RESEARCHED AUTHORITY
Torbay
Torbay Council · Sources checked 13 September 2026
- Driver licensing
- Official route/source found
Three-year dual driver licence route includes right-to-work evidence, recent DBS, medical, driving assessment and knowledge test.
- Vehicle licensing
- Official route/source found
Contact council before buying a hackney: 189-licence cap nearly reached. New PH vehicles cannot be black; submit V5/bill of sale, insurance certificate and £5m public liability. Non-driver proprietors/directors/partners need recent basic DBS. Full age/testing specification still requires policy review.
- Operator licensing
- Official route/source found
The currently linked May 2022 policy specifies five-year operator licences or part thereof running from 1 May. Operators need an annual Basic DBS, less than 60 days old at application, unless their Torbay driver Enhanced check applies. Residence abroad for three months or more at one time requires an authenticated, translated good-conduct certificate. Applicants demonstrate that business premises have no restrictions preventing the use, identify the owner, and provide necessary washing, toilet and rest facilities; passenger waiting areas need suitable seating. Private hire proprietors must use their own operator licence to accept bookings directly or work through a company operator licensed by Torbay.
- Licensing fees
- Official route/source found
From 1 April 2026: HC new/renew vehicle £283/£207; PH £252/£176. Driver new £408 including knowledge test, renewal £294; knowledge retest £83. Operator one/five years £125/£500.
- Taxi tariff
- Official route/source found
Tariff and calculator check 26 October 2026. Cabinet's 20 October decision, published 23 October, approved the advertised replacement from 4 November 2026 after considering two objections. The one-passenger calculator uses the existing £3.90 daytime / £4.50 higher-band initial charges before that date, then £4.50 / £5.10 from 4 November, for the first 470 yards or part. Subsequent 145-yard parts and 30-second waiting parts cost 20p daytime or 25p in the higher band. This update supports departures from 26 October through 16 November only; that coverage limit is not a legal tariff expiry date. Higher passenger bands, festive periods outside this window and all extras are excluded. The council customer page still shows the 7 October 2024 scale; the final Cabinet decision supplies the replacement date.
- Mandatory qualifications
- Official route/source found
Safeguarding/disability training, driving assessment and knowledge test required. Group 2 medical examiner needs full records. DBS issued within two months; Update Service checks six-monthly.
Withheld or still needing confirmation
- Operator conditions and full vehicle age/testing policy incomplete.
- Calculator remains limited to one passenger and the checked 26 October-16 November window; higher passenger bands, later dates and extras need separate coverage.
- Preserve previous fields. Exact operator fee and complete Appendix C recordkeeping provisions remain to be added. Source is the document currently linked by the council, not a claim of a new 2026 policy.