Medway taxi and private-hire licensing

This guide publishes only fields supported by the cited official sources. Anything unresolved is visibly withheld rather than inferred.

RESEARCHED AUTHORITY

Medway

Medway Council · Sources checked 13 September 2026

Driver licensing
Official route/source found

The shared Gravesham/Medway service accepts applications for the chosen authority. A Medway driver must use an appropriately Medway-licensed vehicle. Provide reachable email/mobile details and disclose prior licensing refusals, suspensions and revocations for NR3S checks.

Vehicle licensing
Official route/source found

Medway's policy effective 1 May 2026 requires non-WAV first-entry vehicles under 7 years and purpose-built/converted WAVs under 10, measured from first international registration. Non-WAV/non-stretched-limousine first entries must meet Euro 6. From the first anniversary vehicles need an annual MOT and an approved-garage interim inspection six months between MOTs. New/renewal pre-inspections are normally at an approved garage within one month before application. The council usually checks MOT status online but may request certificates. Appropriate vehicle/driver insurance must remain in force. Dual licensing with another authority is not accepted.

Operator licensing
Official route/source found

The joint service requires an online application, planning permission, appropriate public/employers liability insurance, safeguarding training, driver/vehicle list and applicable criminal-record/right-to-work evidence. Partners, directors and company secretary must meet individual requirements. The usual term is five years; shorter terms need justification. Apply to the authority where bookings are provided, with Rochester given as Medway's example. Renewal and equivalent-licence tax checks apply.

Licensing fees
Official route/source found

The page's explicitly labelled Medway table charges £731 for five years up to five vehicles, £1,454 over five vehicles; discretionary one-year terms £248/£489 respectively. No effective date is printed.

Taxi tariff
Official route/source found

Current joint licensing page: £4 includes one 155-yard/34-second unit or combined parts, then 20p per started unit. Night midnight–06:00, public holidays including Easter Sunday and specified festive eves/daytime periods add 50%; Christmas Day and early Boxing/New Year's Day double fare. Each passenger beyond four adds £1.50; soiling up to £125. Exact festive minute boundaries require care. No effective date printed.

Mandatory qualifications
Official route/source found

The joint Gravesham/Medway application page requires knowledge testing, safeguarding/disability virtual courses and practical driving assessment; new hackney applicants additionally need accessibility assessment. Approved course providers include Blue Lamp Trust and Green Penny. DBS Update Service and recent Group 2 medical evidence are required. Medway-specific eligibility remains governed by its own linked policy.

Withheld or still needing confirmation
  • Full current Medway policy eligibility and training need adopted-policy extraction; draft not treated as current.
  • Vehicle/operator and tariff not extracted.
  • Preserve prior fields. Joint-service page expressly applies to Medway, not inferred from neighbouring Gravesham.
  • Current HTML gives no legal commencement date; full holiday precedence and combined charging need calculator validation.
  • Recovered Medway-specific policy on Gravesham's site, not Gravesham rules. Residual anticipated-implementation wording exists, but cover and section 1.6 state operative 1 May 2026.
  • No upper continuing-age limit inferred from first-entry limits. Full WAV driver-allocation details and fees not reverified.
  • Preserve prior verified fields.

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