How to apply for a Hackney carriage or private hire vehicle licence
Dual plating
Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council (HBBC) taxi licensing policy regarding dual plating (licensing) of hackney carriage and private hire vehicles is that:
- Any vehicle that is licensed with another local authority as a hackney carriage or private hire vehicle cannot be licensed by HBBC
- Vehicles found to be licensed with another local authority, whilst licensed with HBBC will have the vehicle licence automatically revoked
We believe that all licensed drivers should be allowed to maximise their potential income. However, it should be noted that a licensed driver can only drive a vehicle which is licensed by the same licensing authority that issued the driver licence. This means that if you hold a HBBC driver’s licence you can only drive a HBBC licensed vehicle. If you are licensed with another council such as Coventry, then you can only drive a Coventry licensed vehicle and so on.
The requirements for the licensing of hackney carriages and private hire vehicles
This varies greatly between neighbouring local authorities and other local authorities nationally. However, dual plating should not be permitted where different requirements of design, age, colour or other local conditions apply to each of the local authorities.
Apart from national standard requirements, such as having a full driving licence, current hire and reward insurance and MOTs (Certificate of Compliance), the range of individual local authority conditions can differ to include some or all of:
- Vehicle age policies
- Types of vehicles
- Frequency of vehicle testing
- Fare tariff levels
- Door stickers and advertising
- Display of vehicle plates
Last updated: 14/06/2023 15:52
