RESEARCHED AUTHORITY
Tunbridge Wells
Tunbridge Wells Council · Sources checked 13 September 2026
- Driver licensing
- Official route/source found
Tunbridge Wells issues a dual driver licence covering both hackney-carriage and private-hire vehicles. Applicants must first pass the council's computerised knowledge test and have held a full UK or acceptable non-UK driving licence for at least one year. The application requires the form, fee, DVLA check code, Group 2 medical, an approved Driving Standards Assessment, identity/right-to-work documents and an enhanced DBS application. All new and existing drivers must join the DBS Update Service so the authority can check them every six months. New applicants must also pass the EQUO driver-training module. The licensing meeting requires the DBS certificate, Update Service evidence and driving licence; the council also checks NR3.
- Vehicle licensing
- Official route/source found
At first licensing vehicles must be under 6 from registration. London-type HC and approved WAV HC/PH can remain to 15 subject to six-monthly approved-garage testing; saloon/estate/hatchback/MPV types to 10. Arrange compliance testing directly with an approved station and pay the garage separately. New applications require V5 and/or bill of sale, fully comprehensive cover for the appropriate HC/PH activity and the council fee. Online and postal routes are available through the licensing partnership; renewals also need valid insurance and fee.
- Operator licensing
- Official route/source found
Submit the application, disclosure and fee online or to the Licensing Partnership. Applicants not already licensed drivers arrange a DBS appointment after submitting. Renew at least two months before expiry; a lapsed licence becomes a new application and bookings cannot be accepted during the gap. Operator licences cannot transfer, and names cannot duplicate or resemble existing local firms or previously registered operator names. From 1 April 2026, new/renewal fees are £701/£689 for five years, £467/£460 for three, and £259/£240 for one. Controlled private hire drivers, vehicles and operator must share the licensing authority.
- Licensing fees
- Official route/source found
Effective 1 April 2026: knowledge £62 per attempt; three-year dual grant £276 or renewal £269; DBS search £49.50 unless on Update; EQUO training £82; initial annual hackney vehicle £355.
- Taxi tariff
- Official evidence found; detail still to confirm
Effective 13 December 2024. Tariff 1: £4.80 initially for 0.7 mile/1,232 yards or eight stationary minutes, combined; then20p per125 yards or40 seconds combined. Tariff 2: £7.20 with the same initial allowance, then30p per125 yards/40 seconds; available23:30–06:00, public holidays including Easter Sunday, and Christmas/New Year's Eves after18:00. Tariff 3 applies Christmas/New Year's Day: £9.60 for0.8 mile/1,408 yards or10 minutes, then40p per135.38 yards/40 seconds. The source also calls tariff3 double tariff1 despite different distance allowances, and describes tariff1 as approximately£2.60/mile although its125-yard pulse implies about£2.82/mile. Preserve these inconsistencies rather than silently reconcile them. Weekend extras are20p/mile for Saturday hirings and Sunday/Monday before06:00 as worded; more than four passengers£3. Passenger-instructed tolls, congestion, ULEZ and parking may be added. Recommended spoilage maximum£100, proportionate to losses.
- Mandatory qualifications
- Official evidence found; detail still to confirm
Dual-badge applicants first pass the computerised knowledge test: ten categories, each requiring 80%. They then apply and pass EQUO modules on safeguarding, disability and county lines, each requiring 75%; failed EQUO modules can be retaken without another fee. New applicants cannot receive a badge before passing every module. All new applicants also pass an approved practical driving assessment including the wheelchair exercise. The FAQ describes three knowledge attempts and a six-month retest restriction; applicants should confirm how that restriction operates between attempts. Refresher cadence is not established here.
Withheld or still needing confirmation
- Full driver, vehicle/operator and fare policy not extracted in this record.
- Use the live council pages for current test bookings, providers, fees and any case-specific right-to-work or medical evidence.
- Preserve prior fields. Full policy operator screening and ongoing conditions remain to be extracted.
- Knowledge retest wording needs clarification; no fixed refresher cycle inferred.
- Source mile-rate approximations and festive double-rate description conflict with explicit pulses.
- Mixed stationary/driving allowances and weekend wording need careful validation; not calculator-ready.
- Full exceptional-condition provisions, emissions and exact class-specific test cycles should be checked in the ratified policy; fees not reverified.
- Preserve prior verified fields.