How to get a Wolverhampton private hire badge: documents, costs and steps for 2026

Wolverhampton's application page lists what you must have to process a private hire driver licence application:

• A full DVLA driving licence for category B (cars) that you have held for at least 12 months. Send the newest licence issued to you.
• A completed medical certificate dated within four months of your application, with all eight pages of the DVLA D4 form. See our Group 2 medical guide.
• Proof of your right to work in the UK. See our right to work guide.
• An enhanced DBS certificate applied for through TaxiPlus, for the position 'Other Workforce [Taxi/Private Hire] Driver', plus a DVLA licence check. See our DBS check guide.
• A pass on the Private Hire Driver Training and Assessment Programme.
• Your own individual email address.
• A Certificate of Good Conduct (or Good Character) if you have been outside the UK for three or more months in a row since the age of 18.

Source: Apply online for taxi licences (opens in a new tab) (City of Wolverhampton Council, Private Hire Driver Licences (Badge))[1]

Wolverhampton only processes an application once you have done the one-day training and assessment course run by Worcestershire County Council. It lasts about six hours and ends with a 28-question multiple-choice test. You need 75% to pass, and the course and test are only in English.

You must pass within 3 attempts and apply for your licence within 12 months of passing. Read our guides on booking the course, what is in the test and what to do if you fail.

Sources: Taxi knowledge and practical test (opens in a new tab) (City of Wolverhampton Council, Private hire licence: training course)[2]; Apply online for taxi licences (opens in a new tab) (City of Wolverhampton Council, Private Hire Driver Licences (Badge))[1]

Apply for your enhanced DBS certificate through TaxiPlus. When you have it, register for the DBS Update Service. If you do not, you will only receive a licence for six months and will need to send a new certificate to get it extended.

If you are not on the Update Service, your DBS certificate must be less than three months old. You post all pages of the original certificate to the council, at your own risk, so the council recommends a tracked method.

Sources: Apply online for taxi licences (opens in a new tab) (City of Wolverhampton Council, Private Hire Driver Licences (Badge))[1]; Taxi licence FAQs (opens in a new tab) (City of Wolverhampton Council, Drivers: I am not on the DBS Update Service)[3]

Apply through the council's online system, iApply. You get an email confirming your application, and your reference number starts with WTP. Check your junk folder if it does not arrive.

The council says it has no approved agents or third parties. If you paid someone else to apply for you, the council can only help if you have an iApply email confirming the application was submitted.

Your name must be spelt the same way on all your documents, or your application will not continue until you fix it. If checks find offences on your record, you may be invited to a hearing. Our criminal convictions guide explains how councils decide.

Sources: Apply online for taxi licences (opens in a new tab) (City of Wolverhampton Council, Private Hire Driver Licences (Badge); When will the process take longer?)[1]; Taxi licence FAQs (opens in a new tab) (City of Wolverhampton Council, Updates)[3]

Council fees rose on 1 April 2026. Complete applications sent before 31 March 2026 were charged the old rates. DBS, medical and Certificate of Good Conduct costs are paid to other organisations and are not set by the council.

Sources: Taxi and Private Hire Newsletter, Spring 2026 issue 21 (opens in a new tab) (City of Wolverhampton Council, Page 2, Increases to Private Hire Driver Licence Fees)[4]; Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing Policy (12.06.2026), including licence conditions, Guidelines on Fitness and Propriety, fees and Taxi CCTV Policy (opens in a new tab) (City of Wolverhampton Council, Fees and charges, items 1.1, 1.2, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8 and 6.3)[5]; Taxi driver training (Wolverhampton) (opens in a new tab) (Worcestershire County Council, Costs)[6]

The council says there is no guaranteed time for processing and that timescales are only indicative. Applications are dealt with in order once they reach the front of the queue, and incorrect applications take longer.

The application page shows the date of the applications currently being processed. The council asks you not to contact it if you applied after that date, and says further emails will not speed up your application. When it is done, you get an email telling you how to collect your licence or what is wrong with your application.

Sources: Apply online for taxi licences (opens in a new tab) (City of Wolverhampton Council, Private Hire Driver Licences (Badge))[1]; Taxi licence FAQs (opens in a new tab) (City of Wolverhampton Council, Licence queries: I have sent my documents in – when will I hear something?)[3]

Wolverhampton says its private hire driver licence lets you accept pre-booked journeys anywhere in the country, in a private hire vehicle licensed by Wolverhampton, as long as the booking is made by a private hire operator licensed by Wolverhampton.

You cannot pick up passengers who hail you in the street or wait at taxi ranks; that is plying for hire, which only hackney carriages may do. Read what counts as plying for hire and the difference between private hire and hackney carriages.

Source: Taxi licence FAQs (opens in a new tab) (City of Wolverhampton Council, Drivers: Where can I use my driver licence?)[3]