A renewal applicant is someone who has been granted a hackney driver licence by us and whose last licence has not expired by more than one month. If this is the case, then a new driver application will be needed.
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 before renewing or incurring any expense.
Renewal email
You will be sent a renewal email at least one to three months before your licence expiry date, detailing what type of renewal you need and what documents are required. Please check your email junk folder. If you have not had this email, please contact 0151 443 2300 for more information. If your email address has changed, please notify us by completing the change of details online form.
Badge renewal type
There are two types of renewal when applying for a licence, a full licence renewal, or an extension of a provisional licence (when you have paid in full but issued a shorter term due to requiring a further check mid licence such as medical was due or DVLA was due to expire etc).
If you paid for and were issued the full term of your licence, please read the renewal reminder email sent to you to advise what documents are required from 1-7 in the list below. The email contains a unique reference which must be used when received, to avoid expiry. The reference allows you to complete the online application form and upload your documents. Please continue below to full licence renewal.
If you paid for your licence in full, but were issued a shorter term due to requiring a further check mid licence you will need to apply for an extension of your licence here.
Full Licence Renewal
1. All pages of your full Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate. If you are subscribed to the DBS Update Service and you have provided the last Enhanced Certificate to us, you should not apply for a further DBS Certificate unless you have been convicted of a criminal offence during the life of the current licence. If you have not subscribed to the service, you will need to apply to Taxi Plus for a DBS enhanced certificate and provide the certificate to us.
2. British or Irish passport or UK or Irish birth certificate or proof of your right to work and reside in the United Kingdom. You can obtain a Home Office Right to Work Share code via Gov.uk
3. Front of your current DVLA photocard licence. This must be a colour image. If you only have a paper licence, then that should be uploaded instead.
4. A current colour passport style photograph of you
A jpeg or jpg format is preferred for reasons of size.
5. A satisfactory current Group ll DVLA standard medical
All private hire drivers must provide a Group II medical certificate when they are applying to renew a licence if they have reached the ages of 45, 50, 55 or 60. From age 65 an annual medical certificate is required. You can download the questionnaire here. Current Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) or Public Service Vehicle (PSV) drivers may not need a further medical but will have their licence issued to the DVLA date of issue or expiry. Please see the DVLA Medical guidance for Group II licence rules.
You may only obtain the Group ll standard medical from either a General Practitioner (GP) at your registered surgery or another practitioner with full electronic access to your medical records before completing the assessment. Medical questionnaires completed by any other GP without access to your records will be rejected.
6. Certificate of good conduct
This only applies if you have lived outside of the UK for three months or more since your last licence was granted or within the last five years, you will need to upload an original certificate of good conduct from the country or countries you lived in. If this applies to you, an original certificate, and English translation, dated within the last six months, with a receipt from the embassy or consulate that issued it are required.
7. HMRC tax code
It is a legal requirement all renewal applicants must provide a tax check code when requested when completing the online application. Further guidance can be found on the Gov.uk website. Please note that any check code is valid for 120 days only.
8. Payment
The fee needs to be paid by card when completing the online application. See Fees.
Once submitted application fees will not be refunded under any circumstances.
Renew your licence
If you need help with renewing your licence, watch the video below:
After submitting your application
Providing further documents
If you need to provide further evidence in support of your application, please submit using the Upload Evidence Facility
Essential skills assessment
The ESA is currently suspended but new Private Hire Driver applicants can apply for a licence pending resumption of the ESA. When the ESA is resumed then any licensee who has been issued will be required to attend by appointment and undertake the assessment prior to any renewal.
DVLA check
By applying for a driver licence, you are consenting to an online DVLA record check to be undertaken by the Council at no extra cost to you prior to the grant of your licence.
National Register of Refusals, Revocations and Suspensions (NR3S) check. By applying for a driver licence, you are consenting to a check of the NR3S register, prior to the grant of your licence. See FAQs for further information
Receiving your new licence and badges
Once your application including all required documents is processed, a new licence document will be issued as a pdf via email. Your declared private hire operator, if they accept via email, will also receive a copy of the licence. The email will contain instructions for collecting your badges.
If you have not been contacted within 48 hours of your licence expiring, please contact 0151 443 2300.
When will the process take longer?
Supporting evidence as requested in your email must be provided during the application process. If your application is incomplete or incorrect, it will take longer to process.
- Name and address 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 correct documents have been received.
- If your DBS certificate or DVLA licence check reveals convictions for offences that are not clear of our guidelines.
- If your NR3 check shows previous refusal, revocation, or suspension.
Further information
If you need to notify us of a change such as name, address or email, please complete the change of details online form