Apply for or renew your vehicle licence

Approved vehicle standards: the public must be safe and comfortable while travelling in a licensed vehicle. Therefore, we'll only approve applications for vehicles that meet our approved standards.

You can read our approved standards for Private Hire vehicles and Hackney Carriages at the link below.

• View the Private Hire and Hackney Carriage vehicle standards

Check your vehicle can be licensed: as part of the application process, vehicles must undergo a vehicle test. Any vehicle we deem to be unsuitable for a licence will be stamped, meaning the vehicle cannot be licensed.

• Check stamped vehicles in the borough of Rochdale

Renewing your licence: please don't delay applying to renew your licence. We recommend you apply 6 weeks before your current licence is due to expire.

To apply for your first vehicle licence or to renew your vehicle licence:

1. Complete the form for either Private Hire applications or Hackney Carriage applications and make your payment online. How much your application will cost.
2. If your application is successful, we'll contact you to arrange a time to test your vehicle. We aim to do this within 5 working days.
3. If you fail to attend your vehicle test, it will result in extra fees. It could also result in a long delay for another appointment due to the number of vehicles we're currently testing.
4. If your licence is granted, you can collect it from the office during our opening hours.

Private Hire vehicle licence applications and renewals

Hackney Carriage vehicle licence applications and renewals

Make sure you send in your licensing application before arranging your MOT.

Once your application is received, you’ll be told when to book your MOT.

If you get your MOT too early, it might not be valid for licensing and could cause delays or extra costs.

• Find supporting documents and additional information

Please do not contact us to check whether we have received your application.

Once you submit your application, you'll receive a reference number.

If your application is incomplete or missing any required documents, we will email you to let you know and arrange a refund within 5 working days.

If you do not receive a rejection email or refund, you can assume that we have received your application and it will be processed in due course.

If you still need to get in touch you can contact the team.