Hackney carriage (taxi)

A hackney carriage is more commonly known as a taxi. Hackney carriages can be flagged down in the street, sit on a taxi rank or be pre-booked. In West Lindsey, licensed hackney carriage must display their plate on the rear of the vehicle. This will be white in colour and give the vehicle’s details as well as how many passengers can be carried in it and the expiry date of the vehicle licence. A hackney carriage will also have a roof sign and meter. The customer fare rates are set by West Lindsey District Council’s Regulatory Committee and the current rates are available to view in the Downloads section.

As a licensed vehicle, a taxi can only be driven by someone who holds a valid hackney carriage or private hire driver's licence issued by West Lindsey District Council. The conditions that hackney vehicle licence proprietors must adhere to can be found in the Downloads section.

infobox | Taxi or private hire complaints

To report any problems with licensed drivers, vehicles or operators please provide details of your complaint in writing to the Licensing team using our  complaint form [pdf / 88 KB] in the downloads section.

text | Hackney Carriage (Taxi)

How to apply

To license a vehicle as a taxi please email us (details at the end of this page) to: check that the vehicle is suitable, obtain a plate number and advise us when the plate is required for (ideally we need 1 week’s notice). Once you have been assigned a plate number you can book the vehicle in for a ‘taxi test’ MOT at one of our authorised garages (this list can be found on the last page of our application form in the Downloads section). We will then have the plate ready for you to collect on this day from the Guildhall.

To collect your plate you will need:

The paper licence will be processed and sent out by post within the next 14 days.

If a plate is made and not collected you will be contacted and further failure to collect will result in the plate being destroyed and you being charged the fee of a Replacement Vehicle Plate - plate only.

Once licensed, a taxi is always a taxi until the licence expires, is surrendered, or is suspended or revoked.

Transferring a vehicle

If the vehicle is sold or transferred to someone who will not be using the vehicle as a taxi, you should notify us in writing that you wish to surrender the licence and return the plate.

If the vehicle is sold or transferred to someone who will still be using the vehicle as a taxi, you must notify us in writing:

  • the name, address and contact information of the new proprietor
  • from what date the vehicle is their responsibility and the vehicle details

The new proprietor must also notify us of the above in writing, provide us with an insurance document for the vehicle and pay the Transfer of Ownership of Vehicle Licence fee.

Wheelchair accessible vehicles

To view the list of companies with wheelchair accessible vehicles please see our Wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAVs) page.

Registers

Licensing registers are available to view by prior arrangement at our offices.

contact | Licensing
Licensing

West Lindsey District Council
Guildhall
Marshall’s Yard
Gainsborough
DN21 2NA
United Kingdom