How to get a private hire operator licence in the UK

If you take bookings for private hire vehicles, you need this licence before the first paid job. This guide covers who needs one, what you send, how the council judges you, the fees and timescales in named places, and the conditions that come with it. It's written for England and Wales outside London, with London, Scotland and Northern Ireland at the end.

What is a private hire operator licence?

A private hire operator licence is the licence a business needs to take bookings for private hire vehicles. Section 80 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 defines "operate" as making provision, in the course of business, for inviting or accepting bookings for a private hire vehicle. The licence itself is granted under section 55.

Section 46 makes it an offence to operate a private hire vehicle in a council's area without the licence, and an offence for a licensed operator to send a job to a car or a driver that isn't licensed. GOV.UK puts it plainly: you can be prosecuted if you take payment for bookings or supply drivers for hire without one.

The licence also makes you answerable for the trip. Section 56(1) treats every contract for the hire of a licensed private hire vehicle as made with the operator who accepted the booking. In DELTA Merseyside v Uber Britannia (July 2025), the Supreme Court held that this is a deeming rule. Outside London it doesn't force you to contract with the passenger as principal, but the law treats you as taking on contractual liability once the hire is made.

Who needs an operator licence?

Anyone who takes private hire bookings as a business needs one, including a driver who takes their own bookings. GOV.UK says that to drive a private hire vehicle in England and Wales, you either hold an operator licence yourself or drive for a business that has one.

Three things don't need it:

• Hackney carriages working ranks and the street. They need only a vehicle licence and a driver licence, according to GOV.UK.
• Vehicles with nine or more passenger seats. The 1976 Act's definition of a private hire vehicle covers cars that seat fewer than nine passengers. Liverpool City Council points out that anything larger is licensed through the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.
• Drivers working for a licensed operator. They need driver licences, not their own operator licence.

You apply to the authority for the area where you'll take bookings, because the operator, driver and vehicle licences must all come from the same authority. There's more on that choice in how to start a taxi company in the UK.

What do you need to apply for an operator licence?

You need the application form, the fee, a basic DBS certificate for each person behind the business, proof of your right to work, and the policies, lists and evidence your council asks for. Each council publishes its own list. Here are four of them:

Expect questions about your staff too. The Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards ask councils to make operators keep a register of everyone who takes bookings or dispatches cars, and to show they've seen a basic DBS check for each person. Bristol's operator checklist also asks for a policy on employing ex-offenders and, if you outsource bookings, evidence that the company you use applies comparable protections.

Before you apply, check your premises meet the council's rules: see private hire operator premises requirements.

What does "fit and proper person" mean for an operator?

The council has to be satisfied you can be trusted with passengers' bookings and personal details. Section 55(1) says the council grants the licence only if it's satisfied the applicant is a fit and proper person and, for an individual, not disqualified by immigration status.

The main evidence is a basic DBS check. Enhanced checks aren't available for operator licensing, as Bristol's policy notes, so the Statutory Standards ask councils to request a basic disclosure and repeat it every year. A basic check costs £20 on GOV.UK. For a company or partnership, the Standards ask councils to apply the test to every director or partner.

Convictions don't rule you out automatically. Liverpool says it may consider them when deciding whether you're fit and proper, and Sheffield may refer an application to its Licensing Sub-Committee if the check shows offences such as violence, dishonesty, drugs or sex offences. If you've lived abroad, Bristol asks for a certificate of good character from each country where you lived for a continuous three months or more in the last five years.

The checks for operators and their staff are covered in DBS checks for taxi operators and the statutory taxi and private hire vehicle standards.

How much does an operator licence cost?

The fee depends on the council, the length of the licence and, in some places, the size of your fleet. These are the published fees for a small firm:

On top come the basic DBS check, any knowledge or safeguarding training the council sets, and your premises and insurance costs. Fees for nine authorities, with driver and vehicle licences, are in taxi and private hire licence fees from UK councils.

How long does it take to get an operator licence?

Weeks, so apply well before you want to take bookings. Bristol tells renewing operators that applications can take up to four weeks to process, and lets you renew up to six weeks before the licence expires. TfL says a typical London application takes up to 16 weeks, and longer for new or unusual services.

Incomplete applications wait. Sheffield won't process an application until it has seen every document it needs, and Liverpool's application form warns that leaving any question unanswered will delay the decision.

TfL inspects every proposed operating centre before it decides, and checks that you can keep the records, send booking confirmations and handle complaints. And you can't start early: TfL says an operator can't begin until it has the physical licence and has displayed it at the operating centre.

How long does an operator licence last?

Up to five years. Section 55(2) of the 1976 Act sets five years as the standard, or a shorter period the council thinks appropriate, a rule that has applied since 1 October 2015 under the Deregulation Act 2015. The Statutory Standards repeat the same lengths: five years for operators and three for drivers.

Many councils let you choose. Bristol and Sheffield offer anything from one to five years, and Leeds and Cardiff price one-year and five-year licences. A longer licence costs less per year, but the basic DBS check is still due every year. Bristol says so directly for licences longer than one year.

Renewing takes a tax check. Since 4 April 2022, private hire operators in England and Wales have had to give the council a tax check code from HMRC when they renew, and the code lasts 120 days. TfL sends London operators a reminder six months before expiry and a renewal pack about four months before. If the new licence isn't granted in time, TfL says the business has to stop trading.

What conditions come with an operator licence?

The council attaches the conditions it considers reasonably necessary, and you agree to keep them for the life of the licence. GOV.UK notes that an authority can refuse your application if you don't accept its conditions. They vary by council, but these come up again and again:

1. Booking records. Birmingham, Bristol and Liverpool all require records of every booking to be kept for at least 12 months. The full list of fields is in operator record keeping.
2. Driver and vehicle lists. Birmingham wants an updated list on the first of every month, Liverpool on the first Monday of each month, and Bristol each month.
3. Reporting. Birmingham gives you 7 days to report a conviction, caution, arrest, summons or change of address for you or anyone named on the licence.
4. Complaints. Liverpool requires a complaints register, and Birmingham requires complaint records to be kept for 12 months.
5. Assistance dogs. Section 170 of the Equality Act 2010 makes it an offence for an operator to refuse a booking because a disabled passenger has an assistance dog, and Liverpool repeats it as a condition.
6. Training. Liverpool requires its operators' staff to attend safeguarding training delivered by the council.

If the council refuses you, or you think a condition is wrong, you can appeal to the magistrates' court. Birmingham's conditions give you 21 days from service of the licence to appeal a condition.

Most of these conditions come down to keeping good records. If you're choosing software for that, Dispatch AI is booking and dispatch software for taxi and private hire firms; check any system against your council's list of required fields before you buy.

Can you pass bookings to another operator?

Yes, within limits. Section 55A of the 1976 Act lets you sub-contract a booking to an operator licensed by your own council or by another council, to a London operator, or to an operator accepting it in Scotland. Both sections 55A and 55B came in on 1 October 2015.

The risk stays with you. Under section 55B you commit an offence if you pass a job to another operator licensed by a council in England or Wales outside London, knowing they'll use an unlicensed driver or vehicle on it. Section 56(1) still treats the contract as made with you, and Liverpool's conditions make the original operator deal with complaints about sub-contracted journeys and keep a full record of each one. The detail is in cross-border hiring and subcontracting.

What is different in London, Scotland and Northern Ireland?

Each has its own law, so check which one applies before you apply.

London. Transport for London licenses operators under the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998, which requires an operating centre in London and the same fit and proper test. London operators must contract with the passenger as principal (regulation 9(14) of the London operator regulations), keep a person available for passengers to speak to during operating hours, and upload driver and vehicle data every Monday. See starting a private hire firm in London.

Scotland. There's no operator licence in the English sense. Under a 2009 order made under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, premises taking bookings for 4 or more taxis or private hire cars need a booking office licence, and 3 or fewer need none. Glasgow charges £383.

Northern Ireland. Section 1 of the Taxis Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 says you can't operate a taxi service without an operator's licence. The Driver and Vehicle Agency issues it, the application fee is £140, and a small operator licence covers up to two taxis.