Operator licences (private hire)

Private hire vehicles cannot carry out a journey unless it has been pre-booked through an operator. This applies whether the booking is taken through a booking office, by telephone or via an App.

We must be satisfied that an operator is fit and proper before granting a licence, as operators are responsible for:

• arranging and fulfilling bookings
• employing and vetting licensed drivers and vehicles
• responding to customer complaints
• maintaining records of every booking they receive

Private hire operators can sub-contract bookings to another private hire operator, including those who are licensed in other parts of the country, for example Wolverhampton.

They must inform the passenger that it will not be a Colchester licensed vehicle/driver who will be transporting them and the passenger has the right to refuse the pick-up.

Applying for an operator licence

1. Read the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy.
2. Download and complete the application form 
3. Email the application form and supporting documentation (in pdf or jpg format) to eps.support@colchester.gov.uk.

In order to be licensed as a private hire operator you must:

• be legally entitled to work in the UK
• provide a safeguarding training certificate
• provide a basic DBS certificate, which is less than three months old when the application is made.
  
  This must be accompanied by a statutory declaration listing all previous convictions, whether or not they are spent, and any other relevant material information. If you have spent six or more continuous months outside the UK, you must provide criminal records information from the country concerned or where this is not possible a Certificate of Good Character is needed.
  
  If you are applying as an individual and are an existing licensed driver you do not need to provide this as long as you have maintained your DBS update service subscription. Where the application is made by a company or partnership, we will apply the ‘fit and proper’ test to each of the directors or partners in that company or partnership and the provisions in relation to the DBS, as outlined above, apply for each party.
• have an operating base located within the Colchester City Council municipal area. If you intend to operate a private hire business from a residential dwelling, it is your responsibility to ensure you have the necessary planning permission for business use.
• provide a valid public liability insurance certificate
• provide a copy of your policy on employing ex-offenders in roles that relate to the booking and dispatch of vehicles.