RESEARCHED AUTHORITY
Somerset
Somerset Council · Sources checked 13 September 2026
- Driver licensing
- Official evidence found; detail still to confirm
Somerset Council's current driver page routes applicants by one of five legacy licensing zones: Mendip, Sedgemoor, Somerset West and Taunton, South Somerset, or the relevant postcode result. A dated independent review reports that the application requires a full driving licence, right-to-work evidence, an enhanced DBS check and a Group 2 medical. Because requirements continue to vary by legacy zone and the council selector did not expose the detailed steps in this review, applicants must select their district on the live council page and confirm the exact licence class, checks, tests, medical form, evidence and fees before applying.
- Vehicle licensing
- Official route/source found
Five zones retain separate policies: Sedgemoor, Mendip, South Somerset, Taunton Deane and West Somerset. Annual licences require MOT and vehicle suitability inspection; upload insurance, V5C, MOT and VSI.
- Operator licensing
- Official route/source found
Council application page requires operator licensing for booking private hire, right-to-work evidence and describes enhanced DBS. This January 2025 page is past its stated review date; confirm DBS level with licensing before payment.
- Licensing fees
- Official evidence found; detail still to confirm
Secondary evidence only: TaxiTools, checked 2 August 2026, explicitly attributes these figures to Somerset Council's 2026/27 schedule despite its legacy page name. Driver new application £173 or renewal application £131, plus licence £58/£102/£146 for one/two/three years. HC vehicle grant £118, PH grant £124 including internal plate; annual HC/PH renewal £103. Operator application £56 new or £53 renewal, plus £45/£88/£132/£176/£220 for one to five years. Knowledge test £74. Council's current schedule link requires sign-in on retrieval, so numeric values remain unverified secondary evidence.
- Taxi tariff
- Official route/source found
Tariff content checked 23 October 2026. The 2 September 2026 Executive decision adopts the revised table from 18 September, expressly removing the proposed £10 booking fee. Its adopted appendix prints £5.06 for the first mile, then 33p per started tenth-mile, with £1.10 per completed two minutes waiting and separately listed non-cumulative uplifts. A passenger-page label says 14 September, while council news gives a £8.60 two-mile example inconsistent with the appendix’s £8.36 arithmetic. Those conflicts and the sign-in-blocked current card remain explicit; no model is enabled.
- Mandatory qualifications
- Official evidence found; detail still to confirm
Somerset's current driver-licence service requires applicants to choose the relevant legacy licensing zone: Mendip, Sedgemoor, Somerset West and Taunton, or South Somerset. The council's policy hub confirms that legacy taxi policies remain in use while arrangements are unified. Applicants should therefore check the requirements for their selected zone rather than assume one countywide test or training standard. The selector was updated 11 June 2026, but it does not publish the individual knowledge-test, safeguarding, disability-training or refresher requirements; those details remain withheld pending zone-by-zone verification.
Withheld or still needing confirmation
- Current passenger page still links May 2024 card; complete 2026 pulses unavailable in reviewed evidence.
- Driver zone policies, qualifications and numeric fees outstanding.
- Operator page stale review date and unusual enhanced-DBS wording expressly retained, not generalised.
- Zone-specific current driver details were not exposed by the council selector; the four requirement types are secondary-confirmed only.
- Do not treat the legacy TaxiTools page name as a surviving licensing authority; it explicitly states the figures are Somerset Council's.
- Official 2026/27 workbook not independently accessible; confirm all fees directly before payment.
- Zone-specific knowledge tests, training modules, pass standards and refresher requirements remain unverified.