Confirm a tax check for taxi, private hire or scrap metal licence applications
Licensing authorities must confirm a tax check has been completed by applicants renewing taxi, private hire and scrap metal licences, or applying for a licence already held with another authority.
Applies to England and Wales
From 4 April 2022, the rules are changing for applications for:
- taxi driver licences
- private hire driver licences
- private hire vehicle operators’ licences
- scrap metal site licences
- scrap metal collectors’ licences
When a licensing authority must confirm a tax check
Individuals, companies and any type of partnership must complete a HMRC tax check and give their licensing authority a tax check code if they are:
- renewing a licence
- applying for the same type of licence they previously held, that ceased to be valid less than a year ago
- applying for the same type of licence they already hold with another licensing authority
You must then use the tax check code to confirm that the tax check has taken place before you can grant or refuse their application.
Follow the confirm an applicant’s tax responsibilities guidance if the applicant:
- has never held a licence of the same type
- had a licence of the same type that ceased to be valid a year or more before the application was made
Applications from partnerships
If an application is from a partnership, you must get confirmation from HMRC that each partner in the application has completed a tax check.
For example, if:
- one partner made the application on behalf of the partnership, you must get confirmation that this single partner has done a tax check
- more than one partner makes the partnership’s application, you must get separate confirmations that each of the partners has done a tax check
If some of the partners have completed tax checks but others have not (for example, if 3 partners are named and have signed the application but only 2 have done tax checks), you will need to get confirmation that all of them have completed a tax check.
London taxi driver licence and scrap metal licence renewals
The applicant’s existing licence may be extended until a final decision whether to grant an application has been made (including a decision on appeal).
However, if the applicant does not give you a valid tax check code their licence will expire on whichever of the following dates is the latest:
- 28 days after you asked them for their tax check code
- the date their licence expires
What you’ll need
You will need the applicant’s:
- tax check code issued within the last 120 days
- licence type
You must ask the applicant to give you another tax check code if the code is over 120 days old.
You’ll also need one of the following:
- the individual’s date of birth
- the company’s number, issued by Companies House
Confirm an applicant’s tax check
Online services may be slow during busy times. Check if there are any problems with this service.
If you cannot access the online service
If the service is unavailable for 5 days or more from the date when you first tried to use it, you do not need to get confirmation from HMRC and can continue to deal with the application.
If you do not have a tax check code
You must ask the applicant for a tax check code if they have not included it with their application.
The applicant may tell you that they do not have a tax check code because the online service was unavailable. If this happens:
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you must ask them to re-try again to complete a tax check for 5 days in a row
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after attempts on 5 consecutive days, you must check that the service was unavailable on these days
If you can confirm this, then a tax check no longer applies, and you can continue to deal with their application.
If your checks show that the service was available, you must tell the applicant and ask for a tax check code.
Last updated 4 April 2022 + show all updates
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A link to the online service to confirm an applicant's tax check has been added along with information about what you should do if you do not have a tax check code or cannot access this online service.
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Added translation