Safeguarding for taxi firms: training, checks and what to do

Taxi drivers see things few other people do: who travels alone at 2am, who pays cash for a long trip, who gets picked up from a children's home. That's why taxi safeguarding training is now a licence requirement almost everywhere in England. This guide covers what training drivers and office staff need, the signs of exploitation to look for, who to call, and what a firm's own safeguarding policy should say.

What safeguarding training do taxi drivers need?

Your council decides, but almost every council requires it. Section 6.2 of the DfT's Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards says councils should give safeguarding advice to the trade and require taxi and private hire drivers to undertake safeguarding training, which is often produced with the police and other agencies.

The DfT's 2026 statistics show how far that has gone. On 1 April 2026, 258 of 267 taxi licensing authorities in England (97%) required taxi drivers to complete child sexual abuse or child sexual exploitation awareness training, and 208 (78%) also required county lines training. The figures for private hire drivers were 259 of 268 (97%) and 209 (78%).

What the training looks like varies a lot by council:

• Bristol City Council runs an all-day session with two multiple-choice assessments, which every driver must attend and pass. New drivers who haven't done it before their first licence get a one-year licence and must pass by their first renewal. A three-and-a-half-hour refresher follows every 3 years, and training done elsewhere doesn't count.
• Transport for London has a free online safeguarding awareness course of 29 slides, which it expects all licensees to complete. It strongly recommends private hire applicants take it before the SERU assessment, which has been mandatory since 1 October 2021 and covers safeguarding.

Check your own council's driver pages for the format, the cost and how long a pass lasts.

Do operators and office staff need safeguarding training too?

Yes, and some councils ask to see how you do it. The Statutory Standards describe safeguarding programmes as helping both drivers and operators, and they treat the people who take bookings and dispatch cars as safeguarding roles: a dispatcher chooses which driver goes to a passenger.

Bristol makes it a condition of the operator licence. Its guidance for operators says your training policy must cover safeguarding and vulnerable adults training for anyone taking bookings or handling booking information, and for your safeguarding lead. Drivers, vehicle owners and office staff must also be trained on your own safeguarding policy.

TfL encourages staff working for private hire operators and taxi booking platforms to take its free online course. The same office staff also need a basic DBS check under the Standards, which our guide to DBS checks for taxi operators explains.

What are the warning signs of county lines exploitation?

County lines is the term for gangs that move drugs, mainly crack cocaine and heroin, into other areas of the UK using dedicated phone lines, and exploit children and vulnerable adults to carry the drugs and cash. The Statutory Standards note that children aged 15 to 17 make up the majority of those involved, that some are much younger, and that the National Crime Agency's 2018 threat assessment named hire vehicles as one way victims and drugs are moved.

The Standards list five warning signs for drivers:

1. a child or young person travelling alone in a taxi or private hire vehicle;
2. travelling at unusual hours, such as during school time, early in the morning or late at night;
3. travelling long distances;
4. being unfamiliar with the local area or not having a local accent;
5. paying for journeys in cash or prepaid.

The Home Office poster for taxi and private hire staff adds that the child can be as young as 12. Call handlers can spot some of these signs before a car is even sent: a long one-way cash fare booked for a teenager on a school morning is worth a second look.

What should a driver or call handler do if they're worried?

Act on it, and write it down. GOV.UK says you don't need to be sure a child is being abused to report a suspicion. The steps:

1. If someone is in immediate danger, call 999.
2. Otherwise, report it. Use the local safeguarding process, which the Standards say normally starts with the council's safeguarding lead, or call the police on 101.
3. If you'd rather stay anonymous, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
4. Record what you saw. TfL tells operators to record the journey booking details, what was seen, when it was seen and when the incident happened, because it may be needed in an investigation.
5. Tell your firm's safeguarding lead, so the concern is logged and followed up.

For an adult at risk, use the same local council safeguarding route. Bristol's guidance, for example, suggests operators put the police, council social care and Care Direct contact details into their safeguarding policy, so nobody has to hunt for them at 3am.

What should a taxi firm's safeguarding policy include?

A written policy with a named lead. Bristol City Council requires one from every private hire operator, alongside a complaints policy and a training policy, and its guidance sets the minimum content for the safeguarding policy:

• what the policy is for and why it exists
• the name and contact details of your safeguarding lead
• how staff and drivers report concerns, and how they're trained to do it, with police and council contact details
• how reports are escalated and followed up, and by whom
• how staff and drivers are kept up to date, for example at induction and in refresher training
• when the policy will be reviewed, and a review whenever the safeguarding lead leaves

Even if your council doesn't ask for a policy yet, writing one costs nothing and gives every new driver and call handler the same instructions. Keep it short enough to read in one sitting.

What happens after a concern is reported about a driver?

The council investigates and decides, and the system is now joined up across England. The Standards ask councils to keep a complaints system that spots patterns, and they encourage operators to share concerns about drivers with the council.

Under the Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Safeguarding and Road Safety) Act 2022, a council in England that learns of a safeguarding concern about a driver licensed elsewhere must tell the council that issued the licence within 10 working days, and that council must consider suspending or revoking it. Refusals, suspensions and revocations for safeguarding or road safety reasons go on a national database that every council in England must search before licensing a driver. Where a council refuses or revokes a licence because the person poses a risk of harm to a child or vulnerable adult, the Standards say it should refer the case to the DBS, which can add the person to a barred list.

Drivers have duties too. The Standards suggest licence holders tell their council within two days of an arrest, charge or conviction for a sexual, violent, dishonesty or motoring offence.

How does your booking system help with safeguarding?

Good booking records are a safeguarding tool. The Standards say the details an operator records for each booking, including the passenger, the pick-up and destination, the driver and car, and who took and dispatched the job, mean a passenger can be traced if that becomes necessary. They suggest keeping those records for at least 6 months, and our guide to private hire record keeping lists the fields.

Two rules apply whatever system you use. You can outsource booking and dispatch, but the duty to protect children and vulnerable adults stays with you. And bookings for school runs or vulnerable passengers deserve a clear note so the right driver goes. Dispatch AI is booking and dispatch software for taxi and private hire firms. It answers your phone, WhatsApp, texts and emails, books the jobs at your prices and sends them to your drivers on your own app.

If you carry children under contract, the drivers can be in regulated activity, which brings extra checks. Our guide to starting a school transport business covers them, and the Statutory Standards explained sets out the rest of the framework.