Applying for a Private Hire and
Hackney Carriage (Taxi) Driver's licence.
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Basildon District Council issues licenses to people who want to drive either a hackney carriage or private hire vehicle.
Members of the travelling public place a lot of trust in the driver of the licensed vehicle they get into.
Therefore the Council insists on high standards from an applicant for a driver’s licence. |
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| YOU MUST BE: |
- Over 21 years of age and have held a full DVLA driving licence for at least three years.
- That licence must not have had three or more endorsements on it within the preceding three years.
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| YOU MUST NOT: |
- have been convicted of a serious motoring offence during the previous 3 years.
- have been cautioned for a criminal offence during the previous 12 months.
- have been convicted of a criminal offence during the previous three years.
- have been convicted of a serious criminal offence (e.g. grievous bodily harm) during the previous seven years.
- have been convicted of a sexual offence during the previous seven years.
- have had an HGV or PSV licence revoked or application refused by the Traffic Commissioners during the previous three years.
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Please telephone us (01268 294280) to make an appointment.
All applications (including applying online) require an interview to check original documents and for a photograph to be taken in preparation for the issue of the badges.
At your interview we will need to see:
- Your DVLA driving licence (including the counterpart if it is a photo card licence)
- Birth certificate. (If you do not have your birth certificate we will accept a valid passport)
- A completed Criminal Record Bureau check form***
- We will also need the names of two people who will give you a reference
- Married women must produce a copy of their marriage certificate
***At present it is not possible to download a Criminal Record Bureau check form from either this website or the CRB website. You will be asked to complete a copy of this form when you return your completed application form and other documentation. This should only take a few minutes and licensing staff will be on hand to help.
| RETURNING YOUR COMPLETED APPLICATION AND OTHER REQUIRED DOCUMENTS |
Non- online application forms and other required documents should be handed in to:
The Licensing Officer
The Basildon Centre,
St Martin’s Square,
Basildon, Essex SS14 1DL.
Tel. 01268 294280
All applications require a interview to check original documentation and to have a photograph taken in preparation for the issue of your badges.
Please telephone us to make an appointment to submit your application.
PLEASE DO NOT POST YOUR COMPLETED APPLICATION FORM TO THE LICENSING OFFICE.
We will need to see you in person when you hand in your application and all of the necessary additional documents mentioned below.
This enables us to interview you, check your original documents and get your photograph taken in preparation for the issue of your badges.
When you return your completed application form we will need to see:
- Your DVLA driving licence (including the counterpart if it is a photo card licence)
- Birth certificate. (If you do not have your birth certificate we will accept a valid passport)
- A completed Criminal Record Bureau check form***
- We will also need the names of two people who will give you a reference
- Married women must produce a copy of their marriage certificate
***At present it is not possible to download a Criminal Record Bureau check form from either this website or the CRB website. You will be asked to complete a copy of this form when you return your completed application form and other documentation. This should only take a few minutes and licensing staff will be on hand to help.
A single driver’s licence of either type is £50.
If you apply for both a hackney carriage and private hire driver’s licence together then it is £70.
This covers all administration work, knowledge tests and issue of badges and licenses.
The Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) fee is currently £36.
Once you have completed the knowledge test you will have to pass a Group 2 medical at an independent clinic approved by the Council. Currently the cost is £55, but this is subject to regular review.
| PASSENGER ASSISTANCE TRAINING CERTIFICATE |
Applicants for Hackney Carriage Drivers Licence will also need a Passenger Assistance Training (PATS) Certificate.
PATS stands for Passenger Assistant Training Scheme. It has been developed out of MiDAS, the Minibus Driver Awareness Scheme. MiDAS is a nationally successful training programme developed in the early 1990's for minibus drivers. The aim of both PATS and MiDAS is to improve safety standards for people who need assistance, care and supervision on the move.
Visit the Community Transport Association for further information on PATS 
For details of PATS training courses and further information - Tel 01268 294341
Applicants for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Drivers' licenses will be required to undergo a knowledge test.
As a licensed driver you will be expected to know your way round the Basildon District with some degree of competence. The travelling public have a right to expect that.
We do not expect you to have the same depth of knowledge as London cab drivers.
Very few people fail this part of their application process.
This is not a written test.
The test will be approximately 40 minutes duration and will be held at The Basildon Centre, St Martin’s Square, Basildon, by an authorised Officer.
An applicant will be allowed to take a maximum or four tests at two week intervals.
If by the fourth attempt an applicant remains unsuccessful, they will be required to wait four months before any further attempts.
Most applicants attain the required level within 4-6 weeks if they make a committed effort.
See also: About the Knowledge Test for further information.
Once you have completed the knowledge test you will have to pass a Group2 medical at an independent clinic approved by the Council._____________________________________________________________________
Arrangements have been made for drivers’ certificates of fitness to drive to be issued by Medicals Direct at their Chelmsford Clinic.
WHEN APPLICANTS HAVE PASSED THEIR KNOWLEDGE TEST THEN A MEDICAL APPOINTMENT WILL BE MADE BY THE LICENSING OFFICE.
Medical appointments will take place at the following address:
Medicals Direct,
Widford House,
5-7 Robjohns Road,
Chelmsford,
CM1 3AG
Telephone – 01245 211950
The cost will be £55 per examination
Failure to attend will be charged at £25
The clinic will accept cash, credit cards or cheques with guarantee card.
Drivers attending a medical should take with them the following –
- photographic identification, passport or photo-card driving licence will be accepted.
- the fee;
- any prescribed medicines they are taking;
- details of any medical treatment they are currently receiving;
- spectacles or contact lenses that they wear.
Directions to Clinic:
From the A130 / A12 junction
Head into Chelmsford along Essex Yeomanry Way.
At the Army & Navy roundabout keep left and take the 2nd exit from the roundabout (DO NOT go over the flyover).
- go past Chelmsford College, straight over the next roundabout (Lidls);
- straight over the next roundabout (Tesco's);
- over the bridge with the width restrictions;
- at the next roundabout turn right towards Widford Business Park;
- at the traffic lights turn left into Robjohns Road. Follow the road almost to its end where the clinic is on the right next to a tyre garage.
There is ample free parking (no yellow lines).
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