Private hire car driver licence

  1. Table of contents

From 01 December 2016 if you want to be a private hire car driver, you need to prove that you have the right to work in the UK.

Once you have made your application, we will ask you to attend at our office for a short interview and you will need to bring your original documentation to show that you have the right to work in the UK. We will tell you what documentation you can use before the interview.

If your right to work in the UK is time limited, then your private hire car driver licence will not be issued longer than your period of permission to work in the UK. You may extend your licence if the permission is extended. Please contact us to make an appointment to come into the office with the original documents when extending the licence. This will also apply if you are renewing your licence.

To work as a Private Hire Car Driver in the Falkirk Council area, either employed or self-employed, you need a licence. A private hire car driver licence allows you to drive a private hire car.

If you wish to operate a vehicle as a taxi or private hire car, a separate licence known as a Taxi Operator Licence or Private Hire Car Operator Licence is required.

If you are applying for a new Private Hire Car Driver Licence the licence will be granted for a period of 1 year.

If you are applying to renew a Private Hire Car Driver Licence you have the choice of applying for a 1 or a 3-year licence.

Tax Conditionality

From 2 October 2023, the government will introduce new tax requirements for certain licences. This is supported by a new digital service, developed by HMRC. It helps people in the taxi, private hire and scrap metal industries to complete a new tax check.

The check should take a few minutes and is simply to confirm that someone is appropriately registered for tax.

The new rules mean if you're an individual, company or any type of partnership you must complete a tax check if you're:

  • renewing a licence
  • applying for the same type of licence you previously held, that stopped being valid less than a year ago
  • applying for the same type of licence you already hold with another licensing authority

You will need to complete a tax check if you are applying to renew a licence for one of the following:

  • Taxi Driver
  • Private Hire Car Driver
  • Booking Office
  • Metal Dealer
  • Itinerant Metal Dealer

You will not need to complete a tax check and you should follow the confirm your tax responsibilities guidance if you have:

  • never held a licence of the same type before
  • had a licence of the same type that stopped being valid a year or more before making this application

Visit gov.uk to register an account and complete your tax check. Once you have completed the check you will be provided with a Tax check Code. This code must be entered on your application to renew one of the licence types listed above.

We cannot proceed with your application until the tax check is completed and we have checked your code with HMRC. Please note we will not have access to information about your tax affairs.

Please refer to the tax check factsheet so you understand what is required as this will apply to all renewals and new applicants.

If you have any further questions, see changes for taxi, private hire or scrap metal licence applications from 2 October

How to apply

Application forms are available for download:

Application form for a new taxi or private hire car drivers licence
DOCX file, 45.4 KB
Application form for renewal of a taxi or private hire car driver licence
DOCX file, 84.9 KB
Application form for wheelchair or guide dog exemption
DOCX file, 29.3 KB

You can also get an application form by contacting us: