Guidance notes for the grant of Hackney Carriage, Private Hire and Restricted driver applications

Fit and Proper Person

Before a licence can be granted, the Authority is required to ensure that the applicant is a fit and proper person. All applicants are required to complete the declaration form in addition to the application form, produce evidence of place and date of birth and their right to work in the UK.

On occasions it may be necessary for an applicant to obtain a Certificate of Good Conduct and/or a Criminal Record Check, when their country of birth or previous residence is outside the United Kingdom. Checks may also be undertaken with the Home Office to verify this information and an applicant's right to work in the UK.

If an applicant requires any further information or advice they should make an appointment to see a Taxi Licensing Officer.

Note 1 Basic Literacy Test and Knowledge Test

You will be required to pass a combined Basic Literacy and Knowledge Test. You must sit this test prior to making your application.

Each Test is payable. All applicants must pass the Basic Literacy Test and the Knowledge Test. If you do not pass the basic literacy test on 2 separate occasions you will be provided with contact details to enrol on a Basic English Course and will not be able to re-book your test until you provide satisfactory documentation confirming the above which has been considered by the Licensing Section.

When you have passed the basic literacy and knowledge test's you will be issued with a certificate which will be valid for 12 months. Should you not make an application for a taxi driver licence during the validity of your Certificate, you will be required to pay and resit the test at a later date.

Note 2 passport photographs

• the photo must be of the applicant
• facing forward and looking straight at the camera in close up with their face, head and shoulders with a recommended head height (the distance between the bottom of the chin and the crown of the head) between 29 and 34 millimeteres
• with a neutral expression and with the mouth closed (no smiling, frowning or raised eyebrows)
• with their eyes open and clearly visible), no sunglasses or tinted glasses and no hair across the eyes)
• free from reflection or glare on glasses and frames must not cover eyes. We recommend that if possible, glasses are removed for the photo.
• showing their full head, without any head covering unless they wear one for religious beliefs or medical reasons
• with no other objects or people in the photo
• without shadows on the picture
• without anything covering the face - nothing should cover the outline of the eyes, nose or mouth, and not showing any red-eye

Photo size must

• be the standard size of a passport photo taken in a booth or studio, 45 millimetres high x 35 millimeteres wide and not be trimmed down from a larger photograph to the size of a standard passport photograph

Photo quality must

• be taken against a plain cream or plain light-grey background
• be printed to a high quality, such as photos printed by a booth or studio (photographs printed at home are unlikely to be of a high enough quality)
• be clear and in sharp focus
• be taken within the last month
• be in colour on plain white photographic paper, not be torn, creased or marked and not have any writing on the front or back - except when one of the photos needs to certified.

Note 3 DVLA Drivers Licence

To apply for a licence to drive hackney carriages or private hire vehicles/restricted private hire vehicles you must have held a Full UK driving licence for at least one year. Any motoring convictions stated on your licence will be taken into consideration and it may be necessary to refer your application to the General Licensing Committee for decision.

If you have a photo card licence then you will need to produce this for your application to be accepted. If you still have the old style DVLA paper licence i.e. those issued without a photo card, this will also be accepted.

You will also be required to complete the 'View or share your driving licence information' on the Gov.uk website. You should provide the Driving Licence Check Code on the driver application form.

Note 4 Medical Certificate

GROUP 2 Medical Standard is required

The City and County of Swansea has adopted Group II medical standards as specified by the DVLA in 'Assessing fitness to drive: a guide for medical professionals'. These standards apply to drivers of passenger carrying vehicles and are considerably higher than those of private car drivers. Please see notes provided on the front of your medical form.

The medical certificate must be completed by your own GP. The certificate must not be more than 28 days old when submitted with your application and must be on the Council's prescribed form.

Note 5 Criminal Records Check (DBS)

The Disclosure and Barring Service disclosure is obtained through the City and County of Swansea. Please ring the Appointment line 01792 637366 to request an appointment to make your DBS application. The Appointment line will transfer you to the DBS unit who will issue you a username and password to complete your DBS application online. If you do not have access to a computer, this can be completed at the Civic Centre library or Contact Centre.

You may complete this application prior to or at the same time you submit your application for a hackney carriage and private hire driver's licence.

When you have completed your DBS application online, you will need to read the Taxi driver applicant's guide to completing the DBS formto make sure you have the correct documentation to complete the disclosure. Please note the fee for the DBS disclosure is non-refundable and is payable on application.

If you have already obtained your DBS Certificate the Council will only accept those DBS certificates with an issue date within 28 days of making your application.

Note 6 Convictions

Under the Guidelines on convictions for taxi driver applicants and Private Hire Operators, any convictions, cautions, fixed penalty notices, warnings and/or other penalty notices not covered, must be disclosed regardless of age and will be taken into account when considering your application.

The Council have adopted guidelines on the relevance of convictions. If an applicant requires any further information or advice in relation to this section, please make an appointment to see a Taxi Licensing Officer.

Note 7 Completed Application Form

All sections of the application form must be completed. You must answer all the questions even if the answer is NO.

All convictions, cautions, fixed penalty notices, warnings and/or other penalty notices not covered must be disclosed regardless of their age or date of conviction. It must also be signed and dated by the applicant.

Note 8 Application Fee

The correct fee will be payable at the end of the process, should your licences be approved. At this time you will be issued with a licence and badges, which in most cases will last for 3 years.

Note 9 Permission to lawfully reside and work in the UK

With effect from 1 December 2016, all applicants will be required to provide proof that they have the permission to lawfully reside and lawfully work in the UK, regardless of nationality. You will be required to provide your passport or full UK birth certificate with a HMRC document stating your national insurance number or a biometric residence permit. If you do not hold any of the documents mentioned you will need to contact a Licensing Officer to discuss your application.

Note 10 National Register of Taxi Licence Refusals and Revocations

The licensing authority provides information to the National Register of Taxi Licence Refusals and Revocations (NR3), a mechanism for licensing authorities to share details of individuals who have had a Hackney Carriage or Private Hire Vehicle (PHV) driver licence revoked, or an application for one refused. This is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the licensing authority - that is, assessing whether an individual is a fit and proper person to hold a hackney carriage or PHV driver licence.

Therefore:

• Where a hackney carriage/ PHV driver licence is revoked, or an application for one refused, the authority will automatically record this decision on NR3.
• All applications for a new licence or licence renewal will automatically be checked on NR3. If a search of NR3 indicates a match with an applicant, the authority will seek further information about the entry on the register from the authority which recorded it. Any information received as a result of an NR3 search will only be used in respect of the specific licence application and will not be retained beyond the determination of that application.

The information recorded on NR3 itself will be limited to

• name
• date of birth
• address and contact details
• national insurance number
• driving licence number
• decision taken
• date of decision
• date decision effective

Information will be retained on NR3 for a period of 25 years.

This is a mandatory part of applying for or being granted, a hackney carriage / PHV driver licence.

Information will be processed in accordance with the Data Protection Act (DPA) and General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). Any searches, provision or receipt of information of or under NR3 are necessary to the authority's statutory licensing functions of ensuring that all drivers are fit and proper to hold the applicable licence. It is not intended that any NR3 data will be transferred out of the United Kingdom.

If you wish to raise any issue related to the data protection legislation, including by relying on any of the rights afforded to data subjects under the GDPR, you can do so to the authority's Data Protection Officer at data.protection@swansea.gov.uk. This includes submitting a subject access request.

You always have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). Advice on how to raise a concern about handling of data can be found on the Information Commissioner's Office (Yn agor ffenestr newydd).

Note 11 Please Note Tax Conditionality

You must complete a tax check to renew a taxi, private hire licence, or to apply for the same type of licence with a different licensing authority. This request applies to England and Wales.

From 4 April 2022, the rules are changing if you're applying for a licence for a:

• Taxi driver
• Private hire driver
• Private hire vehicle operator

If you are an individual, company or any type of partnership, you must complete a tax check if you are:

• renewing a licence
• applying for the same type of licence you previously held, that ceased to be valid less than a year ago
• applying for the same type of licence you already hold with another licensing authority

You will not need to complete a tax check and you should contact HMRC to receive advice and guidance on your tax responsibilities if you have:

• never held a licence of the same type before.
• had a licence of the same type that ceased to be valid a year or more before making this application.

What is a tax check?

A tax check confirms that you are registered for tax, if necessary.

After you complete the tax check, you will be given a code. You must give it to the licensing authority with your licence application - they will not be able to process your application without it.

Tax check codes expire after 120 days, so if you make a licence application for another licence after that time you will need to carry out a new tax check for it.

If you are a partner making a licence application on behalf of a partnership, you must complete a tax check for yourself.

You can contact HMRC if you notice your records need to be updated during the check.

Applying for more than one licence

You can use one tax check code for more than one licence application, as long as all the applications are for the same type of licence (for example, they are all for taxi driver licences but with different licensing authorities).

If you are applying for different types of licence (for example, a private hire driver licence and a private hire vehicle operator licence), you must complete a tax check for each one.

What you will need

To carry out a tax check, you need a Government Gateway user ID and password. If you do not have a user ID, you can create one when you start the check.

You will also need to know

• when you first got your licence
• the length of your most recent licence
• how you pay tax on the income you earn from your licensed trade
• you will not be able to complete the tax check if the information you give about your tax affairs does not match HMRC's records.

Complete a tax check for a taxi, private hire or scrap metal licence - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

If applicants are unable to do their tax check online, they should contact HMRC - general enquiries helplines:

• Income Tax: general enquiries if they are an individual PHONE 0300 200 3300, or
• Corporation Tax: general enquiries if they are a company PHONE 0300 200 3410

Note 12 Please Note

Your application may be reported to the Council's General Licensing Committee for consideration. If this is the case you will be notified of this together with the date and time of the Committee. You will be invited to attend and you will also receive a copy of the committee report being considered.

No licence or badges will be issued without full payment of the appropriate fee.

Important notice

In order to drive private hire / restricted private hire or hackney carriage vehicles licensed by the City and County of Swansea you must first obtain the required licence and badges before driving. Should you be found, driving a licensed vehicle, for any purpose, without the appropriate driver's licence mentioned, you may be liable to prosecution.