RESEARCHED AUTHORITY
West Devon
West Devon Borough Council · Sources checked 13 September 2026
- Driver licensing
- Official route/source found
The council’s currently published policy guides its licensing decisions and applies a fit-and-proper-person assessment to hackney-carriage and private-hire driver applicants and existing licence holders, with public safety as the primary aim.
- Vehicle licensing
- Official route/source found
Private-hire vehicle applications require V5, hire-and-reward insurance, public-liability insurance evidence, an MOT and FTA-standard test certificate both issued within thirty days, Euro NCAP rating confirmation, application and fee. Renewals additionally require interim MOT and FTA certificates. Vehicles over ten years require a council inspection appointment as well. Confirm suitability with licensing@swdevon.gov.uk before applying. A transfer to a new proprietor requires the transfer application, fee, insurance and V5. Rear plate and internal front badge identify the licensed vehicle.
- Operator licensing
- Official evidence found; detail still to confirm
The council-hosted January 2023 policy sections 42–48 specify annual or five-year operator renewal, before expiry. Individuals/partners supply basic DBS within one month of application or renewal and annually thereafter; the existing-valid-DBS exemption contains an incorrect section cross-reference and is not silently reinterpreted. All named applicants, partners, directors and secretary declare convictions. Since 1 April 2023 booking/dispatch controllers need basic DBS, retained twelve months and supplied within seven days of request; the ex-offender policy is supplied within fourteen days. Public and employers' liability evidence is required except single-vehicle operators. Report specified arrests/charges/convictions/cautions/disqualifications/fixed penalties within 48 hours, ownership/partner/company-name changes within seven days, and base changes before moving. Bases are normally inside West Devon, with immediate-neighbour applications considered individually. This materially expands the prior application-page summary, but the defective DBS exemption and post-2023 consolidated currentness remain unresolved.
- Licensing fees
- Official route/source found
The current licensing fee page lists hackney vehicles at £193, private-hire vehicles £170 and electric vehicles £24. Driver initial application is £150; renewals are £150 for one year or £312 for three years. Knowledge test £50 and DBS £72 are separate rows. Private-hire operators pay £150 for one year or £500 for five years. Replacement plates cost £24, vehicle ownership transfer £60 and replacement driver badge £18.
- Taxi tariff
- Official evidence found; detail still to confirm
West Devon is reported as having no council-set fare, rather than a missing numeric tariff. East Devon's official July 2025 comparison expressly records West Devon as having no set fare; March 2026 Local Democracy Reporting Service reporting repeats that position. These are corroborating sources, not a freshly recovered West Devon operative fare policy. Consequently no council flag fare, mileage pulse, waiting rate or national cheapest/most-expensive calculation is assigned. Obtain the specific taxi provider's price before travel; do not substitute neighbouring South Hams, Tavistock historic figures or an invented national average as a West Devon statutory tariff.
- Mandatory qualifications
- Official evidence found; detail still to confirm
New dual-badge applicants need twelve months holding a full UK driving licence, a Devon Travel Academy driving assessment, Highway Code/local knowledge tests, own-GP/practice Group 2 medical, enhanced DBS and right-to-work evidence. Identification is checked at an interview. Drivers join the DBS Update Service after receiving the certificate. Safeguarding/disability training and refresher cadence are not established by this application-page review.
Withheld or still needing confirmation
- Current application steps, vehicle and operator requirements, fees, exact tariff card and mandatory qualification evidence remain to be verified.
- Current live HTML is linked from the driver application page. No effective date or vehicle licence duration is displayed in the fee rows; initial driver duration is not inferred from renewal durations. External assessment and medical costs may be additional.
- Operator-specific criminal checks, licence duration and current fee remain unverified; the page mixes vehicle renewal text into operator guidance.
- Section42.3 refers to41.2 rather than an unambiguously identified DBS clause; later consolidated policy/currentness unconfirmed.
- Qualification subset only; remaining training/refresher requirements not verified.
- Direct current West Devon confirmation of its no-set-fare position remains outstanding.
- Do not represent no regulated tariff as zero fare or numeric calculator coverage.
- Age/emissions acceptance limits and exact current fees not extracted; documentary requirements are not an exhaustive technical specification.
- Preserve prior verified fields.