You must apply to renew your licence no earlier than 2 months and no later than 10 working days before the expiry date, to make sure your licence continues to be valid.

If you do not submit all of the necessary paperwork, or make payment by the expiry date, your licence will expire.

You will receive reminders to renew your licence via email, two months before the expiry date. Reminders are sent out as a courtesy – it is your responsibility to renew your licence on time. If you do not keep your email address up to date you will not receive any reminders.

Tax Conditionality

If you make an application on or after 4 April 2022, you will need to complete a tax check.

You must carry out the tax check yourself. You cannot ask a tax agent or adviser to do this on your behalf.

The tax check will ask questions about how you pay any tax that may be due on income you earn from your licensed trade.

After you have completed the tax check you will be given a 9-character tax check code.

You will need to provide this code on your application for renewal, so that we can confirm you have carried out a tax check.

You will not be granted a licence if you do not give the correct tax check code on your renewal application.

There is government guidance about how to complete a tax check, as well as help and support for the HMRC personal tax account.

Before your renewal from April 2022, you must get a Government Gateway user ID and password so that you can complete a tax check. You should make sure you have one before you need to make your licence renewal application.

If you do not have a user ID, you can create one by registering for HMRC online services.

Enhanced DBS applications and update service sign up

All applications must be made via Taxi Plus.

You will need to set up an account and then follow the application instructions which include digital verification of your identity. It is easier to do this on a smart phone but you can also use a laptop as long as the camera works.

We will require all licenced drivers who have obtained an enhanced DBS certificate to subscribe to the DBS Update Service at a cost of £13 per year.

The DBS certificate must be for an enhanced check for the position of ‘Other Workforce - Taxi Licensing’

You have 30 days from the issue date on your certificate to apply for the Update Service.

DVLA Driving Licence check

We do not check your driving licence through Licence Link any more. When you renew your licence, you now need to request a share code from the DVLA website. Please follow our guidance on how to request a share code. 

Submit your application

All documents must be fully completed and submitted to make a valid renewal application. This includes submitting your Enhanced DBS certificate.

If there are any issues with the documents – for example, incorrect names or omissions – then the application will not be processed further until the documents have been corrected. Your licence will be suspended from the expiry date, until all documentation is submitted and complete.

Any application made after the renewal date will not accepted. Instead, it will be treated as a new application. You will not be able to drive until all of the requirements for a new driver application have been met.

You must complete our driver reissue application form and submit all the required documentation, together with confirmation of online payment, via email to taxi.privatehire@bcpcouncil.gov.uk.