Contacting the Licensing Team
Hertsmere Borough Council's Licensing team is experiencing a high volume of applications for private hire driver, operator and vehicle licences.
Before contacting us you should review all the information on this website and any written communication we send to you. We are not able to commit our resources to providing information over the telephone that is available on our website. Applicants call the Council offices is delaying the grant of applications by several weeks.
You will save yourself, other applicants and licence holders time by only calling when it is urgent.
Please follow the below rules to decide if you should be calling us:
| What do you want to do? | Should you Call us? | What should you do instead |
| Apply for a licence | No | Fill in the form online and read the instructions |
| Understand the application process | No. | Read the instructions on our web page and the application form. Email us if you still need help. |
| Check if we got your application | No. | If you applied online, you will get an email with payment instructions. If you didn’t receive this email then we did not get your application. You need to submit again. If unsure, please email. |
| Check if your application is correct | No | We cannot check it for you on demand. We will tell you if something is wrong when we process it. |
| Ask for an update | No | Email us if it has been more than 14 weeks since you applied. If it is less than this, we will not respond to you. |
| Check if we got a document you emailed | No | If we got it, you’ll get an automatic reply from us. If you didn’t send it again. |
| Your email is not being delivered. | No | The attachment you are sending is to big. Make it smaller or send less documents. Check the email address is correct. |
| Book an appointment | No | We will contact you when we need to meet you. |
| Changing or cancelling an appointment | Yes — BUT only if it’s the same day | If you need to cancel an appointment with us at the last minute (i.e. on the day of the appointment) you may call, however, we would still encourage email so that there is a record. |
| Reporting matters in line with your conditions | No | Please email as below: |
Reporting matters to us - please email
If you wish to report any of the following:
- Your vehicle has been involved in an accident or has been damaged,
- You have changed your name, address or business details;
- You have received penalty points on your driving licence;
- You have been arrested, bailed, cautioned or convicted in relation to an offence
You should email us in writing. This provides an evidence trail to confirm that you have complied with your relevant licence conditions. If you call, you will only be asked to email the information.
When you should call us:
Situations in which you are advised to call us
- If it is the same day as an appointment that you have with us and you cannot make it or are running late;
- You have witnessed an urgent issue in relation to an offence, crime or safeguarding matter that you wish to report or need assistance with;
- You are facing an urgent issues that is preventing you from working (i.e. your licence has expired and you have applied in good time).
Telephone calls not related to the above will be answered but the Licensing admin team are unable to answer all queries. You will be referred to an officer. who will triage the importance of your call and will contact you back accordingly.
TELEPHONE CALL TIMES
The phone lines to the service area are open most days between 10:00 and 12:00 and then from 14:00 and 16:00. We will not answer calls outside of these times.