How a taxi firm gets on a company's approved supplier list

Bigger companies don't let their staff book any taxi firm they like. They keep an approved supplier list, and a firm only gets on it after the procurement team has checked its paperwork. This guide is the approved supplier taxi checklist: what procurement asks for, what each item means for a taxi or private hire firm, the rule behind it, and how to stay on the list once you're approved. For finding the businesses in the first place, read our guide on how to get corporate taxi clients.

What is an approved supplier list?

An approved supplier list is the set of firms a company has checked and allows its staff to use. A member of staff who books a firm that isn't on it may find the cost refused at month end, so getting on the list is what turns a friendly office manager into regular work.

The checking is done by procurement or finance, not by the person who books. Expect a supplier questionnaire, sometimes on an online portal, a request for documents, a form for your bank details and a check on your company. Expect the check to be repeated, often once a year.

Being on the list doesn't promise you any work. It means staff are allowed to book you. You still need account terms, prices and a reason for the office manager to pick up the phone, which our guide to winning corporate taxi accounts covers.

What does a procurement team ask a taxi firm for?

A procurement team asks a taxi firm for twelve things, and every one of them has a rule or a source behind it. Have them in one folder before the questionnaire arrives.

Which insurance certificates will a company ask to see?

A company will ask to see your motor insurance, your public liability insurance and, if you employ anyone, your employers' liability insurance. Send the certificates, not the full policy wordings, and note each renewal date in your folder.

Motor insurance. Section 143 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 makes it an offence to use a vehicle on a road without insurance that meets the Act's requirements, and private hire work needs cover for hire and reward. Section 48 of the 1976 Act says a council can't license a private hire vehicle unless that insurance is in force, so the buyer is really asking you to prove what the council already knows.

Public liability insurance. The Department for Transport's best practice guidance says it's appropriate for a licensing authority to check that an operator has suitable public liability insurance. Buyers ask for the amount of cover, so have the certificate ready.

Employers' liability insurance. GOV.UK says you must have it as soon as you become an employer, covering at least £5 million, unless you only employ family members. You can be fined £2,500 for every day you're not properly insured, and £1,000 for not displaying the certificate where employees can see it. Whether your drivers count as employees depends on how you've set them up: our guide to self-employed or employed taxi drivers explains the difference, and the guide to taxi business insurance covers each policy.

What safeguarding and DBS evidence should you have ready?

Have a written safeguarding policy, a record of who has had safeguarding training, and a register showing when each person's DBS check was seen. Buyers sending their own staff, or their clients, in your cars want to know what you do, not just what the council does.

The statutory standards set out what councils are expected to require. Drivers need an enhanced DBS check with barred list checks, and councils should check for new information every 6 months through the DBS Update Service. Operators should provide a basic DBS check every year. And operators should have seen a basic DBS check for everyone who takes bookings or dispatches cars.

Don't send copies of DBS certificates to a buyer. The ICO says information from a criminal record check is criminal offence data, which has extra protection, and that still applies when the check shows no convictions. Send a statement of what checks you and your council carry out, and the dates from your register. Our guides to DBS checks for operators and safeguarding for taxi firms cover the policies themselves.

What counts as data protection evidence?

Data protection evidence means proof that you pay the data protection fee to the ICO, a privacy notice that tells passengers what you do with their details, and an answer on how long you keep them. A form may phrase the first question as a question about the ICO; what it wants is the fee.

The ICO says organisations that use personal information must pay a data protection fee unless they're exempt. A micro organisation, with a turnover of up to £632,000 or no more than 10 members of staff, pays £52. A small or medium organisation, up to £36 million turnover or 250 staff, pays £78. Paying by direct debit takes £5 off.

For retention, the statutory standards suggest operators keep booking records for at least 6 months. Say what period you keep them for, and why.

Does a taxi firm need a modern slavery statement?

Only if its turnover is £36 million or more. Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires a commercial organisation that supplies goods or services to publish a slavery and human trafficking statement each financial year if its turnover is at or above the amount set by regulations, and the regulations set it at £36 million. GOV.UK says the statement should be published within 6 months of the end of the financial year.

So the large company sending you a questionnaire probably has to publish one, and its statement covers its supply chain. That's why it's asking you. Answer honestly: say you're below the threshold, then describe the steps you do take. Every driver is licensed by the council. Office staff have had right to work checks: GOV.UK says an employer must check that a job applicant is allowed to work in the UK before employing them. And say how your drivers are paid.

What about equality, health and safety and the environment?

Answer each with a short, true document rather than a borrowed one. Copying a large company's policy and putting your name on it shows the moment anyone asks a follow-up question.

Equality. Gender pay gap reporting only applies to employers with 250 or more employees, so you won't have figures to send. Buyers still ask for a short equality policy, and they'll want to know how you handle passengers who use wheelchairs or assistance dogs: our guide to wheelchair-accessible taxis and the Equality Act covers the duties.

Health and safety. HSE says that if you have five or more employees, you must write your health and safety policy down. Below that it's still worth a page.

The environment. Give facts: how many of your cars are hybrid or electric, and any plans to change. Our guide to moving a taxi fleet to electric helps if the buyer wants a plan.

How is public sector procurement different?

Public bodies, such as councils, buy through formal procurement under the Procurement Act 2023, not through a supplier questionnaire from the finance team. Before you can bid, you register on the government's Central Digital Platform, which is free, and get a unique identifier that you share with the buyer before a contract is awarded. Your core supplier information is stored there, so you don't type it in for every bid.

One rule works in your favour. Section 68 of the Act says a public body must pay sums due under a public contract within 30 days of receiving a valid invoice, with some exceptions such as contracts awarded by schools. Our guide to council school transport contracts explains how frameworks and dynamic markets work.

How do you stay on the list once you're approved?

Keep your documents current and tell the buyer about changes before they find out. Send new insurance certificates the week you renew, not when procurement chases you at the annual check.

Driver documents are the ones that slip. Dispatch AI is booking and dispatch software for taxi and private hire firms, and it reminds you and the driver before a licence or insurance document runs out.

Change your bank details only by letter on headed paper, and expect the buyer to ring you on a number they already hold to confirm it. Fraudsters send fake "new bank details" emails pretending to be suppliers, so a buyer who checks is protecting you as well. Do the same when a client asks you to change anything about how you're paid.