Naming and registering a taxi company: sole trader or limited company?

Before you apply for an operator licence, decide who will hold it: you, or a company you own. That choice decides the name on the licence, the name on your cars and paperwork, and how you're taxed. Here's how to register a taxi company in the UK either way, what it costs, and the name rules that catch people out.

Should a taxi firm be a sole trader or limited company?

Sole trader or limited company comes down to who carries the firm's debts and how much paperwork you'll take on. GOV.UK puts it plainly: a sole trader is personally responsible for all of the business's debts, while a company's owners are responsible only up to the value of what they've invested.

A sole trader set-up is the quick route for one car that you drive yourself. A company makes more sense once you're signing leases, taking on a controller or winning account work, because those debts sit with the company. Lenders and leasing firms can still ask a director to be personally liable for the company's borrowing, so read what you sign.

Tax works differently for each. Our guide to tax for a taxi business sets out the 2026 to 2027 rates side by side.

How do you register a limited company for a taxi firm?

You register a limited company with Companies House, online, for £100. GOV.UK says a company is usually registered within 24 hours, and same-day incorporation through software costs £156.

To register a limited company, go in this order:

1. Choose the name and check it's free. Check it against the Companies House name rules before you pay.
2. Pick a registered office address. GOV.UK says it must be a physical address in the UK, in the same country the company is registered in, where someone will know when post arrives. A Royal Mail PO Box isn't allowed, and the address is publicly available on the register.
3. Give a registered email address. Companies House needs one when you set up.
4. Verify your identity. Since 18 November 2025, directors and people with significant control must verify their identity, through GOV.UK One Login or an authorised corporate service provider.
5. Choose a SIC code. This tells Companies House what the company does.
6. Register and pay £100. You get a certificate of incorporation showing the company number and date of formation.
7. Register for Corporation Tax and, if you'll pay anyone, PAYE. GOV.UK says you must register as an employer before the first payday, even if the only person you pay is yourself as the sole director.

After that, the company files a confirmation statement each year (£50 online), plus its accounts and tax return.

What are the rules for a taxi company name?

Your taxi company name has to pass the Companies House rules if it's a company, and your council's rules wherever it appears on a car or an advert.

For a limited company, GOV.UK says the name:

• must usually end in "Limited" or "Ltd"
• can't be the same as another registered company's name
• may have to change if someone complains and Companies House agrees it's "too like" an older name
• can't contain a sensitive word or suggest a connection with government or local authorities without permission
• can't be offensive

That fourth rule matters for a taxi firm. Using your town's name is fine. A name that sounds like a council service isn't, unless you get permission.

A trading name works differently. A company can trade under another name, and a sole trader can use a business name instead of their own, but a trading name can't include "Limited", "Ltd", "LLP" or "plc". GOV.UK also warns sole traders that a name too similar to another company's trade mark may have to change after a complaint.

London has an extra rule for private hire. Section 31 of the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 bans the words "taxi", "taxis", "cab" or "cabs", or anything close enough to be mistaken for them, in adverts for private hire in London unless the vehicles are London cabs. "Minicab" is allowed. Breaking it is an offence with a fine of up to level 4.

Outside London, check your council's licence conditions before you design signs or door stickers. Watford Borough Council, for one, asks for your door sign artwork with an operator application.

Whose name goes on the operator licence?

The operator licence goes to whoever applies: you as an individual, a partnership or a company. Section 55 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 says the council grants the licence to the applicant once it's satisfied they're a fit and proper person.

If a company applies, the Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards ask the council to apply the fit and proper test to each director or partner. For that to work, the standards say operators should be required to tell the council about any change in directors or partners. Councils ask for criminal record checks to match: Manchester City Council wants a basic disclosure for each director and the company secretary, and Watford one for each person, partner or company director.

Two more rules to plan around:

• One authority for everything. GOV.UK says the driver licence, vehicle licence and operator licence all need to be issued by the same authority.
• A company is a separate legal person. GOV.UK describes a limited company as legally separate from the people who own it. If you start as a sole trader and later move the firm into a company, ask your council whether the company needs its own licence before it takes bookings.

Our guide to the private hire operator licence covers the application itself.

Do you need to register a trade mark for a taxi firm?

You don't have to. A registered trade mark lets you take legal action against anyone who uses your brand without permission, put the ® symbol next to it, and sell or license it.

If there are no problems, GOV.UK says it takes around 3 to 4 months from application to grant. A trade mark lasts 10 years and covers the UK and the Isle of Man.

Search the trade marks database before you apply. Your application is published on GOV.UK as soon as you send it, and GOV.UK warns that someone could then buy the website domain for your brand name, so buy the domain first.

What else do you register before you take bookings?

Registering the business is the start. These follow:

• VAT, once you pass the threshold. You must register if your taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, or you expect it to in the next 30 days.
• The data protection fee. You'll hold passengers' details, so pay the data protection fee to the ICO unless you're exempt. Tier 1 is £52.
• Employers' liability insurance. As soon as you employ someone, GOV.UK says you need at least £5 million of cover from an authorised insurer.
• Your name on your paperwork. A company must show its registered number, registered office address, where it's registered and that it's a limited company on business letters, order forms and its website, and display a sign with its name at its registered office and wherever it operates. A sole trader must show their own name and any business name on invoices and letters.

Put the same name everywhere passengers see it, from the door stickers to the texts that confirm a booking. Dispatch AI is booking and dispatch software for taxi and private hire firms, and jobs go straight to your drivers on your own branded app, so the name on that app should match your licence too.

For the full order of steps from here, see how to start a taxi company in the UK, and for the fees in one place, the cost to start a taxi business.