A renewal applicant is someone who has been granted a Private Hire driver licence by Knowsley Council or someone whose last licence has not expired by more than one month.
Renewal Private Hire Driver licence applications will not be granted unless the steps below have been followed. The Council has a “Fit & Proper Person Policy" for renewal applicants. If you have new convictions or relevant matters, you should open and read the guidance document at the bottom of the page before applying or incurring any expense.
You will receive a renewal reminder from us by email at least one month and no more than three months before your current licence expires. This should be acted on immediately if a medical or DBS Certificate is needed.
If you are subscribed to the DBS Update Service and you have lodged the last Enhanced Certificate with Licensing you should not apply for a further DBS Certificate unless you have being convicted of a criminal offence during the life of the current licence.
The reminder has a unique reference which must be used before expiry to allow you to complete the further legal application form and upload your proof documents at stage 4. References cannot be used if the licence has expired by a month. If this is the case then a “new” driver application would be needed.
For reminders and renewal instructions to reach you, you must let us know if your contact details change during the life of any licence.
Read our privacy notice which tells you how we use your data.
1. Produce a Certificate of Good Conduct
If you have lived outside of the UK for three or more months since your last licence was granted or in the last five years, you will need to show us an original Certificate of Good Conduct from the country or countries you lived in. If this applies to you then you cannot renew a licence to be a Private Hire driver in Knowsley if you do not have an original certificate, dated within the last six months, and a receipt from the embassy or consulate that issued it. If you have not lived outside the UK this section does not apply to your application.
2. Get your DBS and DVLA checks
If you have held for at least 12 months and still hold a full, valid driving licence in your current address, you must obtain the DBS Certificate from TaxiPlus who do these checks on our behalf.
By applying for a driver licence you are placed on notice that you have given consent for an online DVLA record check to be undertaken by the Council at no extra cost to applicants prior to the grant of any licence
3. Get a medical certificate
When you have passed your DBS and DVLA checks you will receive an email from TaxiPlus telling you it's time to apply for a medical certificate if this is required.
All Private Hire Drivers must provide a Group II medical certificate when they are applying to renew a licence if they have reached the key ages of 45, 50, 55 or 60. From age 65 an annual medical certificate is required.
This must be uploaded to the council’s website before you have your licence issued.
You may now only obtain the Group II standard medical from either:
- A General Practitioner at your registered surgery.
- Another General Practitioner who has full electronic access to a printout of your medical records before completing the assessment.
Currently many registered Doctors are not undertaking medicals. If you cannot access your own Doctor or your preferred Doctor then you can use one provider used by many Merseyside Councils:
Just Health Ltd
Tel: 01282 936900
Medical questionnaires completed by any other General Practitioner without access to your medical records will be rejected.
If you suffer from any of the medical disorders outlined below, your application could be refused – please see the DVLA Medical guidance for Group II licence rules.
- Neurological disorders - Epilepsy, blackouts, narcolepsy and sleep disorders, Multiple Sclerosis/Parkinson’s disease, cerebrovascular disease.
- Diabetes - IDD and NIDD.
- Psychiatric disorders - neuroses, psychosis, dementia.
- Alcohol misuse or dependence - this includes anyone who has committed a drink drive offence or has suffered seizures associated with alcohol misuse or dependence.
- Respiratory disorders - sleep apnoea syndrome, cough syncope.
- Visual disorders - poor vision, lack of peripheral vision, monocular vision.
4. Apply for your Renewal licence
You are ready to apply to Knowsley Council for a licence when steps 1 - 3 have been successfully completed.
Documents obtained to support your application can be uploaded during the application process. Names on all documents must match and be spelt in the same way. If there are any discrepancies with the names on the documents, then the application will not be able to be processed further until the documents have been rectified.
If you need to upload further evidence after submitting your application, this can be done via the upload evidence facility.
If you need help with uploading your evidence, watch the video below:
The application fee for a renewal Private Hire Driver Licence is £55 (1 year) or £95 (3 years). Fees must be paid electronically as part of this application process. You will need a debit or credit card to make the payment.
Application fees will not be refunded.
You can no longer submit any documents by email as they will not be processed.
Renew your licence
If you need help with renewing your licence, watch the video below:
5. Receiving the renewed licence and badge
Once payment has been received, licences will be issued as a pdf via email. If you have listed either a radio circuit or Private Hire Operator, they will also receive a copy of the licence. The badge will be posted out to you.
If you have not been contacted within 10 working days of submitting a valid application, please email [email protected] quoting your unique reference number.
How much will a renewal licence cost me?
| Type of fee or certificate |
Amount |
| Medical Certificate (if required) |
Fees vary from one doctor to another (See section 5 above)
|
| Certificate of Disclosure issued by the DBS and a DVLA mandate (if required) |
£82.49 - payable to TaxiPlus |
| Issue fee |
£55.00 (one year licence)
£95.00 (three-year licence) |
We cannot refund fees if you withdraw your application at any point, or if your application is unsuccessful.
Further information
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You can request an accessible format.by emailing [email protected]