Wirral taxi and private-hire licensing

RESEARCHED AUTHORITY

Wirral

Wirral Council · Sources checked 13 September 2026

Driver licensing

Official route/source found

Applicants for either hackney-carriage or private-hire driver licensing must have held a full UK driving licence for at least 12 months, have the right to work and satisfy the council's fit-and-proper assessment. Before grant they must provide the relevant VRQ certificate, oral and written English-language test pass, safeguarding training, DVLA licence and check code, enhanced taxi-driver DBS certificate dated within two months, DBS Update Service registration, Group 2 medical dated within two months, and the licence fee. A Wirral education-contract-only private-hire applicant may provide MiDAS instead of the VRQ. Applications are submitted at a pre-booked face-to-face appointment with original documents; renewal instructions are posted roughly two to three months before expiry.

• Hackney-carriage driver licence
• Guidance for private-hire and hackney-carriage driver applicants

Vehicle licensing

Official route/source found

Check that the make/model is approved before purchase. Before applying, pass MOT and council compliance tests at an authorised station; certificates are accepted within 28 days. Email taxilicensing@wirral.gov.uk for an appointment. Bring the form, V5/keeper slip (purchase invoice if DVLA has not returned V5), test certificates, hire-and-reward insurance, address evidence for each applicant under three months old, DVLA check code and card payment. Renewals also require the rear plate. PH vehicles must operate through, and be driven by, Wirral licensees and have no more than eight passengers.

• Current PH application guide

Operator licensing

Official route/source found

The current council-linked 2025 policy requires operator holders, company directors and partners who are not licensed taxi/private-hire drivers to supply a basic DBS within 28 days of each licence anniversary and at renewal. The current operator conditions separately require sight of a staff basic DBS carried out no more than 28 days before employment; a written ex-offender policy; and council safeguarding training within two months for booking/dispatch staff or anyone accessing those records. Keep a staff register recording commencement, DBS evidence and safeguarding training, plus a written acknowledgement that staff understand licence conditions. Operator/address changes must be reported in writing within seven days. These are operator/staff requirements, distinct from enhanced DBS and Update Service requirements for licensed drivers. The linked consolidated document has a July 2025 cover although its online title says August 2025; no exact new commencement day is inferred.

• Current official operator licensing requirements and policy evidence
• Current official operator licensing requirements and policy evidence
• Current official operator licensing requirements and policy evidence

Licensing fees

Official evidence found; detail still to confirm

The council’s live fee page, corroborated by its 2026/27 fees directory, lists £125 application plus £187 grant for a three-year driver licence, £192 for a new 12-month vehicle licence and five-year operator fees from £528 for one vehicle.

• Wirral council fees source

Taxi tariff

Official evidence found; detail still to confirm

The council’s live maximum-fare page states the hackney carriage fares are effective from 11 December 2025 and provides the normal and Christmas/New Year bands. Use the linked council table for the full distance and waiting rules.

• Wirral council tariff source

Mandatory qualifications

Official evidence found; detail still to confirm

Private-hire applicants require a VRQ certificate, oral/written English assessment, safeguarding training and an eligible driving licence. Enhanced DBS and Group 2 medical evidence must be no more than two months old when the licence is issued; DBS Update Service registration is required. For the specified council-contracted home-to-education transport route, MiDAS replaces the VRQ. This is the private-hire route only; separate hackney qualification differences and safeguarding refresher intervals remain unverified.

• Private-hire new applicant requirements