Vehicle Licences

Vehicles up to 8 passenger seats may be licensed either as a Hackney carriage or as a Private Hire vehicle to carry passengers for hire and reward, subject to meeting the authority's licence conditions.

Anyone wishing to licence a vehicle must make an application to the Council and must be a fit and proper person and subject to a disclosure and barring check. The process for making an application is outlined in the guidance below.

Taxis or Hackney Carriages must be licensed by the council where they operate. Taxis are allowed to park on taxi ranks and can be hailed by would-be passengers (within the area where they are licensed) as well as taking pre-booked fares. The back of these vehicles displays a white plate with black lettering and vehicles will have a TAXI roof sign.

Licensed taxis must be fitted with a meter set at no more than the council's regulated  tariffs (PDF, 138 KB)

The meter must be used for all journeys within Powys. It is acceptable for drivers to charge passengers less than the metered fare, however It is an offence to charge more than this. Passengers who believe they have been charged in excess of the metered fare should report this to the Licensing Team (link to complaint page) .

Private hire vehicles can only accept pre-booked fares made through a licenced private hire vehicle operator, all licences (vehicle /driver / operator)  must be issued by the same authority. They must not accept an immediate hiring, where a driver of a private hire vehicle is approached by a would-be passenger, they must direct them to make a booking through the operator. There is no requirement for a meter in a private hire vehicle, fares are not set by the council and the fare should be agreed with the passenger in advance. The back of these vehicles displays a yellow plate with black lettering.

Licensed Hackney Carriages and Private Hire vehicles must only be driven by licensed drivers (link) all licensed drivers in Powys are permitted to drive both Powys licensed Hackney carriages and Powys licensed Private Hire Vehicles.

Vehicles first presented for licensing must be less than 6 years old from the date of first registration (admission age)

Vehicles currently licensed must be less than 12 years old from the date of first registration provided each subsequent licence takes place immediately on expiry of the current licence. (i.e. no breaks in between renewal of the licence)

Vehicle licences for taxis or private hire vehicles: Outside London - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Application Forms

Licence Conditions (PDF, 296 KB)

Licence Application (PDF, 319 KB)

Guidance Notes (PDF, 142 KB)

You will be charged a fee for these licences.

You will need to make an appointment to submit your application and vehicle documents (insurance etc.) also present the vehicle for licensing, please contact us.

Hackney Carriage licences are only issued where the proprietor intends to predominantly operate the vehicle in Powys. If it is found that a Powys licensed Hackney Carriage is not operating predominantly in Powys then that licence is likely to be revoked.

Intended Use Policy (PDF, 188 KB)

If you have an accident in your licensed vehicle you must report it to the Licensing section using this form :  Hackney Carriage / Private Hire Accident Report Form (PDF, 160 KB) 

The licence conditions require you to report this to us within 72 hours. Please e mail the form to the licensing team licensing@powys.gov.uk

Contacts

• Email: licensing@powys.gov.uk
• Phone: 01597 827389

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