Vehicle rules

Plates must be displayed at all times including when using your vehicle for social purposes.

It is a licence condition that both plates must be displayed unless you have an exemption.

To apply for an exemption to displaying your plates on your private hire vehicle, you should complete and send a plate exemption request form to us by email.

To stay compliant make sure your plates are:

• not obstructing the vehicle’s registration number plate, lights, or reflectors
• firmly attached and cannot be easily removed

Unsuitable methods such as string, magnets, Velcro, cable ties, or tape are not permitted, as they do not provide a secure or safe fixing. We recommend purchasing an approved bracket either from us or one of our approved suppliers.

Read our guidance document for more information about licence plates and signage requirements.

Lost or stolen plates

If you think your plates have been stolen, you need to report this to the police and get a crime reference number.

If you have lost your plates then you do not need to report it to the police. You may want to record your lost property at reportmyloss.com

You must complete and send us a lost plates, badges or paper licence notification form by email.

You will then be given an appointment to come into our office and pay for your replacement plates and licence.

Your vehicle is only allowed to have manufactured or factory fitted privacy glass. Aftermarket tints are not allowed and must be removed before applying for a licence. Any other modifications will be considered on a case-by-case basis. You will need to email us your enquiry.

You must let us know before installing cameras in your vehicle. You will need to sign a partnership agreement on the management of in-car CCTV camera systems. Read more about this in our taxi and private hire licensing policy.

You are not required to have door signs.

You must have a spare wheel, run flat or working inflation kit in your car at all times. Without it, the licence can be refused or suspended until you put one in your vehicle.

You should check the vehicle for any property which may have accidentally been left there by customers. Any high value items such as phones and laptops should be taken to a local police station.

For other items there is a TAXI – Lost and Found Bristol Facebook group for property left in taxis. The expectation is that private hire operators will sort out their own found property as they should know who the customer was.

You can set a minimum card payment as long as you give the customer an option of paying cash for the journey. However, you cannot charge additional money because someone is paying by card.

You can view the table of tariffs and fares for hackney carriage vehicles.

Smoking is not allowed in a licensed vehicle, whether the driver is working or not. If smoking is witnessed in a licensed vehicle the person smoking will be fined. If the person smoking is the driver then they may also have penalty points added to their licence.

Both the driver and vehicle owner are responsible for the vehicle if it is rented from a third party and has a problem such as defective tyres. If you are using a vehicle with poorly maintained tyres (damaged, below the legal limit or wrongly inflated) you are putting yourself, your passengers and the public at risk.

If you are stopped by the police, DVLA penalty points may be added to your DVLA and taxi and private hire licence.

There are 11 fixed bus lane enforcement cameras in South Gloucestershire. You should check the individual bus lane signs to see if you are able to use it as some lanes are not designated for hackney carriage or private hire vehicles.