Vehicle licensing
Current statutory ruleLicence suitability safety insurance and number controls
This is the vehicle-licensing test; it does not establish a separate driver, booking-office or dispatch relationship.
- Vehicle Licence Required: Yes
- Grant Or Renewal Tests: suitable in type, size and design for use as a taxi or private hire car; safe for that use; appropriate insurance or security is in force
- Taxi Number Control: a taxi grant may be refused to limit numbers only if the authority is satisfied that there is no significant unmet demand for taxi services in its area
- Private Hire Overprovision: a private-hire-car grant may be refused only if the authority is satisfied there is or would be overprovision in the locality, having regard to vehicle numbers and demand
- Statutory Section: Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 section 10
Current statutory ruleStatutory processing duration renewal and appeal framework
These are statutory outer rules and effects, not a local service target or a guarantee that an application is complete.
- Relevant Date: the application date, or where Finance Act 2021 tax-check confirmation rules prevent consideration on that date, the date that prevention ends
- Application Consideration: within three months after the relevant date
- Final Decision: within six months after the end of the initial three-month period
- Extension: the sheriff may extend either period on the licensing authority's summary application
- Missed Deadline Effect: application is deemed granted or renewed
- Deemed Temporary Duration: the period sought, capped at six weeks
- Deemed Other Duration: one year
- Ordinary Duration: three years or a shorter period determined by the licensing authority
- Temporary Maximum: six weeks
- Timely Renewal Continuation: a timely renewal continues the existing licence through the decision and applicable appeal stages, subject where applicable to the Schedule 1 tax-check branch
- Late Renewal: an application up to 28 days late may be treated as timely only where the authority considers that good cause is shown
- Appeal Method And Deadline: summary application lodged with the sheriff clerk within 28 days of the decision
- Appeal Grounds: error of law; decision based on an incorrect material fact; action contrary to natural justice; unreasonable exercise of discretion
Current official sourceCurrent application routes documents and contact
The public routes were read only; no form was filled, no file uploaded and no application was submitted.
- Online Application Entry: Yes
- Downloadable Grant And Renewal Forms: Yes
- Page Required Items: applicant name and address; application fee; vehicle details; valid insurance certificate; MOT certificate where applicable; registration document or, if not possible, a bill of sale; evidence of entitlement to work; specified overseas previous-conviction check for a new applicant where applicable
- Licensing Telephone: 01546 604355
- Licensing Email: licensing@argyll-bute.gov.uk
Current official sourceVisible online vehicle form fields and upload limits
Visible form structure is evidence only of displayed fields; validation, payment, upload acceptance and submission were not tested.
- Application Types: new; renewal
- Applicant Structures: individual; partnership; firm; limited company
- Manager Details: Yes
- Vehicle Storage And Operating Addresses: Yes
- Vehicle Fields: registration; first-registration date; make; model; doors; body description; colour; chassis number; passenger count; rear-seat width; insurance expiry; MOT expiry; last inspection; availability days and hours; wheelchair accessibility
- Mot Upload: up to four files with a stated 10 MB limit
- Insurance Upload: up to four files with a stated 8 MB limit
Current official sourceTaxi grant form identity vehicle zones and documents
The 2026-modified grant form is linked by the current page; it does not guarantee grant or establish current zone availability.
- Applicant Structures: individual; partnership; firm; limited company
- Operating Areas: Mid Argyll, Kintyre and Islay; Bute and Cowal; Helensburgh and Lomond; Oban, Lorn and the Isles
- Vehicle Details: registration; first-registration date; make; model; doors; body description; colour; chassis number; passenger count; rear-seat width; insurance expiry; MOT expiry; last inspection; mechanic; availability; wheelchair accessibility
- Supporting Documents: vehicle registration document; current MOT; current certificate of insurance; entitlement-to-work and previous-conviction evidence where applicable
- Displayed Grant Fee: GBP 177
Current official sourcePrivate hire grant form identity vehicle and documents
The 2026-modified grant form is linked by the current page; the separate renewal link is misrouted and is not used here.
- Applicant Structures: individual; partnership; firm; limited company
- Vehicle Details: registration; first-registration date; make; model; doors; body description; colour; chassis number; passenger count; rear-seat width; insurance expiry; MOT expiry; last inspection; mechanic; availability; wheelchair accessibility
- Supporting Documents: vehicle registration document; current MOT; current certificate of insurance; entitlement-to-work and previous-conviction evidence where applicable
- Displayed Grant Fee: GBP 177
Current official sourcePublished rear seat width minimum
This is one visible dimensional criterion and is not represented as a complete current vehicle-approval policy.
- Minimum: 51 inches or 129.5 centimetres
- Appears On: taxi grant form; private-hire-car grant form
Dated official source still linkedLinked taxi vehicle operating conditions
The current page links these conditions, but their effective date and any later amendments are not stated.
- Safe Serviceable Clean: Yes
- Mot For Vehicles Over Three Years: required except for vehicles on Tiree, Coll, Colonsay and Lismore
- Mot And Insurance Renewal Evidence: supply within 48 hours after previous certificates expire
- Annual Council Inspection: Yes
- Accident Damage Report: within two working days
- Post Repair Certificate Before Reuse: Yes
- Driver List Kept Current: Yes
- Council Plate Displayed: Yes
- Roof Sign: TAXI in letters at least three inches high or the taxi-firm name
- Sealed Taximeter Required: Yes
- First Aid And Fire Extinguisher: Yes
- Approved Vehicle Baseline: purpose-built taxi, four-door saloon, five-door hatchback or estate, MPV, or another authority-approved vehicle; rear seat at least 51 inches for the stated saloon, hatchback and estate category
Dated official source still linkedLinked private hire vehicle operating conditions
The current page links these conditions, but their effective date and any later amendments are not stated.
- Safe Serviceable Clean: Yes
- Mot For Vehicles Over Three Years: required except for vehicles on Tiree, Coll, Colonsay and Lismore
- Mot And Insurance Renewal Evidence: supply within 48 hours after previous certificates expire
- Annual Council Inspection: Yes
- Accident Damage Report: within two working days
- Post Repair Certificate Before Reuse: Yes
- Driver List Kept Current: Yes
- Council Plate Displayed: inside the rear window while in use
- Advertising: service signs and advertisements require authority approval; roof signs are prohibited
- Fare Disclosure: tell the potential hirer the price or calculation method before accepting the hire
- First Aid And Fire Extinguisher: Yes
- Approved Vehicle Baseline: purpose-built vehicle, four-door saloon, five-door hatchback or estate, MPV, or another authority-approved vehicle; rear seat at least 51 inches for the stated saloon, hatchback and estate category
Current official sourcePublished triennial vehicle licence fee cycle
The conflicting published values are preserved; the amount currently payable in a case is not resolved by this record.
- Currency: GBP
- Cycle: 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2027
- Taxi And Private Hire Year One2024 25: 533
- Taxi And Private Hire Year Two2025 26: 355
- Taxi And Private Hire Year Three2026 27: 177
- Licence Page One Year From2026: 177
- Separate Current Legal Fees Page Value: 533
Current official sourcePublished vehicle inspection substitution and plate fees
These are council charges; they do not establish commercial vehicle, rental, insurance, radio or dispatch costs.
- Currency: GBP
- Vehicle Inspection: 95
- Reinspection Or Appointment No Show Surcharge: 50 percent
- Substitution Within Five Working Days: 78
- Same Day Substitution: 107
- Reissue Plate: 48
- Certified Copy Licence: 48
Current official sourcePublished local application consultation register and appeal process
The page's conflicting labels for the appeal destination are not resolved by this claim and remain a gap.
- Police Copy: Yes
- Council Notice Board: Yes
- Committee Consideration: all taxi and private-hire-car applications are described as considered at a public Planning, Protective Services and Licensing Committee meeting
- Register Kept: Yes
- Page Decision Limit: nine months
- Reasons Request: within 21 days of the decision
- Appeal Deadline: within 28 days after the decision, after using available procedures to state the case
Current official sourcePublished taxi private hire demand and overprovision survey status
No result, zone cap, waiting list or grant availability was inferred from an awaited survey.
- Consultation Period: 24 July 2025 to 24 August 2025
- Purpose: assess significant unmet taxi demand and private-hire overprovision in Argyll and Bute
- Undertaken By: LVSA
- Published Status At Check: results currently awaited
Booking-office licensing
Current statutory ruleStatutory processing duration renewal and appeal framework
These are statutory outer rules and effects; the council page's shorter six-month wording is retained as a conflict.
- Relevant Date: the application date, or where Finance Act 2021 tax-check confirmation rules prevent consideration on that date, the date that prevention ends
- Application Consideration: within three months after the relevant date
- Final Decision: within six months after the end of the initial three-month period
- Extension: the sheriff may extend either period on the licensing authority's summary application
- Missed Deadline Effect: application is deemed granted or renewed
- Deemed Temporary Duration: the period sought, capped at six weeks
- Deemed Other Duration: one year
- Ordinary Duration: three years or a shorter period determined by the licensing authority
- Temporary Maximum: six weeks
- Timely Renewal Continuation: a timely renewal continues the existing licence through the decision and applicable appeal stages, subject where applicable to the Schedule 1 tax-check branch
- Late Renewal: an application up to 28 days late may be treated as timely only where the authority considers that good cause is shown
- Appeal Method And Deadline: summary application lodged with the sheriff clerk within 28 days of the decision
- Appeal Grounds: error of law; decision based on an incorrect material fact; action contrary to natural justice; unreasonable exercise of discretion
Current official sourceBooking office licence threshold and premises scope
The threshold concerns booking premises and does not itself license a vehicle, driver, radio account or dispatch relationship.
- Licence Required: Yes
- Threshold: premises taking public bookings for four or more taxis and/or private hire cars
- Licensed Object: the premises where bookings are taken
- Applicant Types: individual; partnership; limited partnership; limited company
- Day To Day Manager Named: Yes
- Usual Duration: three years
Current official sourceMandatory booking vehicle and driver records
The original instrument and current national guidance agree on these mandatory records; consolidation remains an explicit gap.
- Booking Record: a record of every booking for the hire of a relevant vehicle taken at the licensed premises
- Vehicle Record: registration number of the vehicle assigned
- Driver Record: name of the driver assigned
- Reasonable Steps: the licence holder must take reasonable steps to ensure the assigned vehicle and driver are appropriately licensed
Current statutory ruleRight to licence eligibility duration and cessation
The current Schedule supplies the limited-leave and cessation rules; the 2017 instrument records the booking-office amendment.
- Grant Or Renewal Rule: the authority must be satisfied that an individual applicant is not disqualified by immigration status
- Ordinary Limited Leave: where section 3C does not apply, the licence period must end at or before the end of the person's limited leave
- Section3 CLeave: where limited leave has been extended by section 3C, the licence period must not exceed six months
- Renewal: the same duration rules apply to renewal
- Cessation: a booking-office licence ceases to have effect if its holder becomes disqualified by immigration status
Current official sourceRight to licence prescribed checks and supplemental verification
The local page and older linked entitlement document do not accurately describe all current prescribed routes.
- Stage: new, renewal and extension applications by an individual
- Prescribed Methods: manual check of original acceptable documents; right-to-work check using a Digital Verification Service for a British or Irish citizen with a valid passport or Irish passport card; Home Office online right-to-work check for a non-British or non-Irish citizen
- Online Share Code: nine characters and valid for 90 calendar days
- Expired Physical Brp Manual Check Accepted: no; an online check is required where the expired card is used to access digital status
- Supplemental Service: SVEC handles specified cases that require Home Office verification; it is not a fourth prescribed method
Current official sourceTax check conditionality and code
The local summary confirms the 120-day booking-office renewal route but the national page supplies the complete conditions.
- In Force In Scotland From: 2023-10-02
- Scottish Scope: booking-office licences, not Scottish taxi or private-hire vehicle licences
- Tax Check Required For: renewal; same licence type held and expired less than one year ago; same licence type already held with another licensing authority
- New Applicant Route: a genuinely new applicant, or one whose same-type licence expired at least one year earlier, confirms tax responsibilities rather than completing a tax check
- Code: nine-character code
- Code Validity: 120 days
- Personal Completion: the applicant must complete their own tax check
Current official sourcePublished local booking office application route
This reports the current page's public instructions; its omission of digital checking routes is retained as a conflict.
- Online Application Available: the page says no
- Downloadable Grant And Renewal Forms: Yes
- Local Published Method: attend a local council office or Council Headquarters at Kilmory with original supporting documents for an in-person check
- Process Telephone: 01546 604470
- General Licensing Telephone: 01546 604355
- Licensing Email: licensing@argyll-bute.gov.uk
Current official sourcePublished booking office fee and duration
The three checked council pages agree on this licence fee; it is not a commercial dispatch or radio charge.
- Currency: GBP
- Fee: 147
- Duration: three years from date issued
- Current Pages Agree: Yes
Dated official source still linkedDated booking office grant form fields and supporting documents
The current page links the form, but the form's 2024 modification date is not an adoption or effective date.
- Applicant Structures: individual; partnership; firm; limited company
- Day To Day Manager Details: Yes
- Premises Fields: address; layout or sketch; ownership or owner consent; opening days and times; maximum public occupancy
- Planning Response Requested: Yes
- Public Notice: display for 21 days beginning on the submission date, followed by a certificate of compliance
- Supporting Documents: GBP 147 fee; insurance where applicable; notice certificate; premises map if public enter; entitlement-to-work and overseas-conviction evidence where applicable
Dated official source still linkedDated booking office renewal form fields and supporting documents
The linked renewal form is dated and the current national HMRC source controls the broader tax-check interpretation.
- Existing Licence Number And Expiry: Yes
- Tax Check Code: issued within the previous 120 days
- Supporting Documents: GBP 147 fee; insurance where applicable; notice certificate; HMRC tax-check code; entitlement-to-work and overseas-conviction evidence where applicable
- Premises And Management Fields: Yes
Dated official source still linkedLinked local booking office record retention and change conditions
The current booking page links these conditions, but the document does not state its adoption or effective date.
- Record Every Booking: Yes
- Record Vehicle Registration And Driver Name: Yes
- Minimum Retention: three years
- Reasonable Steps For Licensed Vehicle And Driver: Yes
- Notify Material Changes: Yes
- Return Licence After Cessation Or Suspension: within seven days