RESEARCHED AUTHORITY
Windsor and Maidenhead
Windsor and Maidenhead Council · Sources checked 13 September 2026
- Driver licensing
- Official route/source found
All drivers must register with the DBS Update Service and allow the licensing team to check their driving-licence record. Driver or vehicle renewal appointments are arranged through Customer Services on 01628 683800. A tax check is required for relevant renewals and equivalent applications from another authority. The current page links July 2026 new-driver guidance; older guidance has not been substituted.
- Vehicle licensing
- Official route/source found
The council's published private-hire conditions, updated February 2025, require a safe and mechanically sound saloon, hatchback, estate, minibus or multipassenger vehicle with four to eight passenger seats. Vehicles need at least four doors with direct seat access, suitable seat belts, luggage accommodation and right-hand drive. Vehicles must be clean and inspection-ready, without excessive oil leaks. Proprietors must notify licensing if a vehicle is purpose-built for wheelchair access; such vehicles are designated for Equality Act assistance duties.
- Operator licensing
- Official route/source found
Applicants need the right to live and work in the UK, a Basic DBS certificate, safeguarding training, a planning Certificate of Lawfulness and the completed form. The operating address must be inside the borough. Apply for lawful-development proposed-use approval early because planning may take several weeks. Submit the DBS within 28 days of issue; digital certificates require a consent code. Declare convictions, cautions, motoring offences and fixed penalties. Safeguarding must be taught by an appropriately qualified trainer in person or virtually: self-paced e-learning certificates are refused. Approved providers listed are Green Penny, Blue Lamp Trust and Taxi Plus/Trust2Ride. Once ready, book a document-submission appointment on 01628 683800.
- Licensing fees
- Official evidence found; detail still to confirm
The council's September 2025 driver guidance lists a £30 knowledge test, a three-year private-hire or hackney-carriage driver licence at £336, and a three-year combined driver licence at £540. It lists one-year vehicle licences at £255 private hire and £315 hackney carriage; a permanent vehicle change at £47, temporary three-month vehicle licence at £120, ownership change at £37, and replacement vehicle plate or paper licence at £10. The indexed document has since moved or become unavailable, and the current operator bands were not independently recovered, so this is dated partial official evidence rather than a complete current fee schedule. Confirm before payment.
- Taxi tariff
- Official evidence found; detail still to confirm
The council's 9 February 2026 minutes confirm the final decision to implement Option 1: Tariff 1 increased by 10%, with the minimum fare rising from £6 to £7, and no change to Tariff 2. The panel expressly confirmed that Tariff 1b and 2b minimum fares would not be 50% higher than the standard minimum. It ordered a separate consultation on Option 2; that later outcome has not been recovered. This decision replaces the earlier pre-meeting uncertainty, but does not establish the exact meter-change commencement or a complete current fare card. Precise distance and waiting pulses, calendar rules and later changes remain unverified. Minimum fare and initial meter flag are distinct; no arbitrary-route calculator is enabled.
- Mandatory qualifications
- Official evidence found; detail still to confirm
The council's combined new-driver guidance requires an enhanced DBS certificate registered with the DBS Update Service, original identity and right-to-work evidence, a valid DVLA licence and check code, and a council knowledge test booked after document verification. The guidance states a £30 knowledge-test charge and separates private-hire, hackney-carriage and combined applications. This verifies the published application sequence and knowledge-test requirement only; the indexed document is dated September 2024 and its pass mark, syllabus, safeguarding or disability-training requirements, practical assessment and refresher cadence have not been established as current in this review.
Withheld or still needing confirmation
- July 2026 full guidance and current policy documents require extraction; qualifications, vehicle/operator conditions, fees and numeric tariff remain unverified.
- Indexed September 2025 council PDF now returns 404; current operator bands and any later fee revision remain unresolved.
- Current fee bands have not been rechecked against a dated 2026 schedule.
- Knowledge-test syllabus and pass mark, training modules, practical assessment and refresher cadence remain unverified.
- Complete current operative fare card and precise distance/waiting pulses remain unresolved; no extrapolation from the dated two-mile benchmark.
- 9 February 2026 Option 1 decision is now confirmed; exact implementation commencement and the subsequent Option 2 consultation outcome still require final evidence.
- No inferred numeric tariff, fare extrapolation or calculator activation.
- Technical conditions verified; current application fees, age/emissions schedule and inspection cadence not extracted in this enrichment.
- Preserve prior verified fields.