General Notes

If you want to be a driver of a hackney carriage or private hire vehicle licensed by Mid Devon District Council you will need to apply for a driver licence using the Council’s form.

These notes, along with the ‘to do’ list on the application form, are designed to help you complete the application form and go through the application process. You should refer to the Council’s Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Policy for full details.

Completing the form

Please read the form carefully and answer all questions. The application may not be processed if questions are not answered. Additionally, the form contains a declaration at the end and it is important that you read this carefully before signing.

Applying to renew your licence

You must submit the application to renew your licence at least 14 days before to the expiry of your licence. If you do not apply to renew your licence in time there may be a period when you will be unable to drive a Hackney Carriage or Private Hire vehicle.

If you do not submit the renewal application before the licence expires it will be treated as a new application rather than a renewal. You will then have to provide all the information that is required for a new application (e.g. a new DBS check, up-to-date medical etc.).

Fees

Hackney carriage and private hire fees

Photographs

You will need to provide a passport style photograph with your application and it must have your name on the back.

Photographs must conform to the passport style description. Information about these requirements: GOV.UK photos for passports.

Driving licence

You need to have held a full DVLA driving licence for at least 12 months. If you do not hold a UK driving licence, you can still apply for a licence if you hold a Northern Ireland, European Economic Areas or a driving licence issued by a country which is defined as an exchangeable driving licence. The licence must have been held for at least 12 months at the date of application.

As part of the application form you must provide the Council with your driving licence and a DVLA check code. This will allow the Licensing Team to check your licence online. You can get a DVLA check code at: GOV.UK view driving licence.

Once a licence has been granted, the Council will check your DVLA licence on at least an annual basis.

Medical

You must be fit to Group 2 medical standards and in order to demonstrate this you need to have the Council’s medical form completed by your own GP or a suitably qualified medical practitioner. If you are not using your GP you must ensure the suitably qualified medical practitioner has access to your medical records. This means you will need to request your full medical history or a summary of your care records from your GP in writing.

The medical form can be found on our Drivers page.

The Council allows medicals to be completed by D4 Drivers.  Other companies may also provide this service but you should check with the Licensing Team before booking to ensure they can provide a suitable medical.

You are required to have a medical when your first apply; when you are 45; and then every five years until the age of 65. You must then have them annually.

You may not need to get a medical if you hold a HGV / PSV DVLA drivers licence. In this situation you may be able to provide the Group 2 medical certificate which was previously completed. The Licensing Team will also check the entitlement on your DVLA licence in these circumstances.

Right to work

You must have the right to remain and work in the UK. You need to evidence this by providing documentation or an immigration check code which complies with the Home Office guidelines. The original documents must be provided and brought to the Council offices by the applicant in person. If you have evidenced an unqualified right to remain and work previously, you will not need to do this again for your renewal application.

Please refer to the Home Office guidance.

You can apply for a check code here: GOV.UK view and prove immigration status.

If you do not have the right to work in the UK a licence will not be issued.

If your right to remain in the UK is time limited, a licence will not be issued beyond the period of your leave to remain.

Tax checks

If you are applying for a licence for the first time or if have not held a valid driver’s licence in the last year, then you are required to confirm your understanding of your tax obligations on the application form. As part of this you will need to be aware of the following guidance:

• PAYE information
• Registering for Self-Assessment
• Corporation Tax information

If you are applying to renew an existing licence, you must provide the Council with your unique 9 character code from HMRC. This will be used to confirm you have complete a tax check and we can then continue with the application process.

For more information about this: GOV.UK tax check factsheet.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and update service

You will need to get an enhanced DBS certificate with a check of both the adult and child barred lists. You apply for the DBS via the Licensing Team using the form on our Drivers page.

You must also subscribe to the DBS Update Service. The Update Service lasts for 1 year and if you want to continue to hold your licence with Mid Devon District Council, you must keep the subscription active and renew it annually.

You can find out more about the update service and register for it: GOV.UK DBS update service.

Certificate of good conduct

If you have lived abroad for any period of more than 6 months from the age of 18 you must provide a Certificate of Good Conduct from the appropriate Embassy or High Commission and it must be in English.

Convictions

You must declare all convictions, cautions, fixed penalty notices, Criminal Behaviour Orders, Community Protection Notices, requirements to attend a speed awareness course, injunctions and restraining orders to the Council on your application form.

All applications are dealt with on a case by case basis. You can find out more about how previous convictions are considered by the Council in our previous convictions policy (Appendix 2 of the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Policy).

National Register for Revocations, Refusals and Suspensions

We will check the name of every applicant for a driver’s licence on the National register of Taxi licence revocations, refusals and suspensions (NR3S). We will also add details to the database of any driver whose licence application is refused, suspended or revoked.

More information about NR3S.

Driving test

To ensure you can drive safely and to the standard expected you are required to take and pass an approved driving test. The current providers are:

• Blue Lamp Trust
• Diamond Advanced Motorists
• Devon Driver Training Centre

Safeguarding training and test

The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, adults at risk, vulnerable persons and all other members of society. We take our responsibilities seriously and expect all our licensed drivers, proprietors and operators to share this commitment.

You will be required to attend and successfully pass a safeguarding course and test. For further information about this, including course providers, you should contact the Licensing Team.

All existing licensed drivers will be required to attend and successfully pass a safeguarding course and test, approved by the Council. This will be required within 1 calendar year of the commencement of the policy (i.e. by 1 January 2026) or on renewal of licence, whichever is sooner. 

Once a driver’s licence has been granted you will need to renew the safeguarding certificate every 3 years.

Disability awareness / wheelchair safety training and test

In order to ensure you comply with all of your statutory requirements and provide the best possible service to people, you will be required to pass disability awareness training before a licence will be granted.

For further information about this, including course providers, you should contact the Licensing Team.

Note: The following sections relate only to NEW Drivers (not relevant to renewals)

Geographic knowledge and navigational skills test

As part of the application process, an officer will test you on your knowledge of the area. To pass the test you must be able to demonstrate a good geographical knowledge.

As an example, you should know the names of the main streets in Tiverton, Cullompton and Crediton, the location of hotels, places of interest, hospitals, and public houses.

You should also know the shortest routes to take between destinations.

Driver knowledge and understanding of conditions test

An officer will test you on your knowledge of the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Policy, the conditions that will be on your licence and the Highway Code.

You can view the conditions on licences in the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Policy.

English communication skills test (written and spoken)

You will need to be able to understand the requirements of the licence and communicate with passengers, enforcement agencies and passers-by.

You will be required to take and pass a spoken test, which will consist of a 15 – 20 minute exercise, taken over the telephone at the Council offices. This test is undertaken by a specialist education and testing company and provides the Council with an objective assessment.

At the end of the test, a report will be produced indicating your overall ability and you must score at least 43 out of 80 (overall), which would be equivalent to level B2 on the Common European Framework (CEFR).

Your written skills will be tested through completion of the driver knowledge and understanding of conditions test.

You may not need to take the spoken test if you hold an English qualification which was assessed by a recognised and accredited qualification awarding body (assuming you have the original certificate and / or examination transcript).

It is not possible to provide an exhaustive list of all the qualifications that will be accepted, but typical examples include:

• GCSE or GCE O-level (grade C or higher) or Scottish Intermediate 2
• CSE grade 1
• GCE A-level or Scottish Higher
• NVQ, BTEC, City and Guilds or similar vocational qualification (level 2 or higher)
• Higher education award (for example a degree, HND or HNC)
• Qualification equivalent to any of the above, issued by a recognised examining body in an English-speaking country other than the UK
• A TOEFL, IELTS or ESOL qualification at CEFR level B2 or higher (or equivalent)