Apply for or renew a private hire vehicle licence
Apply for a plate exemption
In order to be considered for plate exemption, the work you carry out must be exclusively or primarily chauffeured private hire work. This means that you provide the chauffeur and vehicle to a business or person, and the display of a licence plate may affect the security of the person you are carrying.
To apply for plate exemption, you will need:
- a letter from you explaining why you should be exempt
- letters from clients showing the vehicle is required for chauffeured work and why the display of a plate would be a risk to the client
- three months of booking records for all operators the driver works for, showing that the vehicle is used for chauffeured work
- invoices for each named client who has given a letter in support of your application
It is expected that 80% of the booking records supplied should be for the named clients who have supplied letters.
Start your application
To make this application you will need to:
- click the button below, create an account, or log in to the licensing portal
- after logging in select 'licensing' from the left hand side menu
- select taxis and private hire
- you can then select the licence to apply for or renew
Apply for a plate exemption (opens new window)
Booking records
The booking records should show:
- date and time and location of pick-up
- name of passenger
- contact details of passenger
- the destination
- time the booking was made
- time the booking was given to the driver
- plate number and badge number of the vehicle and driver attending the booking
- price for the booking
- time the booking was completed
It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure the records you supply are clear and include all of the above information. Failure to do so will result in your application being delayed or refused.
Please note that if your request is granted, you are required to carry the vehicle plate and letter of exemption in the vehicle at all times. The internal plate must be displayed in the windscreen on the passenger side at all times.