Private Hire Licensing Requirements

In 1976 a law was passed which regulated the private hire industry. This law was called the Local Government Miscellaneous Provision Act and set out how a local authority should enforce licensing of their private hire operators, vehicles and drivers. As the law was open to interpretation, each individual council in the UK ended up with a different set of conditions for their area. This is why a private hire vehicle licensed within one borough may look completely different to a vehicle licensed in another. For example the colour of the licence plate may be different, the size of the plate may vary and some council may stipulate that no front plate is required at all.

In November 2006, section 75(1)(b) was abolished. This meant that all passenger vehicles carrying eight passengers or less and hired with a driver MUST BE licensed for private hire. Previously the law allowed chauffeur companies who worked on account payments to be exempt from licensing. The change in legislation equated to a major shake-up of the chauffeur industry! Apart from the cost that each operator would have to endure, every driver would now have to under go a medical and an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau check.

In Wrexham, the council stipulates that private hire vehicles should carry a white plate with a unique licence number to the front and rear of the vehicle along with a yellow window sticker on each side of the vehicle. Inside the vehicle, the driver must wear a photographic ID badge with their individual council licence number. A copy of the badge should also be on display in the vehicle (such as on a dashboard or in a window pouch).

DrivenByQ have always been licensed and believe in the added security it brings for passengers. At the same time, some of our customers prefer our executive vehicles to be low profile and represent their organisation - especially when meeting a client. For this reason, we worked closely with Wrexham council's licensing department to employ section 75(3) of the Local Government Miscellaneous Provision Act. Using this section of the law, some of our vehicles have been granted dispensation from displaying their private hire plates. In addition, our drivers have the option of not having to wear their badge either.

The final conclusion to the request under s75(3) means that all our drivers are licensed annually with an enhanced CRB check and a class 2 medical examination in the same way all other private hire drivers are licensed. We also hold an operators licence and all our vehicles under go the same rigorous testing by the council twice a year but, in contrast to a regular private hire vehicle we can now remove the plates and window stickers and replace them with a small, discreet licence which site is the front and rear screen of the vehicle. The driver's ID, is of course on display inside all of our vehicles for passengers to see.