RESEARCHED AUTHORITY
Hertsmere
Hertsmere Council · Sources checked 13 September 2026
- Driver licensing
- Official route/source found
Applicants normally need three years driving experience, a UK licence, right to work, enhanced DBS registered with Update Service and a Group 2 medical completed within one calendar month. Submit a complete application online; the current lead-time warning says at least 16 weeks.
- Vehicle licensing
- Official route/source found
New hackneys must be purpose-built, wheelchair accessible, under six years, Euro6, with four-to-eight passenger seats and four doors. Tyres need3mm tread at testing; insurance write-offs are not accepted. Supply V5C, MOT and compliance pass from an approved garage within14days, public-hire insurance and meter-calibration certificate. Non-driver applicants need Basic DBS; a non-owner needs owner consent. Meter and illuminated roof sign are mandatory. Carry spare/approved repair arrangement, extinguisher, first-aid kit, bulb kit and warning triangle. WAV drivers need loading/securing/unloading training proof before licensing.
- Operator licensing
- Official route/source found
Operating premises must be within Hertsmere. Apply online with Basic DBS for each individual, partner or director, right-to-work evidence/share code, applicable public and employers liability insurance, complaints policy, and lost-property policy/procedure. Current page warns processing is around sixteen weeks or longer; that is guidance, not a guaranteed deadline.
- Licensing fees
- Official route/source found
For 1 April2026–31 March2027: new driver £302 one-year or £394 three-year; renewal £207/£299; assessment interview £51. New/renewed HC or PH vehicle £269; age-policy, plate or import exemption request £40 each; ownership transfer £99. Five-year operator tiers:1vehicle£393;2–5£537;6–10£796;11–20£1,083. Larger fleets and variations have separate published tiers. Vehicle substitution is a new licence; surrendering the old licence yields £11 per unused calendar month. Operator knowledge test £100 for1–10 vehicles or£120 for11+.
- Taxi tariff
- Official route/source found
Effective 20 January 2025: Monday–Friday 06:00–20:00 excluding public holidays starts £3.10 for 259.6 metres or 55.7 seconds, whichever first; subsequent started 129.7 metres/26.6 seconds cost 26p below £14.45, then 91 metres/19.5 seconds. Other weekday hours and weekends start £3.10 for 210.1 metres/45.2 seconds, then 26p per 105.1 metres/22.5 seconds below £17.35, thereafter 91 metres/19.5 seconds. Other bank holidays and Christmas/New Year eves after 18:00 add 50%; Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year's Day add 100%. Extras: soiling £50, pre-arranged hiring £2, waiting 25p/minute.
- Mandatory qualifications
- Official route/source found
Safeguarding assessment and approved advanced driving assessment are required, with wheelchair assessment for WAV or hackney drivers. New applications require disability-awareness training from 1 April 2026. Interview assesses English and licensing knowledge.
Withheld or still needing confirmation
- The page conflicts on processing time (14 versus at least 16 weeks) and formal knowledge test versus informal interview; contact licensing for an appointment estimate.
- Vehicle, operator, fees and fare card not extracted.
- Higher operator bands overlap at50 and200 vehicles in source; exact boundary charge should be confirmed. Full incidental charges remain on source.
- Preserve prior verified fields.
- Preserve prior verified fields. This is the published application checklist, not every continuing licence condition.
- Fare-value threshold transition and separate waiting versus time pulses need calculator implementation; do not add both automatically.
- PH-specific standards and current fees remain to verify; this is explicitly hackney-specific evidence.