Vehicle Licensing – advice for applicants
You can now apply for either a new licence, renewal of an existing licence or a temporary (accident replacement vehicle) licence by using the online application form. Using the online form will also allow you to pay for the vehicle licence and inspection fees by debit card.
Vehicle licences are annual unless the vehicle is more than six years old in which case a six-month licence will be issued. Vehicles are subject to an inspection at the Council’s Environmental Service Depot in Andover. Both Hackney Carriages and Private Hire Vehicles can be licensed to carry no more than 8 passengers. Vehicles with a carrying capacity of 9 or more passengers will need to be licensed by the Traffic Commissioners (Department for Transport).
Hackney carriages, often referred to as taxis, may be hired as follows: hailed in the street; from a taxi rank or; by pre-booking. The maximum fares for journeys within the Borough are set by the Borough Council. They can only ever be driven by the holder of a hackney carriage/private hire vehicle driver’s licence from the Borough Council, whether or not the vehicles are available for hire. The licence conditions require that hackney carriages have either an integral "taxi" roof sign (purpose-built vehicles) or an external "taxi" roof sign.
Private hire vehicles may only be pre-booked and may not be hailed in the street or stand or ply for hire in any circumstances. Their fares are not regulated by the Borough Council and must be the subject of agreement between passenger and driver before a journey commences. No Test Valley licensed private hire vehicle may have a roof sign of any description and a Test Valley licensed private hire vehicle may never be driven by anyone who does not hold a Test Valley hackney carriage/private hire driver's licence, whether or not the vehicle is being used for private hire purposes.
NB Please ensure that you have read the application form and all pre-application information before applying to the Council. Your application will be rejected if it is incomplete, and you are not in possession of all the relevant documentation.