Drivers licences

Our Hackney carriage and private hire licences are combined for the ease of our licenced drivers, the application process and future changes.

Definitions

1. Hackney carriages can be pre-booked, and customers can hail them from the street or from a taxi rank. Typically known as a taxi or Black Cab.
2. Private hire vehicles are pre-booked using a licenced private hire operator. Unlike hackney carriages (taxis), private hire drivers cannot be hailed from the street and are not legally permitted to take passengers from a taxi rank.

If you want to drive a Hackney Carriage (taxi) or Private Hire Vehicle you will need:

1. Drivers licence.
2. Dual vehicle licence.

To drive a Hackney Carriage (taxi) or a Private Hire Vehicle within the Southend-on-Sea City, both the driver licence and the Hackney Carriage vehicle licence or Private Hire Vehicle licence will need to be issued by us.

Private Hire Vehicle Drivers Licence: Restricted

Private Hire Vehicle Drivers Licence Restricted is the same as a Private Hire Vehicle Drivers Licence and requires the same forms but does not require a Knowledge Test (Topography test). This licence is for individuals that want to carry out airport runs, theatre nights and general out of town bookings at an agreed fare in advance of the journey and at the time of booking.

Applying for a Driver Licence (Dual)

You can apply for a Dual driver’s licence if you:

• are 21 years or over
• have held a full UK driving licence for at least 3 years

To apply for a driver licence, you must complete an online application form.

Before you begin your online application form you must email hackneycarriage@southend.gov.uk and request an application/welcome pack. This pack will contain relevant information for your application and will also include the following supporting documents that you need to supply at the time of submitting your application form online.

Supporting documents:

1. HC4 - Certification by Employer Hackney Carriage Driver - to be completed by the company or proprietor of the vehicle you want to drive for.
2. HC12 - Reference form - you are required to submit no less than three references, each reference will need to complete a separate form.
3. Group II medical form - this form is to be completed by a GP that has access to your full medical record, any costs associated are payable by the applicant and will not be reimbursed.
4. Driving licence declaration form - this is to be completed by the applicant so a six-monthly driving licence check can be carried out.

You can find the online application on MySouthend, Please note you will need to register an account with MySouthend first.

When you submit your online application form you will need to upload copies of the following supporting documents. Without these documents your application will be invalid.

1. HC4 - Certification by Employer Hackney Carriage Driver - to be completed by the company or proprietor of the vehicle you want to drive for.
2. HC12 - Reference form - you are required to submit no less than three references, each reference will need to complete a separate form.
3. Group II medical form - this form is to be completed by a GP that has access to your full medical record, any costs associated are payable by the applicant and will not be reimbursed.
4. Driving licence declaration form - this is to be completed by the applicant so a six-monthly driving licence check can be carried out.
5. Photo of your driving licence.
6. Proof of your right to work in the UK - eg, a passport, birth certificate, visa.
7. Your national insurance number - eg, national insurance card or letter.
8. Proof of your current address on two separate documents - eg, utility bills and/or bank statement no older than three months.
9. Passport style photograph

Once you have read the guidance within the welcome pack, completed the documents enclosed and submitted an online application form with all of your supporting documents you will need to arrange an interview with an Authorised Officer. You can do this by contacting the Licensing Department on 01702 215005 or email us.

During this interview you are required to present the following supporting documents:

• HC4 - Certification by Employer Hackney Carriage Driver - to be completed by the company or proprietor of the vehicle you want to drive for
• HC12 - Reference form - you are required to submit no less than three references, each reference will need to complete a separate form
• Group II medical form - this form is to be completed by a GP that has access to your full medical record, any costs associated are payable by the applicant and will not be reimbursed
• Driving licence declaration form - this is to be completed by the applicant so a six-monthly driving licence check can be carried out
• photo driving licence
• proof of your right to work in the UK - eg, a Passport, birth certificate, visa
• your national insurance number - eg, national insurance card or letter
• proof of your current address on two separate documents - eg, utility bills and/or bank statement no older than three months
• passport style photograph

Current Fees

During your application you will also need to provide the following documents as part of your application process:

• Passenger assistance training (PAT) certificate. This can be obtained via your Training provider and/or Operator.
• Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) training certificate issued by an approved provider
• A certificate of Good Conduct, if you have lived anywhere other than the UK or been out of the country for more than a 6-month period. The Certificate can be obtained via the relevant authorities for the country that you were in. Please see GOV.UK for guidance.

During the interview we will check through your application form, supporting documents and confirm the appropriate Fee has been paid. If the Fee is still outstanding, we can accept a card payment, this card be taken during the interview stage.

During the interview we will book an appointment for an Enhanced DBS check, which is a requirement of becoming a licenced driver.

Please note: If you attend the interview without any of the supporting documents you may be asked to reschedule the interview when you have obtained all the required documents.

DBS Check (Subject to change but currently correct Feb 2020)

Your booked Disclose and Barring Service (DBS) check will take part with one of our Authorised Officers. The check performed will be an enhanced check including barred lists. The appointment generally lasts no longer than 30 minutes.

Your appointment for a DBS check should only be booked with the Licensing Office once you have completed the Initial Interview. If you have not attended an Initial Interview with an Authorised Officer your DBS appointment will be cancelled and you will need to re-arrange once the Initial Interview has taken place.

For your DBS check to take place you will need to attend the appointment on time and with supporting documents.

The full list of supporting documents can be found on the GOV.UK wesite.

Child Sexual Exploitation (Subject to change, but currently correct (Feb 2020)

A Mandatory requirement of all our Licenced Hackney Carriage Drivers is to attend a Child Sexual Exploitation course.

The course lasts approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes and will be held at a local facility.

You can book a course either by contacting the Licensing office on 01702 215005.

The course is designed to highlight the importance of safeguarding around children and what you may see, what you may experience and who you can contact to stop it.

Decisions

Once you have made an application, we will review your documents to make sure you are a ‘fit and proper’ person.

If you have criminal convictions or serious driving endorsements, your application may be referred to the Licensing Sub-committee for a decision.

For more information, read our Statement of Policy about Relevant Convictions.

If we do not grant your licence, you can make an appeal to the Magistrates court.