euro standards improvement. Vehicles registered before this date will not be able to be licensed for the first time. For existing vehicles already licensed by the Rushcliffe Council that have a date of first registration before 01.01.2011, the Council will continue to license up to the age limit in place. The Council will apply an age limit and will not license any vehicle older than 12 years old from the date of first registration at the time of application. Any vehicle applying nearing this age limit will have a license up to the age limit and not exceeding the age limit.

The only exception to the above will be Minibus type vehicles which are wheelchair accessible which will have an age limit of 14 years from the date of first registration or at the discretion of the Licensing Officer ULEV types. The Council will, in addition, reserve the right to revoke a vehicle licence if after testing by a Council approved garage, the vehicle fails the emission test.

Private Hire vehicles will be issued with a 12 month licence, for vehicles under the age of five years. In the case of Hackney Carriages a 12 month licence will be issued for vehicles under the age of seven years. Private Hire Vehicles older than five years old and Hackney Carriages older than seven years old on the day that licence is granted will only be granted a 6 month licence.

Vehicle testing procedures

The application form should be completed on line (links below) and our Customer Service staff will check the application and arrange an appointment for you to attend one of two approved testing stations for the vehicle to be tested.

If the vehicle is unable to be examined at the two appointed garages (Class 7 large mini buses) a third garage may be used and will be indicated to you at the time of application. You should be aware that the application fee includes one compliance test. If your vehicle fails you will be required to rebook and pay for an subsequent test(s).

Two working days are required as the minimum period for booking in your vehicle. Under no circumstances should you expect to get an appointment faster than two working days and in some busy periods you may have to wait longer than this.

Under no circumstances should you contact any of our testing stations direct. Appointments will only be made via our Customer Service Centre or in the case of re-test by the Licensing Service.

If you are a Private Hire driver you must obtain the stamp of your Operator on the form. It will be rejected if this is not present. If yours driver's badge shows different Operator that the one you intend to work for, this must change before the vehicle is plates and you pay the appropriate fee.

Applicants are required to obtain your own MOT certificate prior to applying for your vehicle licence. The MOT certificate must be valid for a period of at least three months at the time of making your application. You will then be required to undergo the Council's supplementary test to ensure that the vehicle meets the specification for a licensed vehicle as detailed in the handbook.

The vehicle must be tested at one of two approved testing stations. You will be given a choice when you make your application at the Customer Service Centre in West Bridgford who will pre-book the appointment.

If your vehicle fails its test you MUST contact the Licensing Service on 0115 914 8322 to arrange a re-test which will be required to be paid for at the time of re-booking (as of the 1 January 2024 all re-tests will be required to be paid for).

The tests are very similar but differ slightly in that a hackney carriage in addition to being tested to the same standard as a private hire vehicle will also need to have an illuminated roof sign and a meter set to the Council's correct tariff. The table of fares will also have to be on display within the vehicle if it is going to be licensed as a hackney carriage.

After the test you will be given a pass or fail certificate by the testing station. In the case of a fail, you MUST get the repairs completed before contacting the Licensing Service for a re-test appointment.

If your vehicle passes the test, you will be required to take the certificate to the Rushcliffe Borough Council Customer Service Centre, Fountain Court, Gordon Road, West Bridgford, NG2 5LN to collect your plates and paper licence.

Plates will be ready for collection 2 working days AFTER the vehicle has passed its inspection. It is the responsibility of the applicant to affix the plates to the vehicle in the prescribed way.

Failure to do so will result in a breach of the licence conditions. The applicant is responsible for fixing the plates to the vehicle in the approved manner, i.e. to the front and rear of the vehicle. Hackney Carriage drivers will be supplied with the Rushcliffe logo which will be affixed to both front doors and will not be obstructed in any way.

Buying and selling licensed vehicles

Anyone who buys or sells a licensed vehicle must notify the Council within seven days, in writing. If the vehicle is sold to another Rushcliffe licensed driver the Council need to know the details of the new owner of the car and also the previous owner's details. There is no need to re-test the vehicle at this stage.

Lost vehicle plates

Make enquiries with the police and also notify the Council in writing of the fact that you have lost your plates. There is a standard charge for replacement of your plates which has to be charged if you cannot recover your original.

Licensing Fees

Until you have paid the appropriate fee in full you will not be able to book your vehicle in for a test. A photocopy of the receipt issued by the cash office will need to be attached to the application form before the licensing officer can process the application.

• Current fees
• Licence duration: 1 year for Private hire vehicles under 5 years of age 1 year for Hackney Carriages under 7 years of age. Vehicles over these ages will be tested twice per year.

PLEASE NOTE:  Online application forms are not submitted or received by Rushcliffe Borough Council if the payment is not made at the time of completing the application form.

PLEASE NOTE: Please ensure your renewal date is within one month of the expiry date of your current existing licence. If you apply too early the application will not proceed and an error will occur. You may however apply at a later date.

Public Registers

You can view information on our public register for taxis.