In this section
A licence is required before any vehicle can be used for taxi or minicab work. Licences are issued for up to one year.
Licensing a vehicle
All vehicles must pass an MOT no more than 30 days before they are licensed, unless the vehicle is less than one year old. You can book your MOT with any garage.
You must book an appointment with the licensing team to licence your vehicle. You will need to make payment when you complete our online application form and upload your full logbook (V5), vehicle insurance, and MOT. If you are applying to licence a hackney carriage, you must also upload a meter calibration certificate, confirming that the meter has been set to our tariff, must be provided for new hackney carriages. If the vehicle has recently been purchased, you will need to submit the new keeper supplement (the part of the logbook that you get given as the new registered keeper of the vehicle).
Applicants for a vehicle licence who are not already licensed drivers or operators will be required to submit a basic disclosure and barring service check at the time of making the application. Applicants must apply for the basic disclosure themselves. The check must be no more than 3 months old at the time of submitting the application for a vehicle licence.
Vehicles will be tested for suitability against our policy, and all licensing decisions are taken in consideration of our Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy 2021-2026.
Limits on vehicle numbers
As part of our licensing policy, the council has a limit on the number of hackney carriage licences and has agreed to not issue any new licences unless specific criteria apply. A new hackney carriage vehicle plate will only be issued to a vehicle which is:
- fully wheelchair accessible
- emits zero emissions (e.g. is a fully electric vehicle), and
- displays the council's livery
This does allow existing licences to be renewed or transferred, or for an already licensed vehicle to be changed to a newer vehicle.
The council is not able to place a limit on the number of private hire vehicles that can be issued.
Timescales
Appointments are for one hour.
If you pass, you are issued with your plate and licence during your appointment. Any vehicle which does not pass gets up to 10 working days to be retested before the licence is refused.
Licensee's responsibilities
Vehicle owners must comply with their conditions and hackney carriage owners must also comply with the byelaws. All licenses are issued subject to standard licence conditions which can be found in our Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy 2021-2026.
Any accident must be reported within 72 hours, which you can do by emailing us.
If you change your address you must notify us in writing by email to taxis@watford.gov.uk. Please note that there is a fee of £7.20 to change your address.
If you lose your licence contact the Licensing team for replacement. Please note that there is a fee for issuing a replacement licence or plate.
If you are buying a licensed vehicle you must apply to transfer the licence into your name - please note that there are different forms depending upon whether the vehicle you are buying is a hackney carriage or private hire vehicle.
Cost
- The licence fee is £254.52 for a hackney carriage vehicle licence (£127.26 for fully electric vehicles)
- The licence fee is £231.85 for a private hire vehicle licence (£115.93 for fully electric vehicles)
- A plate bracket costs £6.74
- A replacement plate costs £6.80
- The fee for transferring a vehicle is £19.61
- Change of address costs £7.84
- A pair of magnetic door signs costs £24.00
Please note that we can only accept payment by credit card or debit card.
How to appeal
You have a right to appeal the decision of the council to refuse a licence or to attach conditions to a licence.
Appeals must be made to the magistrates' court within 21 days of being notified of the decision, but an appeal against the refusal of a hackney carriage licence is made to the Crown Court.
