Taxi Driver Badge: How to Get One in the UK

Taxi Driver Badge: How to Get One in the UK

A taxi driver badge is not a separate qualification. It is the physical licence the council issues once you have passed its checks — the enhanced DBS, the medical, the knowledge test — and it identifies you as a licensed driver. “Getting your badge” and “getting your driver licence” are the same thing.

What varies, and what this page is really about, is which badge. Authorities issue more than one kind, including restricted categories most applicants have never heard of.

What the badge actually is

When a council grants you a private hire or hackney carriage driver licence, it issues a badge carrying your photograph, your licence number, the issuing authority and an expiry date. The conditions attached to your licence say what you must do with it — carry it, display it, or wear it — and those conditions differ by authority and by licence type, so read your own rather than assuming.

What does not differ: a passenger is entitled to ask to see it, and a driver who cannot produce one is not licensed.

The two main badges, and why the difference matters

Hackney carriage

A taxi. It can be hailed in the street, can wait on a rank, and runs on a meter set by the council. The badge and the test are specific to that trade.

Private hire

A minicab. It cannot be hailed or wait on a rank; every journey must be pre-booked through a licensed operator, and the price is normally agreed in advance. Most drivers in Surrey hold this badge, because that is where the booked work is.

They are separate applications with separate tests, and holding one does not entitle you to the other’s work. Our guide to becoming a taxi driver in the UK sets out the full application, using the published requirements of two of our own authorities.

The school run badge

This is the one drivers search for and rarely find explained. Epsom & Ewell operate a school run only private hire driver licence: a restricted badge permitting school contract work and nothing else.

The difference is the test. Instead of the full private hire knowledge test — local geography, numeracy, spoken English, reading and written comprehension, licence conditions and the Highway Code — applicants for the school run only licence sit a proficiency test that does not examine local area knowledge or numeracy.

What is not relaxed is everything protecting the passengers. The enhanced DBS check with the children’s and adults’ barred-list checks, the approved child safeguarding course and the DVLA Group 2 medical all still apply. That is the right way round: school work is precisely where those requirements matter most.

For a driver who wants term-time hours and no airport runs, or who would struggle with the full local-knowledge paper, it is a legitimate route in. Not every authority offers it, so ask the one you intend to apply to.

What you pass before the badge is issued

• A full driving licence, held for a period the authority sets. Epsom & Ewell require three years, or one to three years with an approved driving assessment certificate from the last twelve months. Reigate & Banstead require twelve months, and set a minimum age of 21.
• An enhanced DBS check with the children’s and adults’ barred-list checks, registered with the DBS Update Service inside the window the authority specifies — for Epsom & Ewell, 28 days from applying for the check or 30 days from the certificate being issued.
• A medical to DVLA Group 2 standard, the same standard as lorry and bus drivers, on the council’s form and completed by your GP.
• The knowledge test, or the proficiency test for a school run only licence. It comes after your documents are verified, not before.
• Safeguarding training — Epsom & Ewell require a certificate from their approved child safeguarding course.
• Right to work evidence, plus a certificate of good conduct if you have lived or worked outside the UK for more than three continuous months since the age of 16.

The badge belongs to one authority only

A badge is issued by a named council and it works with that council’s vehicles and that council’s operators. In private hire the driver licence, the vehicle licence and the operator licence must all come from the same authority for a journey to be lawful.

That is why an operator working across a wide area holds several. We hold operator licences with seven — Epsom and Ewell, Reigate and Banstead, Mole Valley, Elmbridge, Guildford, Waverley, and Transport for London — so a driver badged with any of them can work with us. A badge from a neighbouring authority not on that list is worth a phone call rather than an assumption.

A TfL badge is not the same as the Knowledge

Two different things get called “the London badge”. A TfL private hire driver licence — what the trade calls a PCO licence — is for booked work in a minicab. The Knowledge of London is the examination for a London taxi driver, the green badge that lets you drive a black cab and be hailed in the street. They are separate licences, separate tests and separate trades.

If you were searching for how to become a black cab driver, that is a TfL taxi licence and the Knowledge, and it is a considerably longer road than a private hire badge.

Keeping the badge once you have it

• Renew before it expires. A lapsed badge is lost working weeks, not a formality.
• Keep the DBS live through the Update Service rather than starting again each time.
• Keep the medical current. Epsom & Ewell require one every five years from age 45 and every year from 65.
• Tell the authority about anything it requires you to report — conditions on your licence usually include notifiable events, and the convictions policy applies for the whole time you hold the badge, not just at application.
• Keep your insurance and vehicle testing in step with the badge, because a valid badge in an unlicensed car is no use to anybody.

Where the badge takes you

• Driver recruitment — if you already hold a badge with one of our authorities or with TfL.
• The driver application form — and what to have ready before you fill it in.
• How taxi drivers get paid — the mechanics, without an invented salary figure.
• Choosing a vehicle — what your authority will plate, and what suits your work.
• Becoming a chauffeur — a different job, usually booked by the hour.

Frequently asked questions

What is a taxi driver badge?

It is the physical licence a council issues when it grants you a hackney carriage or private hire driver licence, carrying your photograph, licence number, the issuing authority and an expiry date. Getting your badge and getting your driver licence are the same thing.

How do I get a taxi driver badge in the UK?

Apply to the council for the area you will work in. You will need a full driving licence held for the period that authority sets, an enhanced DBS check with barred-list checks, a medical to DVLA Group 2 standard, a pass in the knowledge test, safeguarding training and evidence of your right to work. The badge is issued once all of it is satisfied.

What is a school badge for taxi drivers?

Epsom & Ewell issue a school run only private hire driver licence, a restricted badge permitting school contract work and nothing else. Applicants sit a proficiency test instead of the full knowledge test, and it does not examine local area knowledge or numeracy. The DBS, safeguarding and medical requirements are unchanged. Not every authority offers one.

Can I use my badge in another borough?

Not freely. The driver licence, the vehicle licence and the operator licence must all come from the same authority for a private hire journey to be lawful, which is why operators covering a wide area hold licences with several authorities.

Do I have to wear or display my badge?

It depends on the conditions attached to your licence, which differ by authority and by licence type. Read your own conditions. In every case a passenger is entitled to ask to see it.

Is a PCO licence the same as the Knowledge?

No. A TfL private hire driver licence — a PCO licence — is for pre-booked minicab work. The Knowledge of London is the examination for a London taxi driver, the green badge for driving a black cab and being hailed in the street. Different licences, different tests, different trades.

How long does a badge last?

The expiry date is set by the issuing authority, and renewal requirements including repeat medicals are set by them too. Epsom & Ewell require medicals every five years from age 45 and annually from 65. Check your own authority for the licence period.

Do I need a badge to drive for a private hire operator?

Yes, always, and it must be issued by an authority that operator holds a licence with. We can work with drivers badged by Epsom and Ewell, Reigate and Banstead, Mole Valley, Elmbridge, Guildford, Waverley, or Transport for London.

What happens if my badge lapses?

You cannot work until it is valid again, and renewing from scratch takes considerably longer than renewing on time. The same applies to a lapsed medical, DBS or insurance.