We issue licences for:

  • Hackney Carriage (Taxi) drivers
  • Private Hire drivers

We also issue licences for ‘Restricted Private Hire drivers’ which are private hire driver licences with conditions restricting the type of work that can be carried out, e.g. school runs and, in Medway only, executive car hire work. The table below summarises what work each type of licensed driver can do:

Driver Licence Types
Type of work Hackney Carriage Private Hire Restricted Private Hire
Work from a taxi rank (only in the same area as the council that issues the licence) Yes No No
Be hailed in the street (only in the same area as the council that issues the licence) Yes No No
Directly take and carry out bookings Yes No No
Carry out pre-booked journeys through an operator licensed by a different council Yes No No
Carry out pre-booked journeys through an operator licensed by the same council Yes Yes Yes*

* in accordance with the conditions placed on the licence

Contact Requirements

All applicants must supply an email address and mobile number on which they are readily contactable. You'll need to provide these when submitting your online application.

Medway applicants who require advice on setting up an email account can obtain assistance in any Medway library

Please check your 'junk' or 'spam' mailboxes to ensure that you don't miss any emails. If you do find any emails from us in these folders, please mark them as 'safe' so that future emails are sent to your inbox.

How much does it cost?

All driver licence applications in both Gravesham and Medway cost £173.50.

What you need to know

You will be applying for a licence in either Gravesham or Medway, and will need to meet the relevant criteria set out within each council’s respective policy:

All Drivers can only carry out work in a vehicle that has been issued with the appropriate licence by the same authority.  This means that if you intend on being a Gravesham-licensed driver, you can only drive an appropriate Gravesham-licensed vehicle. Similarly, if you intend on being a Medway-licensed driver, you can only drive an appropriate Medway-licensed vehicle. If you intend on driving your own vehicle, you will also therefore need to apply for a Vehicle Licence. You can apply for your vehicle and driver licence in any order, but you will need both licences to work as a licensed driver.

National register check

Under the Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Safeguarding and Road Safety) Act 2022 the local authority are required to carry out a search of the National Register of Taxi and Private Hire Licence Refusals and Revocations (NR3) for all driver licence applicants.

As part of a new or renewal application for a driver licence, every applicant is asked whether they have held a driver licence with any other authority and if that licence has been refused, revoked or suspended.

It is essential that applicants are honest with us, as failure to do so can lead us to refusing or revoking the licence.

How do I apply or renew?

Before applying or renewing you'll need to complete the following steps.  At the final step you'll be able to apply for or renew a Driver Licence using our online form.