Any person who wishes to conduct a business by employing private hire drivers and vehicles must first be licensed with the local authority.
An application to become a private hire operator (to employ licensed private hire drivers and licensed vehicles) must be made to the licensing service. Before an operator licence is granted the applicant must provide planning permission and public and employers liability insurance (where applicable).
From 4 April 2022, the rules are changing if you are applying for a licence for a private hire vehicle operator. If you’re an individual, company or any type of partnership and you have never held an operators licence before (with any licensing authority) or you have held an operators licence that ceased to be valid a year or more before making this application, you must confirm on your application that you are aware of your tax responsibilities. You will not need to need to complete a tax check.
However, if you already have an operator’s licence with another licensing authority and it is still valid, or it ceased to be valid less than a year ago, you must complete a tax check. A tax check confirms that you’re registered for tax, if necessary. After you complete the tax check you’ll be given a code. You must provide this code on your application. Your application cannot be processed without it. For more information visit the GOV.UK page: Complete a tax check for a taxi, private hire or scrap metal licence
The application fees for a private hire operator are:
| Number of vehicles |
One year licence |
Five year licence |
|---|---|---|
| One vehicle | £140 | £424 |
| Two to four vehicles | £175 | £599 |
| Five to ten vehicles | £278 | £1,114 |
| 11-20 vehicles | £389 | £1,669 |
| 21+ vehicles | £410 | £1,774 |
Apply for a private hire operator licence
Please contact licensing@salford.gov.uk if you wish to renew for a 5 year licence.
Renew your private hire operator licence
If you have any complaints or concerns regarding a private hire operator based in Salford, please complete the form on our make a complaint about a taxi or private hire service page.
If you are unable to view documents of these types, our downloads page provides links to viewing software.
This page was last updated on 19 January 2024