Hackney Carriage (Taxi) Licence
A 'Hackney Carriage' is more commonly called a Taxi. It is the responsibility of the City Council to regulate the number of Hackney Carriages it licences.
This licence is required for any chauffeur-driven hire vehicle that will ply for hire, be flagged down or hired at a taxi rank. Once licensed, a taxi remains a taxi until the licence expires. These vehicles have a roof sign and display a yellow plate on the rear of the vehicle.
Vehicles to be licensed must be mechanically suitable. The mechanical condition is to be conformed by a detailed inspection undertaken at the expense of the proprietor at the Council's designated testing stations; details of which can be found below.
Your car must be insured for hackney carriage work.
Throughout your application, you must be honest in supplying information to us and must not, under any circumstances, make a false statement at any time to obtain your vehicle licence. This is a serious offence.
Technical specifications for hackney carriage vehicles
There are many different makes and styles of vehicle on the road today. Not all vehicles would be suitable for use as a hackney carriage vehicle and the Council will assess your vehicle to decide whether or not it is suitable for use as a hackney carriage vehicle.
All new hackney carriage vehicles must be wheelchair capable. Please see the conditions below for details on wheelchair capable vehicles.
Before purchasing a new vehicle for licensing please check with a licensing officer that it will be accepted as a hackney carriage vehicle.
What information must you provide to us?
To help us consider your application it is our policy for you to show us:
- that the proprietor making the application holds a private hire driver's licence issued by this authority.
You will also need to produce the following documents:
- vehicle registration document - we cannot process your application without seeing this document.
- MOT Certificate (if applicable).
- policy or cover note of insurance covering the vehicle for "public and/or private use" for you and/or your drivers.
- that your vehicle is mechanically suitable. Your vehicle must pass an inspection carried out by a qualified mechanic (see legal requirements). The vehicle will also be subject to a visual inspection carried out by an authorised Licensing Officer of the Council.
- that you have an efficient and approved fire extinguisher suitable for use on motor vehicles.
Testing stations
All vehicles must be tested at one of the following testing stations:
- BEST Autocentres Ltd, Unit 8 Winchester Trade Park, Easton Lane, Winchester, SO23 7FA
Tel: 01962 866 977 - Citroen Freeborn Winchester, Unit 1 Barfield Close, Winchester, SO23 9SQ
Tel: 01962 840 888 - W. J. Heard Motor Repairs, Shore Lane, Bishops Waltham, Southampton SO32 1DY
Tel: 01489 895 607
The testing fee of £60 will be payable by you directly to the garage at the time of the test. The testing stations are permitted to charge for re-tests and missed appointments. The fee for a re-test is £22 if re-tested within three working days and £60 for all other re-tests.
How to apply
To make an application for a Hackney Carriage Vehicle licence, please complete the application form found below and book an appointment with the Licensing office on the number below. Please ensure all of the documents above are at the appointment, with the fee of £167.
If you have any difficulty with any of the forms or have any questions, please contact us by email licensing@winchester.gov.uk or telephone 01962 848 188 or 848 179.
Application forms are available to download below. Please note that if you wish to fill the form in electronically, you can do this by downloading the Word documents. A signature is required for all applications. To fill the form in manually, please download the adobe versions below.
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