How to become a Taxi Driver

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01273 263144

taxi.licensing@adur-worthing.gov.uk

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Becoming a Licensed Driver

Becoming a Worthing Taxi or Private Hire driver is the beginning of a new career.  It is not quick, it is not cheap and it is not easy.  When you do get your licence you can feel justifiably proud of it.

The only tangible difference in the procedure to become a Taxi driver or a Private Hire driver in Worthing is that whilst Private Hire drivers are required to have a good knowledge of Worthing, Taxi drivers have to have an excellent knowledge.

You must have been the holder of a full driving licence, (not a provisional or a pass certificate), for a minimum of twelve months at the date when you make application. 

The first stage is to complete the appropriate application form, together with an application for a Criminal Records Bureau disclosure.

• These forms can be obtained from the Taxi Licensing Unit at any time between 9.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m., Monday to Friday, by appointment only. 
• Alternatively, you can download the appropriate forms from the Taxi Licensing Forms page. We arre in the process of updating these forms, and it is better to collect the latest version from the office. 
• We also recommended that you pick the forms up in person, so that the procedure can be explained and any queries you may have can be dealt with prior to the forms being completed.

Furthermore, the CRB application cannot be made available on the website. We recommend you collect this in person or in certain circumstances it can be posted to you.

The Council has a policy on the consideration of previous convicitons, which is contained with the Taxi and Private Hire Handbook, available on the first page of the Taxi Licensing section of this website.

The Council abides by the retention policy of the CRB and all CRB Disclosures are destroyed when a decision on the grant or renewal of a licence has been made.  Disclosures made by applicants on their application form are retained as part of their file.

It is essential that you are completely open and honest when making disclosures.  Any errors or omissions which come to light after you have submitted your application for consideration are considered to be predjucial to your application.

Other Requirements

The completed application form will need to be brought to the Licensing office, in person,  together with:

• A Medical Certificate from your own G.P., (the relevant form is also available from the office or by downloading); and
• One passport sized colour photograph; and
• Your DVLA driver's licence, or an acceptable alternative, (if you have a licence which was not issued by the DVLA please call or visit us to check whether this licence is acceptable); and
• A completed DVLA mandate authorising the Council to send for a copy of your record from the the DVLA; and
• Other documents which we must see to be able to confirm to the CRB your identity and the address of your residence; and
• The application fee and the fee for the CRB disclosure. (These are listed separately).

If you do not have internet access, we can issue you with the appropriate parts of the Taxi and Private Hire Handbook, (on which you will be tested as part of the knowledge test), and we will begin to process your application, including writing to the two referees that you have nominated.  We will also check your CRB Disclosure application and DVLA mandate and send them off for you. 

You must NOT send the application direct to the CRB.

Before we can issue you with a licence, you will have to pass the BTEC for taxi and private hire drivers, and the Driving Standards Agency taxi driving assessment. The Level Two BTEC in Transporting Passengers by Taxi and Private Hire will cost you about £300.00, including the test, and consists of three days intensive training and testing.  In certain circumstances, you may be eligeable for training at no cost to you.  Our preferred BTEC training provider is PDM Training and Consultancy, http://www.pdmtc.co.uk, telephone 01264 321340, or you can search on line yourself for a training provider. 

The DSA Assessment is like a driving test for experienced drivers, and will cost you around £80 to £110 depending on which test you have and when. It is more expensive to take driving tests at the weekend.  More information is available from the DSA website. (www.businesslink.gov.uk/transport).

Applicants are required to pass an examination of their local geographical knowledge and demonstrate their understanding of the rules & regulations governing the taxi trade. You can take as much time as you require to learn the required information. When you feel confident that you are ready for the 'knowledge test', you must inform the Licensing office and we will book you in for the next available test session.  The test is in two parts, and the first part is conducted on the last Tuesday of each month, at 2.30 p.m..  We can only take a maximum of six candidates at a time.  

We hope that in the foreseable future we will have a computerised test which applicants can take individually, at much shorter notice. This new test will be introduced as soon as possible, but there is a lot of work to finalise this. 

If you have gained enough points in the first part of the test to be able to pass the test overall, you will be invited back for the second part. This part is conducted individually, and can be taken at any time that's mutually convenient.

Provided that all the statutory checks have been completed, you have reached the standard required for the licence that you have applied for, and that the relevant fees have been paid you can then be issued with your licence. 

The licence will run until the day before your next birthday, and the fee is calculated pro rata on a daily rate.  After that the licence is normally renewed on an annual basis at the full annual rate.

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