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Official-source evidence

East Lothian Council vehicle and booking-office licensing

Verified facts below come from the cited legislation, council pages and official guidance. This evidence covers vehicle licensing, licence-holder/operator duties and booking offices; it does not replace the separate driver-licence route.

Dataset checked 2026-09-09 · 28 source-backed claims · 42 unresolved or bounded items

Vehicle licensing

Current statutory rule

Licence suitability safety insurance and number controls

Section 10 governs vehicles and 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; safe for the licensed use; appropriate insurance or security in force
  • Taxi Number Control: refusal to limit taxi numbers requires no significant unmet demand
  • Private Hire Overprovision: refusal requires the statutory overprovision test
Current statutory rule

Vehicle substitution and disposal duties

The claim records the current consolidated statutory vehicle provisions.

  • Substitution: the licensing authority may permit another vehicle to replace the licensed vehicle
  • Disposal: the licence must be delivered to the authority within 28 days after disposal unless the authority permits otherwise
Current statutory rule

Statutory processing duration renewal and appeal framework

These are outer statutory rules and do not evidence East Lothian Council's actual turnaround.

  • Consideration Window: relevant application must be considered within three months from the relevant date
  • Final Decision Window: a final decision must be reached within the following six months, subject to sheriff extension
  • Ordinary Duration: three years unless a shorter period is set
  • Appeal Deadline: summary application to the sheriff normally within 28 days
Current official source

Local vehicle licence and driver licence separation

The council presents vehicle operation and driver licensing as separate requirements.

  • Vehicle Requirement: a car used as a taxi or private hire vehicle needs a vehicle operator's licence
  • Driver Requirement: every person driving it, including the operator, needs a taxi driver's licence
Current official source

Taxi and private hire hiring method

This describes the council's route distinction and does not prove a commercial booking or dispatch relationship.

  • Taxi: may pick up passengers from the street and use taxi ranks
  • Private Hire: must be pre-booked
Current official source

New grant vehicle age wording

The evidence is preserved verbatim at the threshold level; inclusive versus exclusive treatment at the anniversary is unresolved.

  • Live Page: Internal Combustion: less than three years old; Zero Emission: less than four years old
  • Guidance: Internal Combustion: no more than three years old on grant; Zero Emission: no more than four years old on grant
Current official source

Published vehicle application items

The common document set is clear, while MOT timing and the checklist's tax-code item remain unresolved below.

  • Common Items: completed application form; fee; vehicle registration document; insurance document; MOT document
  • Page Mot Wording: current MOT certificate with at least 11 months remaining
  • Guidance Mot Wording: MOT dated no more than 30 days before the vehicle inspection
Current official source

Published local processing and vehicle inspection sequence

The page states this sequence but gives neither a full processing target nor current inspection capacity.

  • Police Referral: application and supporting documents are sent to Police
  • Police Response Days: 21
  • Inspection: after police clearance the council arranges testing by East Lothian Vehicle Plant Maintenance
  • After Pass: front and rear plates; private-hire pre-booked signs for the driver and front passenger doors
Current official source

Local vehicle licence duration

East Lothian publishes a one-year local vehicle licence period, which is a shorter period than the statutory ordinary duration.

  • Duration Years: 1
  • Renewal Responsibility: apply before expiry
Current official source

Operator application types fields and lodging statement

This records the downloadable form and its stated return route; no form was completed or submitted.

  • Application Types: grant; renewal; substitute; replacement
  • Applicants: individual; company; partnership
  • Management: day-to-day manager if different
  • Vehicle Fields: registration; first registration date; plate or disc; make and model; doors; chassis; wheelchair accessibility; where kept; days and hours available for hire
  • Lodging Statement: return the form, relevant documents and fee to the Licensing Office at John Muir House at least six weeks before proposed commencement
Current official source

Local substitute and replacement duration

The guidance describes duration only; current detailed vehicle-age eligibility for these routes remains dated-only.

  • Substitute: expires after 28 days
  • Replacement: continues for the remainder of the original licence period
Current official source

Vehicle operator checklist tax code item

This is a claim about the current-linked checklist text, not a conclusion that the item is legally required; official scope evidence conflicts.

  • Listed Item: valid HMRC tax code
  • Placement: operator application checklist
Current official source

Vehicle operator guidance right to work statement

The local statement is preserved as published; current national guidance specifically identifies Scottish booking offices, leaving vehicle-operator scope unresolved.

  • Check Stated: right to work in the UK will be checked
  • Methods Stated: Home Office online status sharing where compatible; specified original documents for manual checking
  • Time Limited Licence: not longer than the permitted work period
Current official source

Operator guidance wheelchair accessibility statement

The statement's apparent cross-route scope conflicts with other council material and is not treated as a resolved eligibility rule.

  • Wording: no licence will be granted or renewed on or after 1 January 2000 except for wheelchair-accessible vehicles
  • Route Heading: taxi and private hire car operator
Dated official source still linked

Dated approved conditions transition from 2025 04 01

The April pack records approval of the March proposals, but this dated evidence is not substituted for a current consolidated conditions document.

  • Effective Date: 2025-04-01
  • New Grant Only Conditions: taxi side-loading; vehicle-age conditions 13.4 to 13.6; private-hire passenger-seat condition 14.2
  • Existing Vehicles: vehicles licensed before the effective date could renew under the prior terms for these points
Dated official source still linked

Dated detailed vehicle fitness age and type conditions

These were approved with a 2025 transition, but the bounded review found no current consolidated publication confirming all details unchanged.

  • Annual Inspection: annual vehicle inspection beyond MOT
  • Grant Age: Internal Combustion Years Maximum: 3; Zero Emission Years Maximum: 4
  • Substitution Or Replacement: Years Maximum: 7; Not Older Than Replaced Vehicle: Yes
  • Renewal Age: Taxi Years: 12; Private Hire Years: 10; Fully Electric Years: 14
  • Taxi: side-loading; wheelchair accessible; M1 type approval; purpose-built; Euro 6
  • Private Hire: at least four separate doors; exactly four passenger seats for a saloon; exactly eight passenger seats for a multi-passenger vehicle
Current official source

Published 2026 27 vehicle operator fees

The retrieved content is headed 2026/27 despite the stale 2025 filename; the exact effective day is not printed in the booklet.

  • Operator Grant Or Renewal Gbp: 481
  • Operator Duration Years: 1
  • Substitute Vehicle Gbp: 97
  • Substitute Duration Days: 28
  • Variation Gbp: 97
  • Duplicate Licence Gbp: 33

Booking-office licensing

Current statutory rule

Statutory processing duration renewal and appeal framework

These are outer statutory rules and do not evidence East Lothian Council's actual turnaround.

  • Consideration Window: relevant application must be considered within three months from the relevant date
  • Final Decision Window: a final decision must be reached within the following six months, subject to sheriff extension
  • Ordinary Duration: three years unless a shorter period is set
  • Appeal Deadline: summary application to the sheriff normally within 28 days
Current official source

Booking office threshold premises management records notice and duration

The council publishes a separate local page and downloadable forms; local requirements and unresolved discrepancies are recorded separately.

  • Threshold: bookings for four or more taxis or private hire cars
  • Premises: the premises where bookings are taken must be licensed
  • Holder: individual; partnership; limited partnership; limited company
  • Manager: name the person responsible for day-to-day management
  • Records: every booking; vehicle registration and driver name
  • Licence Checks: ensure vehicles and drivers have the correct licences
  • National Notice Duration Days: 21
  • Usual Licence Duration Years: 3
  • Online Application Statement: GOV.UK states that this licence cannot be applied for online
Current official source

Tax check conditionality and code

HMRC guidance does not list Scottish taxi or private-hire vehicle licences in this tax-check scope.

  • Scottish Scope: booking office licence
  • When Required: renewing the same type of licence; applying after holding the same type within the previous year; applying to another authority while holding the same type
  • Code: nine-character tax-check code
  • Code Validity Days: 120
Current official source

First application tax responsibility confirmation

East Lothian's current booking form only asks for a tax-check code on renewal and does not state the national first-application awareness route.

  • Scottish Scope: booking office licence
  • When Applicable: applying for this type of licence for the first time; applying after the same type of licence stopped being valid at least one year earlier
  • Requirement: confirm awareness of tax responsibilities to the licensing authority
Current official source

Right to licence check scope and methods

No current local booking-office right-to-licence checklist was located in the bounded council-source review.

  • Covered Scottish Licence: booking office licence
  • Events: new application; renewal; extension
  • Methods: digital status where prescribed; Home Office online service where available; current prescribed document checks
  • Time Limited Status: licence duration must not exceed the permitted immigration period
Current official source

Local booking office definition and site notice

The local page does not state the national four-or-more-vehicle threshold.

  • Definition: premises used for a business taking public bookings by any means of communication for a relevant vehicle
  • Site Notice Days: 21
  • Notice Location: outside the premises when the application is lodged
Current official source

Booking office application types and fields

A telephone or radio-hours field does not identify a provider or evidence commercial dispatch availability.

  • Application Types: grant; renewal
  • Applicant Types: individual; organisation; company; partnership
  • Manager: day-to-day manager
  • Activity Fields: premises address; number of vehicles available for hire; public opening days and hours; telephone or radio booking days and hours
  • Other Fields: previous booking-office licences; convictions; renewal tax-check code; site-notice declaration
Current official source

Booking site notice objection and compliance steps

The 21-day display and 28-day objection periods are separate published periods, not treated as contradictory.

  • Display Days: 21
  • Objection Deadline Days: 28
  • Certificate: return the signed certificate after the notice has been displayed for 21 days
  • Unavailable Access: the application permits a declaration that no access was available to display the notice
Current official source

Local booking submission and renewal tax statement

No account was created and no form, payment, notice or certificate was submitted.

  • Submission: complete the form and send it to the Licensing Team at John Muir House
  • Site Notice: display for 21 days and return the certificate after expiry
  • Renewal Tax: a tax-check reference number is stated as required for renewal
Current official source

Published 2026 27 booking office fees

The fee booklet states the 2026/27 year but not an exact effective day.

  • Grant Or Renewal Gbp: 224
  • Duration Years: 3
  • Duplicate Licence Gbp: 33
  • Variation Gbp: 97

Public registers and other verified evidence

Current statutory rule

Statutory register duty

The statutory duty does not prove completeness or freshness of any web list.

  • Register Duty: the authority must keep a register of applications, decisions and prescribed licence information
  • Public Inspection: the register is available for public inspection at reasonable times and certified extracts may be supplied for a reasonable fee

Unresolved and bounded details

These points are deliberately not inferred. Open the list to see exactly what still needs current source confirmation.

42 recorded gaps, conflicts or dated-only points
  • Current new grant vehicle age cutoff inclusivity: The live page says less than three or four years, while its linked guidance says no more than three or four years on grant; exact treatment at the anniversary is unresolved. CONFLICT
  • Current mot age and reference point: The live page measures at least 11 months remaining when applying, while guidance and dated conditions measure no more than 30 days before inspection; the controlling reference point is unclear. CONFLICT
  • Current vehicle operator hmrc tax check scope: The operator checklist asks for a valid HMRC tax code, but current HMRC guidance identifies private-hire vehicle operator licensing as England and Wales only and booking-office licensing as the Scottish operator-side route. CONFLICT
  • Current vehicle operator conviction and fixed penalty disclosure scope: The application says all convictions, fixed penalties, crimes and offences must be listed, while the guidance says all unspent convictions and offences; the current controlling disclosure wording is unresolved. CONFLICT
  • Current vehicle operator right to work or right to licence scope: The local vehicle-operator guidance mandates right-to-work checks, while current national licensing guidance specifically identifies Scottish booking-office licences for the operator-side immigration provisions. CONFLICT
  • Current wheelchair accessibility requirement by vehicle route: The undated current-linked guidance appears to require wheelchair accessibility for every taxi and private-hire grant and renewal, while the approved dated schedule distinguishes taxi accessibility and transitional renewals. CONFLICT
  • Current consolidated taxi and private hire vehicle conditions: Detailed approved conditions were found only in 2024 committee material; the live route page does not link a current consolidated conditions document. DATED ONLY
  • Current substitute and replacement vehicle age eligibility: The seven-year and not-older-than-replaced-vehicle rules appear in dated approved material, not a current consolidated conditions publication. DATED ONLY
  • Current maximum renewal vehicle age and electric exceptions: Taxi, private-hire and fully-electric renewal age limits are evidenced by the 2024 approved material only; current unchanged status was not established. DATED ONLY
  • Current vehicle type accessibility power emissions door and seat criteria: Detailed route-specific vehicle-type conditions are in dated committee material; the current page and guidance do not provide a consolidated current specification. DATED ONLY
  • Current vehicle inspection retest spot check and test appeal rules: The annual inspection, retest, spot-check and test-appeal details are published only in dated 2024 evidence, not on the live vehicle page. DATED ONLY
  • Current vehicle test retest supplementary and no show fees: The 2026/27 booklet gives operator and substitution fees but does not state the current test, retest, supplementary inspection or non-attendance amounts described in dated material. NOT STATED
  • Current accepted vehicle application delivery channels: The form and guidance provide a postal address, while the page says to fill in and produce documents; accepted post, counter, email or other channel details are not fully stated. NOT STATED
  • Later vehicle form validation upload payment and submission behaviour: Only downloadable files were inspected; no form was entered, uploaded, paid or submitted, so any later live validation or processing behaviour remains unverified. NOT VERIFIED
  • Actual current vehicle application processing time: The council states a 21-day Police response stage but no complete current turnaround from valid lodgement through inspection and decision. NOT STATED
  • Current vehicle inspection booking channel capacity wait and outcome: The council says it arranges testing after Police clearance but gives no current booking channel, capacity, appointment wait or pass-rate evidence. NOT STATED
  • Current taxi number limit unmet demand evidence and new grant policy: No current East Lothian taxi-number cap, unmet-demand survey, cap headroom or new-grant policy was stated in the bounded official route materials. NOT STATED
  • Current taxi plate stock queue and guaranteed issuance: The page says plates follow a passed inspection but does not prove current plate stock, an available grant, a queue position or guaranteed issuance for any applicant. NOT VERIFIED
  • Current local private hire overprovision assessment policy: The current local pages and forms do not state how East Lothian applies the statutory private-hire overprovision test. NOT STATED
  • Current private hire plate or grant availability for an applicant: Published post-inspection plate wording does not verify current private-hire grant availability, plate stock or a successful outcome for an applicant. NOT VERIFIED
  • Complete current vehicle application supporting document set after conflict resolution: The published files overlap but conflict on tax and timing details, so a fully reconciled current supporting-document checklist was not verified. NOT VERIFIED
  • Exact effective day of 2026 27 vehicle fee schedule: The fee document is titled 2026/27 and is currently linked, but it does not print the exact day on which the listed vehicle fees took effect. NOT STATED
  • Current complete vehicle and booking office public register access method: The statutory register duty is clear, but the bounded council route review did not publish an inspection address, online register or request procedure for these three routes. NOT STATED
  • Current register results licence holders vehicles and booking status: No register was accessed, requested or inferred, so current holders, vehicles, applications and booking-office licence statuses remain unverified. NOT VERIFIED
  • Public register completeness freshness and update latency: The reviewed council pages do not state the completeness, last update, update frequency or latency of the statutory register for these routes. NOT STATED
  • Current local booking office four vehicle threshold and vehicle scope: National guidance states four or more taxis or private-hire cars, while the current local page defines the activity without stating that number or fully defining relevant vehicle. NOT STATED
  • Current consolidated local booking office licence conditions: The page, application and guidance cover application steps but do not publish the current consolidated local conditions that would apply after grant. NOT STATED
  • Current local booking record fields retention access and production rules: National guidance describes core booking records, but no current East Lothian conditions stating local fields, retention, access or production requirements were located. NOT STATED
  • Complete current booking office supporting documents insurance and premises approvals: The current local materials state the form, fee and notice steps but do not provide a complete supporting-document, insurance or premises-approval checklist. NOT STATED
  • Current booking office premises inspection criteria timing and outcome: National guidance permits Police or council inspection, but the local page and forms do not state the current pre-grant inspection criteria, timing or outcome process. NOT STATED
  • Actual current booking office application processing time: Neither the local booking materials nor the statutory outer windows establish East Lothian's actual current booking-office turnaround. NOT STATED
  • Current booking office application queue status and licence availability: Downloadable forms do not verify a live application queue, premises eligibility, licence availability or the outcome of any application. NOT VERIFIED
  • Current local first application tax responsibility confirmation: HMRC describes tax-awareness confirmation for first or long-lapsed applications, but the local form and guidance only state a tax-check code for renewal. NOT STATED
  • Current local booking office right to licence check instructions: Current national guidance covers Scottish booking offices, but no corresponding current local checklist, form field or applicant instructions were located. NOT STATED
  • Booking guidance embedded 2024 fee link: The current-linked booking guidance embeds a 2024-labelled council fee link that returned HTTP 404; applicants should not rely on that embedded path as the current fee source. LINK MISROUTED
  • Exact effective day of 2026 27 booking office fee schedule: The current fee document identifies 2026/27 and gives the amount and duration, but does not print an exact effective day. NOT STATED
  • Current accepted booking office application delivery channels: Guidance says to send the form to the Licensing Team address, but does not fully specify whether post, counter, email or another channel is currently accepted. NOT STATED
  • Current radio dispatch provider roster: Official licensing pages and forms do not identify or endorse a current commercial radio or dispatch provider roster. NOT STATED
  • Current radio dispatch onboarding terms: A booking form's telephone or radio-hours field is not evidence of current provider acceptance, equipment, deposits, vetting or onboarding terms. NOT STATED
  • Current radio dispatch prices and commission: Council licence fees do not evidence commercial radio rent, subscription charges, commission, equipment costs or other provider pricing. NOT STATED
  • Current radio dispatch coverage and job volume: No reviewed official source states commercial dispatch coverage, active-driver counts, booking demand, job volume or earnings. NOT STATED
  • Current vehicle rental or shift availability: Licensing forms and vehicle eligibility evidence do not prove a vehicle is for rent, a shift is open, or any commercial offer is currently available. NOT STATED

Radio/dispatch supplier terms are not presented as council licensing requirements.

Open the existing council fare and licensing guide