Chauffeur’s license and maybe CDL (Commercial Driver Lic.)

No indication where you are, but the British spelling of “licence” may give it away.

The Local Government Miscellaneous Provisions Act allows the local council to regulate and control hackney carriages (public hire taxis) and private hire vehicles and drivers, with up to 8 passenger seats. You would have to do several things, and most councils vary this only sightly:

1 – Submit the vehicle to a test (certificate of compliance) by the council. This replaces the MOT, so if the vehicle has an MOT, in future it will have this stricter test instead, even if it is brand new. This test may be every 12 months, but some councils do it every 6 months. If the vehicle passes the test you get a plate to display on the rear of the vehicle.

2- Get a private hire/public hire insurance policy as appropriate, the council will advise which you need. No policy, no plate.

3- Get your own personal licence to drive a public/private hire vehicle. The council may ask you to submit a medical and CRB for this, and possibly sit a knowledge test to prove you know the local streets and the local by-laws relating to the trade. Some councils don’t do this, while other tests like the All London badge are extremely hard to pass and that one takes a few years!

4 – If it is a private hire vehicle, you must not park on the street touting for work, or you will be find and have your licence suspended. Your work must be provided by a licensed private hire operator, and the customer must have pre-booked over the phone or in person at their office. Anyone you pick up other than in this way, then your insurance is void. Be careful. Councils send licensing officers to check this by approaching parked private hire vehicles.

5 – If driving a hackney carriage (says “TAXI” on top) you can pick up anywhere, but you cannot park anywhere, except on a legally appointed rank in its hours of operation. Again,councils use licensing officers and CCTV to make sure you comply.

If your vehicle has more than 8 passenger seats, it is not up to the council to licence it. You will need a PCV/PSV licence to carry that number of people professionally, and your vehicle needs to be tachographed and checked by VOSA.

Maintain your vehicle. If your vehicle fails a test, or if a licensing officer suspends the licence, you may repair it. But some councils will permanently ban your vehicle from having a licence if it has too many defects. It pays to get a vehicle professionally serviced to a good enough standard before presenting it for testing. Make sure the vehicle you buy is permitted by the local council, there are rules on dimensions and engine capacity, as well as door configuration. Liverpool council banned the E7 Eurocab because it has a poor turning circle. Ask the licensing section at the town hall first if the particular model you are looking at is allowed, or you will waste money. Most councils ban the word “taxi” or “cab” or suchlike being displayed on a private hire vehicle, the word is reserved for black cabs/hackney carriages. They also normally prohibit using “black cab” models like the TX1 as a private hire car.

And finally, some councils contact drivers to fulfil contracts like taking children to special schools etc. This can be lucrative work, but some areas will only give the work to drivers who hold an NVQ (yes there is an NVQ in taxi driving/cabology), so if you want to get work like that, take the NVQ, they may possibly pay for it for you.

EDIT, costs of set up, excluding a vehicle. Varies from town to town, typically £60/year for a driver badge, one off £50 for a knowledge test (does not have to be renewed), around £200 for a test/plate, and about £1800/yr insurance for a car, or about £3,500 to £4,000 insurance for an 8 seat bus. About £30/day diesel, £100/week to rent a radio from a private hire office, £70 for a medical for first licence, and the CRB fee. Ongoing maintenance costs, eg tyres and repairs.

Yes, if you are changing for it, it would be a commercial venture with a taxi license and commercial insurance, and perhaps a business license to boot.