Apply for a temporary hackney carriage or private hire vehicle licence

A temporary hackney carriage or private hire vehicle licence can be issued when a taxi driver’s vehicle is in an accident and is no longer roadworthy.

A temporary vehicle will be used in its place while the taxi is being repaired, for a maximum of 3 months.

The temporary vehicle must still meet all the same requirements as a standard vehicle licence, except that hackney carriages do not have to be wheelchair accessible.

You must notify us of any accidents within 72 hours of the incident. We must be informed of any accidents before we accept an application for yourself or a 3rd party company to licence a temporary vehicle. If the vehicle is safe to drive, you must make an appointment and bring the vehicle in to be assessed so we can see if the vehicle can still be licensed when we wait for the temporary vehicle licence to be processed.

If the damage is more than cosmetic, we will need to arrange a test at Lufton depot before the plates can be given back to you. There will be a cost for the test. you will need to provide us with a document which shows the work that was carried out on the vehicle, such as an invoice.

Let us know about an accident online.

The relevant application form needs to be completed and emailed to licensing@southsomerset.gov.uk

You can view our policy for licensing of temporary Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicles online.