Taxi Driving Assessments

If you prefer to book over the phone, please call on

0330 111 7230

Some local authorities require that you pass a taxi driving assessment in order to be licensed as a Hackney Carriage or Private Hire vehicle.

To find out if your local authority requires you to take a taxi driving assessment please contact them directly. You should also check that we already work with your local authority to carry out the taxi driving assessment on their behalf.

There are 3 types of taxi driving assessment you can take:

Our fees

Standard Assessment (Driving Assessment ONLY with Standard Car) – £90.00

Enhanced Assessment (Driving Assessment and Wheelchair Assessment with Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle) – £99.00

Wheelchair Assessment (Wheelchair Assessment Only with Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle) – £30.00

Passing your assessment

When you pass your assessment you will be handed a copy of the assessment paperwork. You will also be offered a verbal debrief from the assessor. You will then receive your pass certificate by email, within 3 working days. The information on your pass certificate cannot be amended once it has been issued. The information contained on your certificate must match the information shown on your driving licence.

Failing the assessment

If you do not pass, you will be given a copy of the assessment paperwork and offered a verbal debrief from the assessor. To rebook your assessment, fill in our booking form again.

Amending or cancelling your assessment

You can easily amend or cancel your assessment once it has been booked. Please call us on 0330 111 7230 or email taxi@greenpenny.co.uk to do this. Please ensure you give enough notice to amend or cancel – you must give at least 4 clear working days notice so that you don’t lose your fee (working days = Monday to Friday, not including bank holidays. 4 clear working days, does not include the day you inform us you would like to cancel or the date of the assessment).

What does the assessment involve?

Standard Taxi Assessment

A manoeuvre where you’ll be asked to turn your vehicle to face the opposite direction.
Around 10 minutes of driving without being given turn-by-turn directions by the assessor (i.e. by following road signs).
Stops at the side of the road as if a passenger is entering or exiting the vehicle.
A stop at the side of the road to show that you can park in a safe and convenient place.
Cabology questions like what to do if a passenger leaves property in your vehicle, questions relating to The Highway Code for example identifying traffic signs and road markings.
You may also be asked to demonstrate an emergency stop.

Wheelchair Assessment

You’ll have to do a wheelchair assessment if you want to drive a wheelchair accessible vehicle.

You’ll need to bring a wheelchair accessible vehicle.

You’ll need to show your ability to:

Safely load and unload the wheelchair in your vehicle.
Use the wheelchair brakes to secure and release it.
Fasten the seat belts or safety harnesses.
Secure any wheel belts or clamps fitted to your vehicle.

Enhanced Assessment

This assessment is a combination of both the Standard and Wheelchair Assessments. (the wheelchair exercise is conducted first, followed by the Standard driving assessment).

You will pass the Standard or Enhanced assessment (driving element) if you make 9 or fewer faults, unless you accumulate a number of faults in one area. If any serious or dangerous faults are recorded this will result in a fail. Please note faults will be recorded for incorrect answers given when answering cabology and Highway Code questions as well as driving faults committed on the practical element of the assessment.

Please note some assessments are observed by our quality assurance staff for training and monitoring purposes.

What you must bring

Your driving licence.
If you have the old style (non-photocard) licence, then you must also bring a valid passport.
A Suitable Vehicle.

Vehicle requirements

Your vehicle should be either a vehicle owned by you, or a vehicle you are using with permission of the owner (e.g. a hire vehicle).

The vehicle must be fully roadworthy and must not be displaying any warning lights.

Either a manual or an automatic vehicle is acceptable.

Green Penny reserves the right to check the tax and MOT status of your vehicle where they have reasonable concern that your vehicle is not roadworthy. If your vehicle is found without tax or a current MOT the assessment will not go ahead and you will lose your fee.

Please note you can only use a licensed vehicle if you are an existing Private Hire or Hackney Carriage driver. Please check with your licensing authority.

Your vehicle must:

be insured for the purposes of a driving test/assessment.
be a car with front and rear seats (vans are not acceptable).
not be displaying trade plates or L plates.
be taxed.
have a current, valid MOT (if over 3 years old).
be roadworthy.
be free of any tyre damage and all tread depths must be above the legal limit (you cannot use a space saver tyre on the assessment).
have no warning lights showing.
have all its exterior lights in full working order.
the vehicle must be in a reasonably clean condition inside.
the vehicle must be smoke-free – this means you cannot smoke in it just before or during the test (if the smell of smoke is present in the vehicle, the assessment may not go ahead and you may lose your fee).
be able to reach at least 62 mph and have a mph speedometer.
have 4 wheels and a maximum authorised mass of no more than 3,500kg.
have a passenger seat belt and head restraint for the assessor.
You must bring a vehicle that is suitable for the type of assessment you are taking: Standard assessment – you must bring a car with rear seats (vans or car derived vans are not acceptable, except for a minibus designed to carry up to 8 passengers and up to 3,500 kg). Enhanced and wheelchair assessments – you must bring a vehicle that is suitable for transporting a wheelchair user i.e. a vehicle that has been adapted for the loading and transportation of wheelchair user.
Please note you can only use a licensed vehicle if you are an existing Private Hire or Hackney Carriage driver. Please check with your licensing authority.

In addition to the above, we have a policy of not allowing any recording of the assessment (audio or visual). You can use a camera for insurance purposes, as long as it is:

External facing
Doesn’t record audio inside the vehicle

If your vehicle does not meet the above requirements, your assessment will not go ahead and you will lose your assessment fee.

Before the assessment starts

Please ensure that your clothing and footwear will not affect your ability to safely use the controls of your vehicle.
We will ask you to read a vehicle number plate from a distance of 20 metres away. If you require the use of glasses or contact lenses to read the number plate, then you must also wear these during the driving assessment. If you fail the eyesight test, the rest of the assessment cannot go ahead and you will lose your fee. If you are taking the enhanced assessment you can still carry out the wheelchair exercise.

If you are applying to any of the following councils, please note the following:

Councils with special criteria

If you are applying to any of the following councils, please note the following:

Buckinghamshire Council (Aylesbury, Chiltern, South Bucks & High Wycombe)

Buckinghamshire Council candidates must take their assessment within the Buckinghamshire area. If you are a licensed driver or are applying to be a licensed driver with Buckinghamshire Council, please ensure you book your assessment in either Aylesbury, Milton Keynes or High Wycombe. In addition to the standard assessment requirements, Buckinghamshire councils’ taxi candidates will also be required to carry out the following criteria:

2 manoeuvres e.g. parallel park, Turn in the road
A controlled stop
Navigation – during the assessment drive, the candidate will be asked to drive to two separate destinations determined by the assessor. (Candidates are permitted to use navigational aid such as maps or a SAT NAV device, which must be prepared before moving off). Please note: If a candidate fails to reach a destination in a reasonable time or fails to take the shortest route on two or more occasions during the journey, this will be marked as a serious fault and the candidate will fail. It is illegal to use a hand-held phone or similar device while driving, the rules are the same if you’re stopped at traffic lights or queuing in traffic.

Questions – The candidate will be asked a total of 20 questions after the assessment drive. The candidate will have a total of 10 minutes to answer questions from the following categories: Highway Code, road Signs, Licensing Laws, Vehicle Requirements, Driver Requirements, Driver Conduct and Local Knowledge. Please note: The candidate must answer a minimum of 15 questions correctly, to pass this part of the assessment.

The candidate will pass the assessment if they meet BOTH of the following criteria:

Make 9 or fewer driving faults during the driving part of the assessment (unless they accumulate a number of faults in one section). If any serious or dangerous faults are recorded this will result in a fail.

and

Answer a minimum of 15 questions correctly.

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council & Kirklees Council

In addition to the standard assessment requirements outlined above. The Bradford council and Kirklees Council standard taxi assessment will both take no less than 60 minutes.

You will be asked to:

Carry out and describe the items inspected during a vehicle safety check.
Answer 6 questions relating to the Highway Code and road traffic signs.
Control the vehicle safely whilst reversing to the left, right, or when parking into a bay. Take effective all-round observation throughout the manoeuvre showing consideration to other road users and pedestrians.

To pass the assessment you:

Must not accrue more than 9 driving faults
Must not accrue any serious or dangerous faults
Must not accrue more than 5 driving faults within any section (18 different fault sections)
Must not accrue more than 2 faults of the same type

For Bradford Council and Kirklees Council, if you pass the assessment your pass certificate will be emailed to you within 3 working days. If you are unsuccessful at the assessment, a copy of the assessment form will be emailed to you.

Hertsmere Borough Council

Hertsmere Borough Council taxi candidates are expected to achieve a higher standard of driving compared to the normal Green Penny standard assessment. As a Hertsmere Borough Council candidate you will pass the taxi driving assessment if you make 6 or fewer driving faults, unless you accumulate a number of faults in one area. If any serious or dangerous faults are recorded this will result in a fail.

Maidstone, Sevenoaks and Royal Tunbridge Wells Councils

In addition to the standard assessment requirements outlined above, Maidstone, Sevenoaks and Royal Tunbridge Wells council candidates will also be required to carry out specific criteria. For a full list of this criteria, please contact Green Penny by phone or email. Once you have made your booking, you will be sent this full list of additional criteria.

Peterborough City Council

In addition to the standard assessment requirements outlined above, Peterborough City council candidates will also be asked to drive to various destinations as part of the assessment.

Enhanced assessment (Hackney carriage) will include:

Five routes to specific destinations taken at random (if before attempting a street the candidate informs the assessor that they do not know its location an alternative street might be given on one occasion only)

Standard assessment (Private hire) will include:

Three districts and two places of local interest in Peterborough taken at random and the candidate must be able to take the shortest route between each.

Candidates are not permitted to use navigational aids such as maps or a SAT NAV device.

Please note: A candidate may refuse or fail a destination, or fail to take the shortest route, on one occasion only. Two failures or refusals or failing to take the shortest routes, will be marked as a fail.

Uttlesford District Council

Green Penny taxi assessments conducted on behalf of Uttlesford District Council will not include any Highway code, traffic sign of Cabology questions. These three subjects will be covered during the Hackney Carriage & Private Hire Driver Course that all Uttlesford District Council applicants must attend.