RESEARCHED AUTHORITY
West Suffolk
West Suffolk Council · Sources checked 13 September 2026
- Driver licensing
- Official route/source found
Applicants need a full UK licence held 12 months, right to work, TaxiPlus enhanced DBS with maintained Update subscription and Group 2 medical from a doctor with full history. Send complete documents and payment in one email. Published processing target is 21 days after a complete submission.
- Vehicle licensing
- Official route/source found
New PH vehicles must meet Euro 6. Submit full V5C or keeper slip (full V5 within 14 days), MOT for vehicles over 12 months, an approved-garage inspection report under two months old, PH insurance and a meter certificate if fitted. Proprietors without a current West Suffolk driver licence need Basic DBS within one month unless supplied during the preceding year. Pay in advance and email the complete application and attachments together to licensing@westsuffolk.gov.uk. The processing target is 16 working days after receipt of a complete application. A PH meter is optional, but if fitted must be sealed/calibrated and its fare chart displayed.
- Operator licensing
- Official route/source found
Five-year operators apply with driver/vehicle details, Basic DBS, right-to-work evidence, public-liability insurance if premises admit the public, and employer's liability cover where drivers are directly employed. Company directors/secretaries need annual Basic DBS unless their West Suffolk driver status and Update Service evidence apply; failure can suspend the operator licence. Supply the applicable HMRC tax check on renewal, recent lapse or another-authority same-type application. Email the complete legible bundle to licensing@westsuffolk.gov.uk; staff arrange payment. The council aims for 28 days after a complete application and does not allow tacit approval.
- Licensing fees
- Official route/source found
The current linked fee page remains explicitly effective from 1 April 2023: hackney-carriage vehicle £209; private-hire vehicle £188; combined driver £174 for one year or £308 for three; operator £134 for one year or £539 for five. Driver and vehicle fees are paid on application; licensing contacts applicants for operator payment. Transfer costs £35, replacement/temporary vehicle £70 and personalised registration change £70. These are the council's currently published figures, not a newly adopted 2026 schedule.
- Taxi tariff
- Official evidence found; detail still to confirm
Tariff content checked 23 October 2026. The current licensing hub links a replacement fare card explicitly effective 5 August 2026. Its six bands start at £5.90/£8.90/£11.80/£8.90/£11.80/£16.20 for the first 1,760 yards, then charge 20p/30p/40p/30p/40p/55p per further 144.4 yards or part. Bands 4–6 apply to parties of five or more. Waiting is 40p per minute while stationary or moving very slowly; an incomplete-minute rule is not printed. The card’s literal festive-midnight wording and holiday overlaps require precise interpretation before a calculator is enabled. These figures replace the former 23 May 2025 card; no calculator model is enabled.
- Mandatory qualifications
- Official route/source found
Complete council theory, practical driving assessment within 12 months and Level 2 professional taxi/private-hire qualification. WAV drivers additionally need practical disability-awareness training.
Withheld or still needing confirmation
- Check application charges before payment; no later effective date is invented.
- Preserve prior verified fields.
- Preserve prior fields. Exact fees and full recordkeeping conditions not yet extracted.
- Current application HTML states Euro 6; older linked policy includes a five-year first-entry limit. Age transition not independently reconciled here, so check before purchase.
- Renewal inspection cadence and fees not reverified; preserve prior verified fields.