West Northamptonshire taxi and private-hire licensing

RESEARCHED AUTHORITY

West Northamptonshire

West Northamptonshire Council · Sources checked 13 September 2026

Driver licensing

Official route/source found

West Northamptonshire offers a private-hire driver licence and a dual hackney-carriage/private-hire licence, normally for three years. Private-hire entitlement is council-wide; hackney applicants select one or more of the former Northampton, Daventry and South Northamptonshire zones. All applicants must obtain an enhanced DBS check including the adults' and children's barred lists through the approved provider, subscribe to the DBS Update Service and permit checks at least every six months. New and renewing applicants complete safeguarding and vulnerability training. New applicants also pass the council spoken-English test, induction and knowledge test, and an approved advanced driving assessment, with a wheelchair element for those intending to drive a wheelchair-accessible vehicle. A Group 2 medical is required on first application and renewal until age 65, then annually. Current certificate validity windows and application evidence are set out on the council pages.

• Driver licence
• DBS check
• Medical certificate assessment

Vehicle licensing

Official evidence found; detail still to confirm

Current vehicle guidance updated 10 June 2026 identifies the policy effective 1 April 2024. Both an MOT and council vehicle test at an approved garage are required before application and every six months; interim submissions include both certificates and current insurance. The policy retains different hackney-zone age/emission provisions: Northampton applies Euro 6 petrol/diesel or Euro 5 petrol-hybrid/ULEV standards from April 2025; South Northamptonshire sets six-year first-grant and ten-year renewal age limits, subject to exceptional-condition four-monthly tests. It also specifies all hackneys must be wheelchair accessible from January 2026. Private hire first grants require Euro 6; from December 2025 renewals permit ULEV, Euro 5 petrol hybrid or Euro 6 petrol/diesel. The December 2028 ULEV/hybrid restriction is future, not currently imposed. Daventry's complete age/exemption rules and any later zonal amendments still require reconciliation before this is a complete vehicle eligibility guide.

• Taxi and PHV vehicle policies by licensing area (TAXI0108)
• Current official vehicle licensing requirements and policy evidence
• Current official vehicle licensing requirements and policy evidence

Operator licensing

Official route/source found

Supply Basic DBS for each named applicant unless their West Northants driver Enhanced DBS Update Service applies; ID, national-insurance proof, recent address evidence, right-to-work evidence, tax-check information, vehicle list and each vehicle's V5/insurance. Public-liability cover is required where applicable. Published 2026/27 five-year new/renewal fees are £1,050 for 1–5 vehicles, £1,200 for 6–20, £2,100 for 21–50, £3,150 for 51–100, £5,400 for 101–200, £8,400 for 201–300, £11,400 for 301–400, £14,400 for 401–500 and £21,000 for 501+. A zero-vehicle new one-year licence is £250.

• 2026/27 fee table
• Current May2026 application checklist

Licensing fees

Official route/source found

The unified fee schedule applying from 5 May 2026 lists new and renewal vehicle licences at £235 and £225 excluding the vehicle test; new and renewal driver licences at £245 and £233; induction training with knowledge test at £85; and operator charges beginning at £250 for a new one-year licence with no vehicles and £1,050 for a five-year licence covering one to five vehicles.

Taxi tariff

Official route/source found

Tariff content checked 23 October 2026. The current council page gives ordinary daytime 05:00–23:00 £2.40 for 158 yards, then 24p per 176 yards; night/Sunday/bank-holiday fare is £3.60 then 30p. Its printed mile examples support started distance pulses. The live page no longer independently prints the previously cited 17 October 2022 commencement. Waiting partial-period treatment and festive mileage/extra-doubling wording remain unresolved, so no model is enabled and that older date is not freshly asserted as legal commencement.

• Council fare evidence

Mandatory qualifications

Official route/source found

The current training page, updated 10 June 2026, requires new and renewing drivers to complete STC safeguarding and the council vulnerability module. Certificates are valid four months for application. New applicants need a remote Pearson spoken-English result of at least 43 (B1), completed in one session. All applicants require an approved advanced driving assessment; wheelchair-accessible driving also requires a wheelchair assessment, separately or combined. Approved assessment providers are Blue Lamp Trust, Green Penny, Diamond and Mann Fleet Solutions, with evidence valid four months. The vulnerability exercise comprises a fifteen-minute video and nine questions.

• Current official driver training requirements