Thank you for submitting your application online. Please carefully read this page with instructions on what you should do now your application has been submitted. The instructions below apply equally to hackney carriage and private hire driver licence applications.
Fitness criteria
So that we can decide if you are a fit and proper person to be issued with a driver’s licence, you will need give us supporting documents. All these documents/assessments are mandatory.
Important - arranging your medical assessment
Once you have passed your local knowledge test, it can take at least 6 to 8 weeks to process your application. This is largely due to the time it can take for your criminal disclosure certificate to be processed and returned.
You do not have to wait for your criminal disclosure certificate to be returned before you arrange to have your medical assessment done. While you wait for your criminal disclosure certificate to be returned, we advise you to have your medical done to avoid undue delay in processing your application.
Application documents
If you are submitting documents electronically, you must ensure that the electronic copy is clear, legible and shows the whole extent of the document.
DVLA driving licence
You can submit this electronically to us. It is not necessary to see a licensing officer
We need to see a copy of both sides of your DVLA driving licence. You can submit these electronically either by uploading them as part of the online form or by email to licensing@cheltenham.gov.uk. We will accept a scan or photo.
You need to arrange to get your medical assessment done by a medical doctor who has access to your medical history or a medical based on a ‘summary of medical records’ from a suitably qualified medical practitioner.
This form can be submitted electronically either by uploading it as part of the online form, by email to licensing@cheltenham.gov.uk or by posting it to us FAO Licensing at the Municipal Offices. We will accept a scan or photo.
Your medical report form is only valid for a maximum of 3 months so if you do not complete your application in this time period you will be required to submit a new medical report form
Enhanced DBS check
You can submit your required ID documents electronically to us
We will contact you with instructions on how to complete your enhanced DBS
We will arrange an appointment to verify your documents
You must register for the update service within 30 days of the certificate being issued.
You will need to provide an enhanced criminal disclosure certificate issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). You cannot apply for these online without a reference or link from us.
We will contact you to advise how you can apply for your enhanced DBS and pay the fee. You will need to send us your ID documents either by uploading these as part of the online form or by email to licensing@cheltenham.gov.uk. We will accept a scan or photo. We will arrange an appointment to verify your identity and documents.
Your disclosure and barring certificate is only valid for a maximum of 3 months so if you do not complete your application in this time period you will be required to submit a new enhanced DBS application
You can extend this period by subscribing to the DBS update service
We will arrange an appointment to verify your documents
You must provide evidence of your right to work/remain in the UK, from the approved documents. This is a requirement for all applicants irrespective of when and where you were born or your nationality.
You can submit these electronically either by uploading it as part of the online form or by email to licensing@cheltenham.gov.uk. We will accept a scan or photo.
We will arrange an appointment to verify your identity and documents.
Photograph
You can submit this electronically to us. It is not necessary to see a licensing officer.
We will need one passport sized photograph of you. This can be a digital photo taken e.g. on a smartphone against a plain background. You can submit this to us electronically either by uploading it as part of the online form or by email to licensing@cheltenham.gov.uk.
The photograph must be clear, light and show your entire face to shoulders, without anything in the background.
Knowledge test and safeguarding training
You can book your knowledge test online, over the phone or by emailing us. It is not necessary to see a licensing officer
You will need to pass a knowledge test and attend safeguarding training. The test will assess your knowledge on a range of relevant subjects such as geographical knowledge, law and conditions, basic numeracy and safeguarding.
We hold our safeguarding training and knowledge test once a month. Details of provisional dates and online booking are available on our training pages.
Once you have submitted your application, you can book to sit the training at any time when you feel ready.
We will supply you with basic information when you book to sit the test. You will be expected to have a sound geographical knowledge of Cheltenham (places of interest, schools, hotels, night-time economy venues).
You will be issued with a pass certificate that you will need to send to us. You can submit this electronically to us. It is not necessary to see a licensing officer
You can submit your pass certificate electronically either by uploading it as part of the online form or by emailing to licensing@cheltenham.gov.uk. We will accept a scan or photo of the certificate.
Evidence of your English language proficiency
In some cases we may require you to carry out an English language proficiency assessment.
Some applicants may not be required to take the English proficiency test. This is the case if they can demonstrate their ability to communicate in English by providing an appropriate educational certificate for a qualification related to English. Acceptable qualifications may include a GCSE (or equivalent) in a subject such as English language or literature, a degree in a subject containing substantial English content, or an NVQ or BTEC in a subject that requires its students to communicate well in English.
You can submit your appropriate qualification electronically either by uploading it as part of the online form or by email to licensing@cheltenham.gov.uk. We will accept a scan or photo of the certificate.
If you are unable to provide such a certificate, or if the licensing officer is not satisfied that the certificates provided sufficiently demonstrate your ability to communicate in English, you will need to pass the English proficiency test.
Certificate of good character
If you have been resident abroad at any time from the age of 18 prior to making an application, you must provide a certificate of good conduct, a criminal record check or similar document from each country where you have been resident.
We consider residency to be where you have lived in a country for longer than 6 months in a given calendar year. Where this certificate has been produced in a non-English language, the applicant is required to produce a translation of the certificate from the Embassy or Consulate of that country and provide the original document. An exception might be permitted where a refugee has been allowed to stay in the UK and has been given asylum, and this exception will only apply to that country.
Hackney carriage/private hire driver application for medical exemption certificate
Licensed taxi and private hire drivers have a legal duty to carry assistance dogs (at all times) and carry people in wheelchairs (if they drive a wheelchair accessible vehicle).
Failing to comply with these duties is an offence unless the licensed driver has an exemption certificate issued by Cheltenham Borough Council.
Licensed drivers who drive a wheelchair accessible vehicle must:
carry the passenger while in the wheelchair
not make any additional charge for doing so
carry the wheelchair if the passenger chooses to sit in a passenger seat
ensure that the passenger is carried in safety and reasonable comfort
give the passenger such mobility assistance as is reasonably required
Mobility assistance is assistance to:
enable the passenger to get into or out of the vehicle
enable the passenger to get into and out of the vehicle while in the wheelchair, if the passenger wishes to remain in the wheelchair
load the passenger's luggage into or out of the vehicle
load the wheelchair into or out of the vehicle, if the passenger does not wish to remain in the wheelchair
Carrying assistance dogs
Drivers have a duty to carry any guide dog or other assistance dog travelling with a disabled person at no extra cost.
National register of refusals, revocations, and suspensions (NR3S)
We have to be sure that people holding hackney carriage and private hire vehicle (PHV) driver licences are ‘fit and proper’ to do so. This is done firstly during the determination of an application for a licence, and then at any time during the currency of a licence.
The process of assessing whether an applicant or licensee is ‘fit and proper’ may vary between authorities but there is widespread consensus on the need to make this more consistent and to set national minimum standards for the fit and proper test at a suitably high level. This would help prevent individuals who have had a licence revoked by one authority from simply going to another area and securing a licence - assuming the second authority was aware of the earlier revocation.
At the moment, if drivers do not disclose information about a previous revocation or refusal of a licence, there is often no way for a licensing authority to find this information out. This means that vital intelligence about an applicant’s past behaviour is being missed and an individual might be able to get a new licence in another area, despite having their licence revoked elsewhere. High profile instances of this happening have undermined public confidence in the safety of hackney carriages and PHVs, and left licensing authorities open to criticism for something that is currently very difficult for them to control.
In response to this issue, Cheltenham Borough Council has subscribed to the ‘national register of refusals, revocations, and suspensions’ or NR3S. The register will allow licensing authorities to record details of where a hackney carriage or PHV drivers’ licence has been refused or revoked, and allow licensing authorities to check new applicants against the register. This should help to prevent people found to be not fit and proper in one area from securing a licence somewhere else through deception and non-disclosure. For the avoidance of doubt, NR3S does not extend to vehicle or operator licensing decisions.
Tax conditionality for taxi and private hire drivers
You will need to complete a simple tax check to renew a taxi driver, private hire or scrap metal licence, or when you apply for the same type of licence with a different licensing authority.
This service has been created so that everyone pays the tax they should, creating a level playing field for the majority of people that comply. The check should take a few minutes every few years and confirm that you are correctly registered for tax.
You will need to complete a tax check when you apply or renew your licence as a:
driver of a taxi (hackney carriage)
driver of a private hire vehicle (and dual licences)
private hire vehicle operator
Please read the government's tax check factsheet to understand what is required, as this will apply to all renewals and new applicants.
I am a new applicant, do I need to complete a tax check?
You can contact HMRC if you notice your records need to be updated during the check.
If the online checking system is unavailable, you should tell us. HMRC advise that licensees continue to try to access the service for five days in a row. The five days start the first time you try accessing the service after the licensing authority asked you to.
If you are still unable to access the service and complete a tax check in those five days, you:
do not need to carry out a tax check
should tell the licensing authority you have been unable to complete one
I need to tell HMRC when I first got my licence, where can I find this information?
Once we have received all the documents mentioned above, we will use these to assess your fitness and suitability to be issued with a licence.
If we consider you to be fit and proper, we will issue you with a driver’s licence. Your licence will be emailed to you using the email address you have registered with us. We will post your driver’s ID badge to you.
If your application does not comply with our policy, we will refer your application to the council’s licensing committee.
If you have any questions about your application, please contact us by email in the first instance at licensing@cheltenham.gov.uk quoting your submission reference number.
If you are submitting documents electronically, you must ensure that the electronic copy is clear, legible and shows the whole of the document.
