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
The council's currently linked card is headed effective 23 May 2025. Tariff 1 (06:00–00:00) is £5.60 for the first 1,760 yards, then 20p for each 152 yards (approximately £2.35 for the next mile). Tariff 2 (00:00–06:00, public/bank holidays, and 18:00–00:00 on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve) is £8.40 then 30p per 152 yards (approximately £3.50 for the next mile). Tariff 3 applies from midnight on Christmas Eve to midnight on Boxing Day and from midnight on New Year's Eve to midnight on New Year's Day: £11.20 then 40p per 152 yards (approximately £4.70 for the next mile). For five or more passengers the corresponding rates are £8.40 plus 30p per 152 yards, £11.20 plus 40p per 152 yards, and £15.40 plus 55p per 148 yards (approximately £6.60 for the next mile). Waiting is 40p per minute. The card also permits actual toll/congestion costs and an unfit-to-work charge up to £150, and prohibits an assistance-dog surcharge or refusal. A later 2026 fare-change process has been located, but its final operative schedule has not been independently established; confirm the current card with the council before relying on these figures.
- 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
- Full vehicle/operator, fee schedule and fare card not extracted.
- 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.
- A 2026 fare-change process was located, but final operative publication and commencement were not independently established. The council-linked 23 May 2025 card is therefore retained with an explicit transition caveat.
- The card combines time and distance charging; exact meter-boundary behaviour has not been encoded for the calculator.
- 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.