RESEARCHED AUTHORITY
Leicester
Leicester City Council · Sources checked 10 September 2026
- Driver licensing
- Official route/source found
Apply online for Leicester's combined taxi-driver licence, which covers hackney carriage and private hire work. A new applicant must be over 18, have held a full UK or EU driving licence for at least 12 months, supply the required checks and evidence, and pass the council's specified assessments. Renewals are also submitted online with the required supporting documents.
- Vehicle licensing
- Official route/source found
Apply online for either a hackney-carriage or private-hire vehicle licence. The application must include a vehicle inspection sheet, insurance certificate and V5C logbook, and the applicant must separately book the council vehicle inspection online. The council also publishes vehicle application, renewal and conditions documents; ownership or vehicle changes are referred to the licensing team.
- Operator licensing
- Official route/source found
A private-hire operator licence is required for the office through which private-hire vehicles accept bookings. Leicester provides an online operator application and official guidance. Applicants may need planning permission and must complete any required HMRC tax check. New and renewal fees use the same one-year or five-year bands according to fleet size.
- Licensing fees
- Official route/source found
The council states that these fees apply from 1 June 2026. A new combined driver licence is £121 for one year or £163 for two years; renewals are £98 for one year, £140 for two years or £183 for three years, and the knowledge test is £24. A new or renewed hackney or private-hire vehicle licence is £224. Operator fees range from £480 for one vehicle for one year to £3,044 for 21 or more vehicles for five years.
- Taxi tariff
- Official route/source found
No current enacted Leicester fare table is released from this record. The council's March-April 2025 consultation says its night-rate change was proposed, that consultation responses would be considered, and that the council would later determine whether to implement it. Those proposed figures must not be presented as the operative tariff without final council adoption evidence.
- Mandatory qualifications
- Official route/source found
New drivers must pass a DBS check, GP medical, topographical knowledge test, practical driving test and spoken-English assessment, and prove immigration status and complete any required HMRC tax check. The council also requires its child-sexual-exploitation awareness course within three months of licensing. From April 2026, drivers must join the DBS Update Service for six-monthly checks.
Withheld or still needing confirmation
- A current final Leicester hackney-carriage fare table and its operative date were not confirmed on the council website; the live 2025 council consultation describes a proposal and subsequent decision step, so all numeric tariff fields are withheld.
- The practical-driving-test provider, GP medical, DBS and ongoing DBS Update Service charges are not fixed by the council's displayed licence-fee table and may change independently.
- The operator page says planning permission may be needed but does not determine whether it is required for an individual premises.