Vehicle licences

Only a hackney carriage can apply for hire on the streets or ranks. It is illegal for any other vehicle to apply for hire including private hire vehicles such as taxis or minicabs.

We regulate the number of Hackney Carriages licenced within our Braintree District. Following our supply and demand survey, we have 84 licenced plates in the District.

Apply for a Hackney carriage vehicle licence

To apply you need to submit:

• a completed Hackney carriage vehicle licence application form
• the original insurance certificate showing proof of current insurance cover which must include cover for public hire
• a valid M.O.T certificate if the vehicle needs one
• the original V5C Vehicle Registration Certificate or bill of sale for the vehicle
• the correct fee

Any vehicle you want to licence as a hackney carriage, must also comply with all relevant licensing and pre-licensing conditions.

If you are licensing a vehicle for the first time it must be:

• less than five years old or
• less than eight years old if it is a wheelchair accessible vehicle

Vehicle inspection

Your vehicle will need to have a mechanical inspection. We use Chapel Hill Auto Services to carry out vehicle inspections.

Your vehicle will also need to have a mechanical inspection six months from the date owe issue the licence. We will write to you when the inspection is due with the date and time of your appointment with Chapel Hill Auto Services.

Issuing your licence

We will issue a paper licence for the vehicle and a set of plates and livery which you must display on and in the vehicle. Thie set of plates includes:

• a front plate
• a back plate
• an internal plate
• two door stickers
• fares chart

A Hackney carriage vehicle licence is valid for one year from the date of issue. You will need to renew the licence each year.