Taxi vehicle licences

The Taxi and Private Hire Policy has recently been reviewed, following a public consultation. The amended Policy has been approved by full Council on Monday 24 February 2025. For full details on how the changes will affect you please visit the Taxi and private hire policy webpage.

Any vehicle carrying eight or fewer passengers for hire or reward must be licensed, and can only be driven by a licensed driver. Both licences must be issued by the same council.

A private hire vehicle must also receive its work from a licensed operator from the same council.

We license hackney carriage vehicles and private hire vehicles. Licences are issued for a maximum period of one year.

Hackney carriage vehicles and private hire vehicles have different specifications and operate in different ways.

You must have a dual driver licence issued by us before you can drive a licensed vehicle. Find out more about obtaining a taxi driver licence.

On this page:

Types of vehicle licence

There are two types of vehicle licences.

Hackney carriage vehicle

A hackney carriage vehicle, often referred to as a taxi, can be flagged down or hired at a taxi rank within the New Forest area. They can drive passengers anywhere for a fare.

They are recognised by an illuminated roof sign and a yellow council licence plate on the rear of the vehicle.

Hackney carriage vehicles require an MOT test when they are one year old and annually thereafter.

All new licensed hackney carriage vehicles must be fully wheelchair accessible.

For full conditions and specifications, download our Taxi Licensing Policy.

Private hire vehicle

A private hire vehicle is booked ahead of a journey. It cannot pick up passengers without being pre-booked first through a licensed operator. It also cannot use taxi ranks.

They are recognised by a white council licence plate on the rear of the vehicle.

Private hire vehicles require an MOT test when they are three years old and annually thereafter.

For full conditions and specifications, download our Taxi Licensing Policy.

Taxi Licensing Policy

Before applying for a licence you should review our Taxi Policy. You can download our Taxi Policy below.

New Forest District Council Taxi Licensing Policy (PDF, 909 KB)(opens new window)

The Policy sets out application requirements and standards that must be met to hold a licence.

You should also review our vehicle requirements and conditions.

Apply for a vehicle licence

The application procedure for a vehicle licence is the same for a hackney carriage vehicle or private hire vehicle.

We do not allow dual vehicle licences with us or other councils.

You must ensure that your vehicle meets our Taxi Licensing Policy before making an application.

To apply for a vehicle licence, you will need to provide:

a completed application form
proof of vehicle ownership, usually the log book (V5)
a valid MOT test certificate, if required
a valid Insurance Certificate or Cover Note (stating suitable for taxi/public hire or private hire use).

For a private hire vehicle, if you are not a licensed private hire operator, we will also confirm with your NFDC private hire operator that you are registered with them.

You can download the required vehicle licence application form below.

Hackney Carriage Vehicle Application Form (Word doc, 74 KB)(opens new window)

Private Hire Vehicle Application Form (Word doc, 70 KB)(opens new window)

After you have applied for a vehicle licence, you can book a Council Safety Inspection. Details on how to do this are provided with your application form.

Vehicle Tests

All vehicles must have a vehicle test before a licence is issued. This test, carried out at one of our two garage facilities at Hardley or Lymington, assesses the overall suitability and safety of the vehicle to be licensed as a private hire or hackney carriage vehicle. Details on how to book an inspection are provided once you have made the vehicle application and paid for it.

Vehicles under eight years of age require one inspection a year.

Vehicles over eight years of age require two inspections a year.

Details of what is checked during the inspection can be found in our Taxi Licensing Policy.

A re-test fee of £60 is payable if you:

fail an inspection
do not turn up for an inspection
turn up late for an inspection
cancel or rearrange a booking with less than two clear working days notice.

The most common vehicle failures are:

dirty vehicle or upholstery
tyres not in good condition or tread less than 2mm
faulty bulbs or cracked lights
no spare wheel or approved inflation kit (sealant and compressor, not an aerosol).

Once the vehicle has passed, the test result is valid for six weeks.

Vehicle requirements and conditions

From 25 February 2025, all applications for vehicles new to the fleet must be Euro 6 compliant or newer. This applies to all vehicles not already licensed by NFDC (including those that are replacing an existing vehicle).

This does not apply to existing NFDC licensed vehicles which are being renewed.

In addition, Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAVs) or those powered by all electric motors are exempt from the this requirement.

Due to the number of various vehicle models available on the market, we don't provide a list of suitable vehicles. A vehicle must meet our criteria in order to be licensed.

Please ensure that you have read our Taxi Licensing Policy before purchasing a vehicle and submitting an application.

Partition screens

The decision to install a safety partition screen in your vehicle is your own decision. It is not a mandatory requirement by us.

Due to the wide variety of vehicles licensed and the different types of safety partition screens available, it is not possible to offer specific purchase or installation advice. However, any screen installed should meet our safety guidelines.

You must contact us in the first instance prior to the fitting of the screen to enable us to approve the installation. This may include providing us with information from the manufacturer.

You must also agree the installation with your insurance company.

Following installation the vehicle will be inspected by us and you must sign a declaration providing details of the screen, manufacturer and date of installation.

You need to remove the screen if requested by us.

Insurance categories

For reasons of public safety, we won't licence or renew a licence for a vehicle that has been written off by an insurance company, regardless of the category of write-off. Before purchasing a vehicle it is worth considering having a full HPI test done on the vehicle. HPI tests show if a vehicle is written off, stolen, how many previous owners, VIN number and if there is any outstanding finance on the vehicle.

If your current licensed vehicle has an accident and the insurance company write it off you cannot continue to use that vehicle for licensed work. Anyone trying to bring a write-off vehicle back into the trade will have the plates cancelled immediately.

Listed below are the categories insurance companies use to determine write-offs:

Category A - Cannot be repaired.

Category B - Cannot be repaired.

Category C - Can be repaired, but it would cost more than the vehicle's worth.

Category D - Can be repaired and would cost less than the vehicle's worth, but other costs (such as transporting the vehicle) take it over the vehicle's value.

Category N - Can be repaired following non-structural damage.

Category S - Can be repaired following structural damage.

Receiving your vehicle licence

Once passed and providing all documentation has been provided, we will contact you when your licence is ready to collect from our main Offices in Lyndhurst. Allow up to 3 working days for us to contact you.

Your licence will include the following:

a paper licence with conditions, which you must take note of
exterior rear council licence plate with an approved bracket and fixings
internal council licence plate and display wallet.

You will need to securely fix the exterior licence plate to the rear of your vehicle in our provided approved bracket and the internal licence place to the front windscreen in the wallet provided. They remain our property so must not be altered or defaced in any way.

The plates must be clearly visible at all times.

Your vehicle, all fittings and equipment must be maintained and kept clean at all times.

No alterations to your vehicle should be made without prior approval from us in writing or by email.

Fees

A list of vehicle fees can be found below.

Hackney carriage licence (including plate): £167
Private hire vehicle licence (including plate): £167
Vehicle test, under eight years old: £60
Vehicle test (two a year), eight years old or over: £120
Re-test: £60
Replacement plate: £12
Replacement bracket: £12
Rear stepped bracket (to fix behind your number plate): £30
Change of registration (including plate): £63
Executive vehicle exemption (from displaying rear plate): £55

Taxi (hackney carriage) fares

The maximum price (fare) that customers can be charged in a hackney carriage vehicle is set by us (the tariff).

If the journey is within the NFDC area, in a hackney carriage, the taximeter must be used at all times and the customer not charged more than the fare on the meter.

If the journey takes the vehicle outside the district, a different fare can be agreed before the journey begins.

A tariff card is available in each hackney carriage for customers to view, which shows the maximum fare that can be charged.

You can download our current taxi fares below.

Taxi Fares (PDF, 76 KB)(opens new window)

The meter must be switched on at the start of each journey within the district and the customer must not be charged more than this. However, a discount on the metered fare may be given.

A hackney carriage cannot charge more than the metered fare for a journey within the district irrespective of how it was arranged (rank, hailed or pre-booked).

Customers cannot be charged for mileage incurred within the district for the journey back once the customer has been dropped off.

If a customer approaches a hackney carriage on a rank they cannot be refused due to the length of the journey requested. The selected vehicle must carry out that journey.

Fares for private hire vehicles should be agreed with the operator before starting a journey. The tariff does not apply to private hire vehicles so the fare is not set by us.

Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAVs)

The Equality Act 2010 requires us to identify all vehicles that are fully wheelchair accessible. This means that a passenger can travel in the vehicle while seated in their wheelchair.

A new licensed hackney carriage vehicle must be fully wheelchair accessible at all times.

To drive a wheelchair-accessible vehicle, you will need to have undertaken a Wheelchair Assessment in addition to having a taxi driver licence. Your dual driver licence must also have been endorsed by us.

We keep an online public register of all wheelchair accessible vehicles.

The drivers of these vehicles have a legal duty to provide additional assistance to passengers at no extra cost.

Renew a licence

Renewing your licence is the same as applying for a new licence, including the fee.

You can renew up to six weeks in advance of your licence expiry. You need to renew before your licence expires. Allow plenty of time to book your Council Safety Inspection as spaces are limited.

We will send you a renewal pack, usually six weeks before your licence expires. You can download an application form if you do not receive it.