RESEARCHED AUTHORITY
Darlington
Darlington Borough Council · Sources checked 13 September 2026
- Driver licensing
- Official route/source found
Publishes current taxi driver, hackney carriage/private hire vehicle and private hire operator fee tables. Private hire operator grant is £557 for one year or £1,218 for five years; renewal is £368 or £1,029.
- Vehicle licensing
- Official route/source found
Publishes current taxi driver, hackney carriage/private hire vehicle and private hire operator fee tables. Private hire operator grant is £557 for one year or £1,218 for five years; renewal is £368 or £1,029.
- Operator licensing
- Official route/source found
Publishes current taxi driver, hackney carriage/private hire vehicle and private hire operator fee tables. Private hire operator grant is £557 for one year or £1,218 for five years; renewal is £368 or £1,029.
- Licensing fees
- Official route/source found
Publishes current taxi driver, hackney carriage/private hire vehicle and private hire operator fee tables. Private hire operator grant is £557 for one year or £1,218 for five years; renewal is £368 or £1,029.
- Taxi tariff
- Official route/source found
Tariff content checked 23 October 2026. The current taxi-shop page links the visually checked card revised March 2022. Ordinary 06:00–23:00 fare is £4.50 for the first mile, then 15p per 147 yards; night/public holidays use £5 then 20p; specified festive periods use £6.50 then 25p. Waiting is 15p/20p/25p per 30 seconds without an incomplete-period rule. Exact legal commencement is unprinted; existing distance estimates retain their separate source-boundary qualifications and exclude waiting.
- Mandatory qualifications
- Official evidence found; detail still to confirm
Applicants need a CSE-awareness certificate, driving assessment and council taxi knowledge test. Hartlepool manages the approved Tees Valley driving assessment; the knowledge test covers conduct, Highway Code and licensing legislation. The official 17 June 2025 review report confirms the private-hire topographical test had already been removed, distinguishing private hire from hackney/dual geography requirements. Six unsuccessful attempts require a fresh application. Full DVLA entitlement must have been held for twelve months. Enhanced DBS with subscription to its update service is required, with council checks every six months. A doctor with medical-history access must complete the medical; after six months a new medical or confirmation of unchanged fitness is required, and after twelve months only a new medical is accepted. Drivers over 45 provide medical evidence five-yearly, with annual medicals from 65. This summary confirms the published application steps but does not resolve the separate disability-training implementation timetable. That report proposed mandatory disability training for new and renewing drivers for consultation; it is not proof of final commencement. Its appended 2021 policy and the 2023 equality-training update must not be promoted as a newly adopted 2025 requirement.
Withheld or still needing confirmation
- Disability-awareness course implementation and refresher interval not established from the current application page; retain partial qualification status.