Last Modified September 05, 2022
A private hire vehicle cannot pick up or drop off passengers unless that vehicle has been despatched by a private hire operator who has first accepted the booking. A private hire operator can be any person who invites or accepts bookings for private hire vehicles.
- Do you need an Operators Licence?
- Responsibility of Operators?
- Applying for an Operators Licence?
If you are inviting, accepting or fulfilling requests for a vehicle and driver you are likely to fall within the licensing regime if the vehicle seats 8 passengers or less. It does not make any difference if a booking is made at a booking office, by telephone, email, website or App. It also does not make a difference if the booking is for a one-off journey or a regular booking under a contract.
Whilst the majority of business activities that require an operator licence are obvious, there are some instances where it can be unclear and exemptions apply. Any business activity that involves providing a vehicle to drive another person is likely to require a licence, even if the provision of the vehicle and driver does not itself generate a profit. Money does not need to change hands for the activity to require regulation.
Any person carrying out an activity for monetary or commercial gain is responsible for ensuring it is lawful before they do so. It is a criminal offence to operate without a licence, whether intentional or not. If you are unsure if you need a licence you should contact taxi.licensing@hertsmere.gov.uk
When a booking for a vehicle is accepted a legal contract is formed between the Operator and the customer. The Operator is responsible for the performance of this contract to a satisfactory standard.
Operators are responsible for arranging and fulfilling bookings by the use of licensed drivers and vehicles and maintaining records of every booking they receive. Operators will also receive complaints which may relate to the conduct of a licensed driver or the standard of a licensed vehicle. Operators and their staff are also privy to the person information of their customers, such as their address and when they are on holiday. As such Operators must be assessed by the Council and only licensed if the Council is satisfied that they are fit and proper.
An applicant should download and complete the application form.
The application form should be submitted to the Council with the following documents:
The application form can be downloaded as either a PDF document to complete by hand or a Word document if you want to complete it on a computer. You will need to print and sign the form before submission. The form is below:
Private hire operator licence application form 2022 (PDF)
Private hire operator licence application form 2022 (Word)
In addition, where the application is made by a more than one individual, a company or a partnership each additional individual must complete the following - additional individual declaration - form.
private hire operator - additional individual declaration (PDF)
private hire operator - additional individual declaration(Word)
We need to know if an applicant has any unspent convictions. If the applicant is a partnership a basic criminal record must be provided for each partner. If the applicant is a company a basic DBS must be provided for each director
You do not need this if you are already a Hertsmere licensed driver. and have an enhanced DBS that remains valid and is registered on the DBS update service.
Individuals and those applying as a part of a partnership will need to provide confirmation of their entitlement to work in the UK. To prove your right to work you are encouraged to obtain a share code online from the government website: Prove your right to work to an employer - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
If you are not able to obtain a share code, or you are a British or Irish citizen, you will need to provide documentary proof.
If you invite or admit members of the public into a booking office to book private hire vehicles you will need public liability insurance. This should cover you for a minimum of £5million.If you employ staff you will also need employers liability insurance.
We require operators to submit to us policies or procedures in relation to the following:
- Complaints
- Lost Property
- Data Protection
- Criminal Record Policy for the employment of staff
Private Hire operators have evolved over the last few years and it is imperative that the Council can have faith how they operate. It is necessary for operators to have a clear process of distinguishing “service” complaints and complaints about the conduct and character of a driver – these should be referred to the Council. Operators are also processing personal data of their customers and must ensure that this fits in with the current data protection legislation.
To assist Operators we have provided some template documents here:
private hire operator - complaints policy - template
private hire operator - DBS policy - template
private hire operator - DPA policy - template
private hire operator - lost property - template