Taxis and private hire licensing

Please see Hackney Carriages/Private Hire guidance below.  You should follow the instructions and print them out to bring with you to any meetings you have about your application.  You will also need to make an appointment to see a compliance officer about your application.

If you need to renew your driver licence, you need to contact the fleet comliance team to make an appointment to see a compliance officer. You need to make an appointment at least two weeks before your licence expires to make sure that there is enough time for us to process the renewal.

To make an appointment you can complete the driver appointment request form, email fleet.licensing@wiltshire.gov.uk or telephone 01225 770271.

Download the renew a hackney/private hire driver licence to drive a hackney carriage or private hire vehicle form available below.

If you are applying for a driving licence please bring:

• Your DVLA driving licence
• The £220 fee (we can't accept cash)

*Please note: from 1 October 2015, licences for hackney carriage/private hire drivers are issued for three years.

Environment Services have been working in partnership with other departments within the council, investigating payment options with regards to the changes in fees as a result of the De-regulation act 2015.

As previously mentioned, the financial model for setting the licence fee has been reviewed by the council’s accounting team and the licensing fees have been kept the same for the remaining period of 2015/16 however this is multiplied by three to cover the three year driver badge licence and five years for the five year licence private hire operator licence.

The council understand it may be difficult to pay these costs upfront and is therefore introducing a payment option for drivers claiming financial difficulty.

This document includes the details of the payment option.

1. If a driver is unable to pay upfront costs of a licence, they will need to advise the Compliance Officer when booking in for an appointment.
2. Drivers will then have the option to pay an annual cost for the driver badge or private hire operator licence but will still be issued with a licence for the full duration of three years for a driver badge and five years for the private hire operator licence.
3. If a driver is choosing to pay annually for their licence. Future fees will be subject to inflation and if applicable this will be added in the following years to ensure increasing costs to the council are covered.
4. If a driver is choosing to pay annually for their licence. A 5% administration charge will be added to the full fee to account for officer time.
5. When a licence is issued, drivers will be given a notice to advise that if the future payments are not made, their licence will be suspended on the day payment is due and an application will be required to reinstate. It is the driver’s responsibility to ensure payment is made on time.

If you need to renew your vehicle licence, you need to contact the fleet compliance team to make an appointment to see a compliance officer. You need to make an appointment at least two weeks before your licence expires to make sure that there is enough time for us to process the renewal.

To make an appointment, you can complete the vehicle appointment request form, email fleet.licensing@wiltshire.gov.uk or telephone 01225 770271

If you are renewing or presenting a new vehicle licence, please bring:

• Your certificate of insurance, stating the registration number of the vehicle. If fleet policy, please provide schedule of vehicles
• V5C vehicle registration certificate
• An MOT certificate that must have been issued within 28 days of the renewal date, or in the case of new vehicles issued within 28 days, before your appointment with us
• A completed application form
• The £187 fee for renewals, or £198 fee for new vehicles (we can't accept cash)

If you are changing ownership of your licensed vehicle to another person please complete the relevant application form below and arrange an appointment with the fleet compliance team. 

You will need to bring:

• Completed application form, signed by new owner (proprietor) and previous owner (proprietor)
• New owners (proprietors), certificate of insurance, stating the registration number of the vehicle.  If fleet policy, please provide schedule of vehicles.
• Fee of £38 (we can't accept cash)

If you are renewing or require a new operator licence, you will need:

• To complete the Private hire operator application form A5
  
• The £445 fee (we can't accept cash) – these licences are issued for a period of five years